We know from our ongoing search for nano developments and early opportunities that commercial applications are being launched worldwide. But our ears perked up when we heard that Samsung, a South Korean industrial conglomerate, had earned an estimated $779 million in revenue since its nano additive's 2003 launch.
Being Foolish investors, however, we compare that claim to what we know about publicly quoted American "nano" companies. Any group of 10 together would be hard-pressed to muster even $100 million in revenue from their nano products in the past year.
Consider Nanophase Technologies, which recorded product revenue of only $1.28 million in its last quarter. Indeed, the company has not even sold $100 million worth of nano materials since it went public in 1997.
Nano toolmaker FEI recorded $170.8 million in product sales for the last six months. We estimate that less than 10% is from the company's nano tools.
