Badger Meter (BMI) reported its third quarter results yesterday, after market close. The company reported earnings of 47 cents per share, above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 44 cents per share and up 20.5% from 39 cents reported in the prior-year quarter. Despite an 11.6% decline in sales, earnings during the quarter were higher than last year as the company benefited from lower commodity costs, ongoing cost reduction efforts, and pricing discipline. Gross margin in the quarter increased significantly to 39.0%, compared to 34.0% in the comparable quarter of 2008 due to favorable raw material pricing. Sales to the utility market, which constitutes more than 80% of total revenue, declined 9% compared to the third quarter of 2008. The utility market is facing a downturn as the customers are postponing purchasing decisions while they wait to see if they can receive federal funds for infrastructure ...

Badger Meter (BMI) generates the bulk of its revenue selling commercial and residential water metering systems to water utilities. The company has significant long-term growth potential, as its water utility customers upgrade to advanced metering (AMR/AMI) systems from manually read meters. According to the company, less than 30% of water meters installed in the U.S. have been converted to AMR/AMI, which means approximately 37,000 water utilities are still operating manually read meters. Badger Meter claims a current market share of approximately 20% in North America for AMR/AMI. There is plenty of room for growth as more customers upgrade their meters to the newer technologies. The company is satisfying the market demand with its popular ORION drive-by AMR and the GALAXY fixed network AMI. In addition, Badger Meter has an agreement with Itron (ITRI) to resell the ITRON drive-by AMR until early 2011. Also, the ...

The EPA recently ruled that too much carbon dioxide is threatening the planet. What this does is make it a lot easier to regulate and tax emitters of this gas.

So here we are in a shaky economy tottering on a ledge and along comes the EPA ready to shove it right off. As The Wall Street Journal reported: “The landmark decision lays the groundwork for federal efforts to cap carbon emissions - at a potential cost of billions of dollars to businesses and government.”

In other words, the war on the so-called greenhouse gases is officially under way - and it is going to be expensive. Each passing month brings us closer to capping, taxing or cutting the gases thought to cause global warming.

I don’t think investors appreciate how far-reaching such efforts could be. And there will be definite winners and losers as a result. Some of these are far from

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