My recent Investing in Oregon post took a look at some companies that the Motley Fool had featured in its investigation of investment opportunities in the Beaver State, including Precision Castparts Corp. (NYSE: PCP), StanCorp Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: SFG), FLIR Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR), and Columbia Sportswear Co. (NASDAQ: COLM).

But the Motley Fool article also mentioned that one of the most prominent business influences in Oregon wasn't even headquartered in the state: semiconductor giant Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) from Santa Clara, California. It also included mention of four Oregon-based businesses that provided support for Intel: Tektronix Inc. (NYSE: TEK), Mentor Graphics Corp. (NASDAQ: MENT), Triquint Semiconductor Inc. (NASDAQ: TQNT), and Electro Scientific Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: ESIO). One could imagine that Intel's impressive earnings report this week should have been good news for these supporting companies.

Beaverton-based Tektronix, widely known as Tek, is one of the leading makers of test and measurement equipment, such as digital multimeters, logic analyzers, and curve tracers, and oscilloscopes. Tek will win its seventh technical Emmy this year. Tek beat Wall Street expectations in its previous three quarters, reporting earnings per share of 40 cents for its first quarter FY2008. But the consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial was to hold shares of Tek. The share price reached a 52-week high of $37.95 on Monday when it was announced that Danaher Corp. (NYSE: DHR) will acquire Tek. Tool and equipment maker Danaher just announced record third quarter results.

Headquartered in Wilsonville, Mentor Graphics is a leading provider of electronic design automation software, systems, and support services for such industries as semiconductors, telecommunications, aerospace, and consumer electronics. Mentor has beat Wall Street expectations in the past four quarters, its second quarter FY2008 earnings per share of 15 cents beating analysts' estimation by 6 cents. Its five-year annual growth rate was 14.6% (less than the industry average), but the consensus recommendation of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial is to buy. The share price has been climbing since reaching a 52-week low of $10.85 before the second quarter report. It closed Thursday at $16.15. Mentor reports third quarter results on November 27.

Hillsboro-based Triquint specializes in gallium arsenide (faster than silicon) integrated circuits for cell phones, telecom equipment, data networking devices, and aerospace gear. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial recommend buying shares, even though Triquint missed Wall Street expectations by three cents (55%) in its second quarter report back in July. Its one-year earning per share growth rate was 47.6%, better than the semiconductor and tech sector averages. The share price is climbing from a 52-week low of $3.77 in August, and closed Thursday at $4.91. Triquint recently found itself among the "neglected" small caps in the Heartland Value Fund, and the company also helped celebrate the tenth anniversary of the mission of the Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn; a project Triquint had a hand in. Triquint releases third quarter results on October 24.

Electro Scientific Industries (ESI) is headquartered in Portland, and produces electronics manufacturing, packaging, and test equipment. ESI beat expectations by 6% when it reported results back in July, and its five-year earning per share growth rate was 20.9%, slightly higher than the industry average. Analysts' consensus recommendation is to buy ESIO. The share price climbed to a 52-week high of $25.64 in September, but has since declined, closing Friday at $23.47. ESI's acquisition of New Wave Research earlier this year has helped the company strengthen its position in Asia. ESI releases its next quarterly report on October 24.

I do not own shares in these stocks. As always, be sure to do your homework before investing.
See also: Investing in Oregon, Investing in New Jersey, and Investing in Ontario.