A surplus of cash can mean financial stability, but it can also indicate a reluctance (or inability) to invest in growth. Some of these companies also face challenges like stagnating revenue, declining market share, or limited scalability.

Just because a business has cash doesn’t mean it’s a good investment. Luckily, StockStory is here to help you separate the winners from the losers. Keeping that in mind, here are two companies with net cash positions that can leverage their balance sheets to grow and one that may struggle.

One Stock to Sell:

UniFirst (UNF)

Net Cash Position: $137.2 million (4.6% of Market Cap)

With a fleet of trucks making weekly deliveries to over 300,000 customer locations, UniFirst (NYSE: UNF) provides, rents, cleans, and maintains workplace uniforms and protective clothing for businesses across various industries.

Why Are We Hesitant About UNF?

1. Estimated sales growth of 1% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its two-year trend
2. Incremental sales over the last five years were less profitable as its earnings per share were flat while its revenue grew
3. Below-average returns on capital indicate management struggled to find compelling investment opportunities, and its shrinking returns suggest its past profit sources are losing steam

At $161.68 per share, UniFirst trades at 19x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including UNF in your portfolio.

Two Stocks to Watch:

Warby Parker (WRBY)

Net Cash Position: $58.01 million (2.1% of Market Cap)

Founded in 2010, Warby Parker (NYSE: WRBY) designs, manufactures, and sells eyewear, including prescription glasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses, through its e-commerce platform and physical retail locations.

Why Could WRBY Be a Winner?

1. Bold push to open new stores demonstrates an ambitious strategy to establish itself in underpenetrated territories
2. Collection of products is difficult to replicate at scale and leads to a best-in-class gross margin of 54.9%
3. Earnings per share have massively outperformed its peers over the last three years, increasing by 68.5% annually

Warby Parker’s stock price of $22.92 implies a valuation ratio of 51.8x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free for active Edge members.

Pure Storage (PSTG)

Net Cash Position: $1.31 billion (4.3% of Market Cap)

Founded in 2009 as a pioneer in enterprise all-flash storage technology, Pure Storage (NYSE: PSTG) provides all-flash data storage hardware and software that helps organizations manage their data more efficiently across on-premises and cloud environments.

Why Is PSTG a Top Pick?

1. Offerings are pivotal for their customers' operations as its ARR has averaged 22.4% growth over the past two years
2. Incremental sales significantly boosted profitability as its annual earnings per share growth of 33.1% over the last five years outstripped its revenue performance
3. Impressive free cash flow profitability enables the company to fund new investments or reward investors with share buybacks/dividends, and its recently improved profitability means it has even more resources to invest or distribute

Pure Storage is trading at $92.91 per share, or 42.3x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free for active Edge members .

Stocks We Like Even More

When Trump unveiled his aggressive tariff plan in April 2025, markets tanked as investors feared a full-blown trade war. But those who panicked and sold missed the subsequent rebound that’s already erased most losses.

Don’t let fear keep you from great opportunities and take a look at Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 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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