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NCR
Company Profile

by Karen Spring

Copyright 2020, Faulkner Information Services. All Rights Reserved.

Docid: 00016188

Publication Date: 2002

Report Type: VENDOR

Preview

NCR is well-known for its point of sale (POS) devices and automated teller machines
(ATMs), but the company has been repositioning itself to be more focused on software
and services. The company delivers its
products to clients in more than 180 countries and across a variety of
industries. This report profiles NCR and
its recent activities.

Report Contents:

• Fast Facts
• Profile
• Strategy
• Product Lines
• Activity

Fast Facts

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Name: NCR
Headquarters
864 Spring St NW
Atlanta, GA 30308
Phone: 1-800-225-5627 
(937) 445-1936
Web: https://www.ncr.com/
Type of Vendor: Hardware/Software and Professional and Support Services Provider
Founded: 1884
Service Areas: Global
Stock Symbol: NCR (NYSE)
Employees: 34,000 (as of December 31, 2018)

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Profile

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NCR is a global technology company that offers
assisted and self-service products as well as support services primarily for the
financial services, retail, travel, hospitality, telecommunications, and
technology sectors.  The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, in the US. It has a presence in more than 180
countries.

Known for its automated teller machines (ATMs), NCR delivers a host of retail and financial electronic systems, including
point of sale
(POS) workstations, self-service kiosks, and self-check-in/check-out systems. 

History & Milestone Events

NCR’s origins go back more than 135 years to its beginning in 1884, when the firm was founded as
National Cash Register Company. Some of the significant highlights of the company’s history are
outlined in the timeline below:

• 1884 – Is founded as National Cash Register
  Co., by John H. Patterson.
• 1952 – Acquires Computer Research Corp., which produced a line of
  digital computers with applications in aviation.
• 1953 – Establishes an electronics division to continue to
  pursue electronic applications for business machines.
• 1974 – Changes its name to NCR Corp..
• 1982 – Launches its firm tower “supermicrocomputer” system.
• 1991 – Is acquired by AT&T, then merged with Teradata to form
  AT&T Global Information Solutions (GIS).
• 1996 – Changes its name back to NCR as part of its announcement to
  spin off the unit.
• 1997 – Finalizes its spinoff; launches an IPO; reaches an agreement to acquire Compris Technologies and
  Dataworks.
• 1998 – Buys 50 percent of privately-held Stirling Douglas Group.
• 1999 – Acquires IBM’s financial self-service operations and financial industry
  automation software company, Gaspar.
• 2007 – Spins off its Teradata data warehousing unit as an independent
  company; sells its RFID assets to the Kennedy Group.
• 2009 – Is selected by Nextel to provide a self-service bill payment
  system at its customer service centers across Mexico.
• 2010 – NCR expands its BLOCKBUSTER Express kiosks four separate
  times to new geographic locations. NCR acquires Moqiba, a mobile optimized
  content provider, to expand its own mobile self-service platform. 
• 2011 – NCR acquires Radiant Systems, a multichannel
  point-of-sale and managed hosted service solutions provider, for a cash total
  of $1.2 billion. The acquisition adds a third core vertical in new products and services for the hospitality and
  specialty retail markets.
• 2012 – NCR sells its entertainment business, including 10,000
  BLOCKBUSTER Express kiosks, to former competitor RedBox for an estimated total
  of $100 million. The agreement also includes a five year manufacturing and
  service provision. NCR buys
  Retalix, a retail software and services company, for $650 million. Inks an
  agreement with Walmart to install 10,000 self-service checkout lanes at more
  than 1,200 locations in 2013. NCR acquires Transoft International, nCEa cash cost
  optimization software company. 
• 2014 – Completes the acquisition of Digital Insight, a provider of
  online and mobile banking offerings, for $1.65 billion.
• 2015 – Announces that it will begin building a new world
  headquarters in Atlanta. Blackstone invests $820 million into NCR in the form
  of perpetual convertible preferred shares. NCR breaks ground in Atlanta for
  its new headquarters. 
• 2016 – Announces plans to sell off its Interactive Printer
  Solutions division to Atlas Holdings. This unit provides consumable
  supplies. Acquires CimpleBox, a provider of SaaS-based back-office
  software to restaurant operators and retailers. Mark D. Benjamin is named
  NCR’s president and COO. 
• 2017 – NCR reached a settlement with the EPA and the Department
  of Justice to complete the Superfund cleanup project at Wisconsin’s Lower Fox
  River and Green Bay Site. NCR’s cleanup costs are expected to be about $200
  million. 
• 2018 – NCR opens its global headquarters in Atlanta.
  The company completed its acquisitions of JetPay for $64.4 million and
  StopLift Checkout Vision Systems. In July, NCR announced the appointments of
  several executives along with a new organizational structure. 
• 2019 – NCR acquired several companies: Zynstra, a UK-based
  provider of edge virtualization technology, for £100
  million BP ($130 million USD); central Texas point-of-sale solutions company
  POS Solutions; Midwest POS Solutions, a technology provider serving the
  restaurant industry; D3 Technology, a provider of online and mobile banking
  for the large financial institution market; OKI Brasil’s IT services and
  select software assets for financial, retail, and other industries; Texas
  P.O.S, a restaurant technology company; and BEC, a provider of hospitality
  point-of-sale technology in Colorado. NCR settled the US government and the
  state of Michigan regarding the cleanup of the Michigan Kalamazoo River
  Superfund site.

