Investors looking for hidden gems should keep an eye on small-cap stocks because they’re frequently overlooked by Wall Street. Many opportunities exist in this part of the market, but it is also a high-risk, high-reward environment due to the lack of reliable analyst price targets.
These trade-offs can cause headaches for even the most seasoned professionals, which is why we started StockStory - to help you separate the good companies from the bad. That said, here is one small-cap stock that could be the next big thing and two that may have trouble.
Two Small-Cap Stocks to Sell:
ICF International (ICFI)
Market Cap: $1.44 billion
Operating at the intersection of policy, technology, and implementation for over five decades, ICF International (NASDAQ: ICFI) provides professional consulting services and technology solutions to government agencies and commercial clients across energy, health, environment, and security sectors.
Why Do We Think ICFI Will Underperform?
- Sales pipeline suggests its future revenue growth won’t meet our standards as its backlog averaged 2.9% declines over the past two years
- Sales are projected to tank by 2.8% over the next 12 months as demand evaporates further
- Earnings growth underperformed the sector average over the last two years as its EPS grew by just 6% annually
At $78.04 per share, ICF International trades at 11.5x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including ICFI in your portfolio.
WEX (WEX)
Market Cap: $5.09 billion
Originally founded in 1983 as Wright Express to serve the fleet card market, WEX (NYSE: WEX) provides payment processing and business solutions across fleet management, employee benefits, and corporate payments sectors.
Why Do We Think Twice About WEX?
- Sales trends were unexciting over the last two years as its 2.4% annual growth was below the typical financials company
- Earnings per share lagged its peers over the last two years as they only grew by 4% annually
WEX is trading at $148.36 per share, or 8.6x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why WEX doesn’t pass our bar.
One Small-Cap Stock to Buy:
Chart (GTLS)
Market Cap: $9.17 billion
Installing the first bulk Co2 tank for McDonalds’s sodas, Chart (NYSE: GTLS) provides equipment to store and transport gasses.
Why Are We Bullish on GTLS?
- Backlog has averaged 25.6% growth over the past two years, showing it has a pipeline of unfulfilled orders that will support revenue in the future
- Performance over the past two years was turbocharged by share buybacks, which enabled its earnings per share to grow faster than its revenue
- Free cash flow margin expanded by 11.5 percentage points over the last five years, providing additional flexibility for investments and share buybacks/dividends
Chart’s stock price of $203.95 implies a valuation ratio of 15.8x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free for active Edge members.
Stocks We Like Even More
Your portfolio can’t afford to be based on yesterday’s story. The risk in a handful of heavily crowded stocks is rising daily.
The names generating the next wave of massive growth are right here in our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today
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