US companies increasingly fish for growth overseas

FILE - In this Jan. 17, 2014 file photo, Apple's CEO Tim Cook, left, gestures as China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua smiles during a promotional event that marks the opening day of sales of China Mobile's 4G iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in Beijing, China. Soaring sales of iPhones in China, Russia, India and Brazil during the April-June 2014 period helped Apple overcome softening demand for the device in the U.S. and Europe, where consumers seem to be more interested in waiting for the autumn release of a new iPhone that's expected to feature a larger screen. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan, File) FILE - In this Jan. 17, 2014 file photo, Apple's CEO Tim Cook, left, gestures as China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua smiles during a promotional event that marks the opening day of sales of China Mobile's 4G iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in Beijing, China. Soaring sales of iPhones in China, Russia, India and Brazil during the April-June 2014 period helped Apple overcome softening demand for the device in the U.S. and Europe, where consumers seem to be more interested in waiting for the autumn release of a new iPhone that's expected to feature a larger screen. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan, File)

By Associated Press July 28, 2014 6 min read

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Major U.S. companies are starting to reap their most rapid growth in fertile lands of opportunity far from home.

Technology trendsetters Apple Inc., Google Inc., Facebook Inc. and Netflix Inc. all mined foreign countries to produce earnings or revenue that exceeded analysts’ projections in their latest quarters. Prodded by the steadily rising demand for Internet access and online services in developing countries, these technology companies will likely be wading even deeper into overseas markets for years to come.

“The philosophy is to start your growth in the states and then take your fight overseas,” says BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis. “That’s what the big guys are doing.”

The intensifying international focus extends beyond technology. Century-old companies such as Coca-Cola Co. and Ford Motor Co. also are hoping to make more money in countries including China and India.

Few U.S. industries are tying their fortunes to overseas markets as aggressively as the technology sector, where new sources of revenue are often just a matter of equipping people with a computing device and an Internet connection.