Strategy

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NCR offers products and services that are designed for convenience,
value, and individualized service to enable businesses to connect, interact,
and transact with their customers in order to enhance customer relationships.
NCR’s offerings consist of self-service and assisted-service products that
serve customers in the financial services, retail, hospitality,
telecommunications, and technology industries. While the company is
best known for its hardware – namely, automated teller machines – NCR
continues to move towards becoming more focused on solutions and software.
The company operates in three segments: software, services, and
hardware. 

Strengths

NCR has been known in the financial and banking sectors for some time and has
made a name for itself in the retail market as well with its self-service
technologies. In 2018, IDC named NCR a "leader" in its MarketScape:
Worldwide Point-of-Sale Software in Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Retail 2018
Vendor Assessment. Also in 2018, independent research and consultancy RBR
recognized NCR in its Global POS Software 2018 study. This marked the third
consecutive year that NCR has received this commendation.  

With payment security being a major focus for retailers and their customers, NCR’s
2018 acquisition of StopLift Checkout Vision Systems seems like a good fit.
StopLift uses artificial intelligence functionality to identify fraudulent
activity in retail store solutions. NCR President and CEO Michael D. Hayford
said that the acquisition made sense since "…StopLift’s fraud detection
technology will be a key enabler of our frictionless commerce product
strategy." 

Weaknesses

Following years of litigation, NCR, along with the US government and the
state of Wisconsin, agreed to resolve the environmental cleanup that involved
the Fox River. As part of the decree, NCR agreed to complete cleanup that will
remove polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the river and to end its possible
legal appeal. The decree also ends Superfund claims that had been lobbed at NCR.
The remediation project covers 29 miles of the Fox River and NCR must fully
finish the project by the end of 2018. The production of paper in the 1950s and
1960s resulted in the release of PCBs into the river. PCBs are hazardous
chemicals that pose health risks, possibly cancer. In 2010, NCR and other paper
companies were sued by the government and the state of Wisconsin for failing to
clean up the river. Settlements had been reached with most of the other
companies, but it took until 2017 for NCR to come to an agreement with the
government. Most of NCR’s work on the Fox River will involve dredging and that
is expected to have a final tally of around $200 million. 

In a separate case, NCR has agreed to to pay at least $245.2 million to the
Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Michigan to clean up the
Kalamazoo River. NCR is one of several companies that polluted the river by
dumping PCBs decades ago. The cleanup is expected to take about 20 years. 

