A company with profits isn’t always a great investment. Some struggle to maintain growth, face looming threats, or fail to reinvest wisely, limiting their future potential.
Profits are valuable, but they’re not everything. At StockStory, we help you identify the companies that have real staying power. That said, here is one profitable company that generates reliable profits without sacrificing growth and two that may face some trouble.
Two Stocks to Sell:
Illinois Tool Works (ITW)
Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: 25.9%
Founded by Byron Smith, an investor who held over 100 patents, Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) manufactures engineered components and specialized equipment for numerous industries.
Why Is ITW Not Exciting?
- Core business is underperforming as its organic revenue has disappointed over the past two years, suggesting it might need acquisitions to stimulate growth
- Demand will likely be soft over the next 12 months as Wall Street’s estimates imply tepid growth of 1.3%
- Capital intensity has ramped up over the last five years as its free cash flow margin decreased by 1.8 percentage points
Illinois Tool Works is trading at $242.30 per share, or 23.2x forward P/E. If you’re considering ITW for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.
EPAM (EPAM)
Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: 11%
Founded in 1993 during the early days of offshore software development, EPAM Systems (NYSE: EPAM) provides digital engineering, cloud, and AI transformation services to help global enterprises and startups modernize their technology systems and create digital products.
Why Does EPAM Worry Us?
- Constant currency growth was below our standards over the past two years, suggesting it might need to invest in product improvements to get back on track
- Free cash flow margin dropped by 7.3 percentage points over the last five years, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up
- Waning returns on capital imply its previous profit engines are losing steam
At $170.57 per share, EPAM trades at 15.7x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than EPAM.
One Stock to Watch:
SPX Technologies (SPXC)
Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: 15.5%
SPX Technologies (NYSE: SPXC) is an industrial conglomerate catering to the energy, manufacturing, automotive, and aerospace sectors.
Why Could SPXC Be a Winner?
- Impressive 13.5% annual revenue growth over the last two years indicates it’s winning market share this cycle
- Operating profits increased over the last five years as the company gained some leverage on its fixed costs and became more efficient
- Earnings per share have massively outperformed its peers over the last two years, increasing by 25.5% annually
SPX Technologies’s stock price of $155.08 implies a valuation ratio of 24.4x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Stocks We Like Even More
Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs.
While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. 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-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.
