(FORTUNE Magazine) – IDEXX LABORATORIES -- Chiron, Genetics Institute, Xoma -- these brave names of American biotechnology share a wealth of talent, a commitment to pioneering research, lofty expectations -- and not a pennyworth of current profit. By contrast, Idexx makes money -- quite literally -- by going to the dogs. The company, in Westbrook, Maine, produces diagnostic kits for the veterinary market. Its big sellers include tests for heartworm and Lyme disease in dogs, leukemia in cats, and an assortment of other maladies in animals ranging from chickens to horses. Says CEO David Shaw: ''Our goal is one-stop shopping for diagnostic products in the veterinary market.'' Idexx is more concerned with product development than with basic research; only 10% of its revenues (paltry for a biotech company) go into research. Idexx often licenses promising technology from other companies and then uses a 50-person R&D staff to turn it into a diagnostic test. For example, Idexx incorporated DNA technology from Hoffmann-La Roche and Cetus into its test for paratuberculosis, a bacterial disease in cattle. The company mostly steers clear of the human health care market. That means it doesn't have to cope with tortuous Food and Drug Administration regulation, the bane of bigger biotech outfits. Veterinary market approvals come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is typically much quicker than the FDA. The products themselves are popular with veterinarians because of their accuracy and simplicity. Analyst Kurt Kammerer of Advest expects 1993 net income to rise 67%, to $8.4 million, on a 30% rise in sales, to $75 million. The stock traded recently at $31.50, or 28 times his estimate for 1993 earnings per share. Idexx is beginning to market its diagnostic technology in areas outside the veterinary market, again keeping clear of the treacherous human health care arena. Dairies can buy the company's tests to check for contaminated milk. And Idexx plans to acquire an environmental testing company in Connecticut whose product -- which detects bacteria in drinking water -- is approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

MICRO WAREHOUSE -- You can judge a catalogue company by the customers it keeps. Micro Warehouse, which markets computer software and peripherals, has one million and is looking for more. Each month it sends out new full-color issues featuring some 1,000 items. The monthly frequency lets Micro Warehouse customers read about the latest gadgetry, often before the trade press reviews it. The point, says CEO Peter Godfrey, is to give customers no cause to venture into retail outlets. Orders phoned in before midnight arrive the next day, and prices are some 40% less than suggested retail. Analyst Richard Billy of Prudential Securities expects 1993 net income to rise 67%, to $11.5 million, on a 42% increase in sales, to $375 million. Based in South Norwalk, Connecticut, the company went public in December at $18 a share. The stock traded recently at $24.13, or 24 times Billy's estimate for 1993 earnings per share. Micro Warehouse publishes two editions of its catalogue -- one for users of the Macintosh and another for the IBM-compatible crowd. A third is being readied for data communications equipment, and Godfrey may launch a fourth for the CD-ROM market. The company recently added German and French editions to its British one.

TACO CABANA -- Philadelphia has its cheese steaks, Boston its beans, and Brooklyn lays claim to the greatest pizza in the world. But tacos are the law of the land in Texas towns. So Taco Cabana of San Antonio makes sure its vittles are the freshest Tex-Mex north of the Rio Grande. How fresh? The company's 57 stores, most in Texas, have no freezers. Produce is delivered six days a week. And don't look for bottled salsa or artificial cheese either. Says CEO Richard Cervera: ''Canned refried beans and prepackaged tortillas don't cut it here.''

Fresh ingredients are actually cheaper than the vacuum-packed stuff competitors buy, so Cervera uses the savings to hire the extra staff necessary to cook from scratch. The price is clearly right: A fajita platter with a full pound of beef -- enough to serve four -- costs just $10.49. Budweiser: $1.59. An expanding menu helps lure customers back. Taco Cabana recently introduced caesar salads (first created in Tijuana), and the Chicken Flameante gets rave reviews from analyst Michael Mueller of Montgomery Securities. He expects 1993 operating income to climb 103%, to $6.5 million, on a 72% rise in sales, to $100 million. The stock traded recently at $20.75, or 26 times his estimate ! for 1993 per share earnings. In January, Taco Cabana agreed to buy the rival Two Pesos chain for stock, an acquisition that will help increase the number of restaurants to 98 by year-end.