Outlook

NCR has evolved from a cash register company to an organization that services
and products that enable businesses to run their operations
efficiently. Over the past few years, NCR has expanded its services and
offerings thanks to numerous acquisitions. These moves have led to NCR
bolstering its banking and hospitality offerings. The 2019 buy of Zynstra, a
provider of edge virtualization technology, gives NCR a better footing in the
retail industry and positions it against VMware, Amazon, and Microsoft.¹

In 2017, NCR changed its strategic model, announcing that it would
focus more on its solutions as compared to just specific products. Developing a
more dedicated focus on software and services has enabled NCR to extend itself
so that businesses won’t just think of it as a hardware vendor. NCR is the
global leader in self-service checkout kiosks and this area is booming as
grocery stores and retailers like Target are readily increasing the number of
self-checkout lanes they have available in their locations. 

Product Lines

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NCR divides its products and services by the industry that they serve. These
offerings are outlined in Table 1.

Major Competitors

NCR faces competition from a number of different companies. In the financial
services sector, NCR competes with Diebold Nixdorf, Nautilus Hyosung,
Cardtronics, and Fidelity National Information Systems. Among
companies in the retail and hospitality industries, Toshiba Tec, HP, Fujitsu,
Oracle, and SAP offer competitive offerings.  

• Cardtronics: http://www.cardtronics.com/ 
• Diebold Nixdorf: https://www.dieboldnixdorf.com/
• Fidelity National Information Services: https://www.fisglobal.com/
• Fujitsu: https://www.fujitsu.com/
  
  HP: https://www.hp.com/ 
• Nautilus Hyosung: http://www.nautilus.hyosung.com
  Oracle: https://www.oracle.com/ 
  SAP: https://www.sap.com/ 
• Toshiba Tec: https://www.toshibatec.com/

Activity

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Mergers, Acquisitions, and Divestitures

NCR announced the acquisition of Zynstra, a partner that provides edge-virtualization technology. The transaction is valued at GBP100 million (US$131 million).

(12/23/2019)

NCR has acquired POS Solutions, a
point-of-sale and restaurant solutions provider. The purchase of
this “local office” in Texas serves to expand NCR’s restaurant
technology. Specifically, NCR will maintain POS Solutions’
existing customer sites; retain its management team and staff of
“local Austin restaurant experts”; and integrate the POS team
into its local office network, in turn accelerating its own
ability to provide “innovative solutions.” No terms were
released.

(11/19/2019)

NCR officially acquired Midwest POS Solutions, a restaurant technology company that
serves as a dealer for the NCR Aloha POS (point-of-sale)
solution. The transaction would expand NCR’s regional presence to
an additional 1,000 restaurants that are supported by Midwest
POS, throughout Indiana and Kentucky. NCR will also maintain
three local offices with the Midwest POS management team and
staff. Terms were not released.

(10/07/2019)

NCR acquired D3 Technology, a firm that
provides online and mobile banking services. This transaction is
expected to allow NCR to expand its digital banking services into
new market segments. Financial terms were not released.

(07/02/2019)

NCR and Oki Electric Industry signed a
definitive agreement for NCR to acquire OKI Brasil’s IT services
and select software assets for financial, retail, and other
industries. Neither OKI’s manufacturing operations nor printing
business in Brazil were included. Financial details were not
disclosed.

(06/06/2019)

NCR has acquired Texas POS. The purchase of
this restaurant technology company is expected to complement
NCR’s existing regional sales presence for hospitality customers,
in addition to expanding its sales and services coverage in
Texas. Terms were not released.

(05/06/2019)

NCR officially acquired BEC, a POS (point-of-sale)
technology developer for the hospitality industry and company
reseller. The transaction is expected to compliment its existing
presence and coverage. No terms were released.

(02/25/2019)

Products and Services

NCR released Vision
SaaS, a pay-per-use service for device management. The hosted
offering provides financial institutions with “full visibility
and control” over an ATM channel in order to improve
availability, security, compliance, and business performance.

(10/03/2019)

NCR unveiled a POS
(point-of-sale) product that integrates payment processing within
Samsung‘s Quantum
tablet. The NCR Silver One is designed to streamline the payments
process, helping simplify setup, deliver relevant transaction
data, and improve customer engagement. The solution provides
payments-processing through JetPay, which NCR acquired last
year.

(04/22/2019)

Personnel and Organizational

NCR named Georgette Kiser to its Board of Directors. Kiser is an operating exec for The Carlyle Group, a private equity investment firm, and a former executive with T Rowe Price Associates.

(02/10/2020)

NCR named both Katie
Burke, a Senior Strategist with Edelman, and Kirk Larsen, the EVP
and CFO of Black Knight, to its Board of Directors. The company
noted that it also intends to appoint additional Independent
Directors prior to its 2020 shareholders meeting.

(09/24/2019)

NCR named David Rusate as Corporate Treasurer. Rusate will report to CFO, Andre Fernandez, effective immediately. The appointee is a former exec with GE.

(07/08/2019)

Financials

NCR announced a
year-to-year return to profitability for both the 2019 fourth
quarter and full year periods ended December 31, 2019. Q4 income
reached $349 million, or $2.67 per share, compared to losses of
$47 million, or $0.39 per share. Revenues, meanwhile, were $1.9
billion, which is up by 5 percent from 18Q4 sales of $1.8
billion. Full-year earnings, meanwhile, totaled $564 million, or
$3.71 per share, compared to 2018 losses of $86 million, or $0.72
per share. NCR’s 12-month sales were $6.9 billion, which is up by
8 percent when compared to a 2018 revenue base of $6.4 billion.

(02/11/2020)

NCR reported
year-over-year earnings growth for the 2019 second quarter ended
June 30th. The company’s profits were $88 million, or $0.58 per
share, compared to 2018 second quarter losses of $145 million, or
$1.33 per share. Revenues, meanwhile, were $1.7 billion, marking
11 percent growth over 18Q2 sales of $1.5 billion.

(07/30/2019)

NCR signed an agreement
to purchase Banco Bradesco’s minority interest in NCR Manaus,
its Brazilian manufacturing and engineering entity. NCR – which
opened its manufacturing facility in Manaus to provide improved
sourcing for Brazilian customers – will continue to work with
Bradesco to provide ATM technology. The agreement, NCR noted,
also complements its recently announced initiative to expand its
service and solution footprint in Brazil. Financial details were
not disclosed; the transaction remains subject to “regulatory
approval” and “other customary closing conditions.”

(06/10/2019)

NCR recorded 81 percent
year-on-year earnings growth for the 2019 first quarter. Profits
for this three-month period ended March 31, 2019 were $38
million, or $0.20 per share. This amount compares to a 2018 Q1
net income of $21 million, or $0.06 per share. Revenues,
meanwhile, were $1.54 billion, an amount that is up by 1 percent
from 18Q1 sales of $1.52 billion.

(05/07/2019)

NCR posted continued net
losses for both the 2018 full year and fourth quarter ended
December 31, 2018. The firm’s 12-month losses totaled $88
million, or $1.16 per share, which is down by 138 percent from
2017 profits of $232 million, or $0.97 per share. Revenues,
meanwhile, were $6.4 billion, which is down by 2 percent from
2017 sales of $6.5 billion. Fourth quarter losses, meanwhile,
were $47 million, or $0.51 per share, which is down by 4 percent
from 2017 fourth quarter losses of $45 million, or $0.46 per
share. NCR’s Q4 revenues were $1.8 billion, which is up by 1
percent from 2017 fourth quarter sales of $1.78 billion.

(02/11/2019)

References

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¹ Zacks Equity Research. "NCR Corp Benefits from
Acquisitions Amid Rising Competition." Zacks. December 26,
2019. 

About the Author

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Karen M. Spring is a staff editor for Faulkner Information
Services, tracking several high-tech industries. She has research experience in
various topics including network security, data breaches, malware, public
safety, business continuity and resilience and vulnerabilities. She has written
on high-tech topics for publications in the k-12 and higher education industry.
Ms. Spring started her career as a marketing specialist for two computer
distributors, working closely with such clients as 3Com, IBM, Okidata, Unisys,
and Acer. 

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