Laser Focus World is an industry bedrock—first published in 1965 and still going strong. We publish original articles about cutting-edge advances in lasers, optics, photonics, sensors, and quantum technologies, as well as test and measurement, and the shift currently underway to usher in the photonic integrated circuits, optical interconnects, and copackaged electronics and photonics to deliver the speed and efficiency essential for data centers of the future.

Our 80,000 qualified print subscribers—and 130,000 12-month engaged online audience—trust us to dive in and provide original journalism you won’t find elsewhere covering key emerging areas such as laser-driven inertial confinement fusion, lasers in space, integrated photonics, chipscale lasers, LiDAR, metasurfaces, high-energy laser weaponry, photonic crystals, and quantum computing/sensors/communications. We cover the innovations driving these markets.

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Editorial Advisory Board

  • Professor Andrea M. Armani, University of Southern California
  • Ruti Ben-Shlomi, Ph.D., LightSolver
  • James Butler, Ph.D., Hamamatsu
  • Natalie Fardian-Melamed, Ph.D., Columbia University
  • Justin Sigley, Ph.D., AmeriCOM
  • Professor Birgit Stiller, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, and Leibniz University of Hannover
  • Professor Stephen Sweeney, University of Glasgow
  • Mohan Wang, Ph.D., University of Oxford
  • Professor Xuchen Wang, Harbin Engineering University
  • Professor Stefan Witte, Delft University of Technology

3 Services Stocks Skating on Thin Ice

LBRDK Cover Image

Business services providers thrive by solving complex operational challenges for their clients, allowing them to focus on their secret sauce. Still, investors are uneasy as firms face challenges from AI-driven disruptors and tightening corporate budgets. These doubts have caused the industry to lag recently as services stocks have collectively shed 3.3% over the past six months. This drop was almost identical to the S&P 500’s decline.

While some companies have durable competitive advantages that enable them to grow in any landscape, the odds aren’t great for the ones we’re analyzing today. With that said, here are three services stocks we’re passing on.

Liberty Broadband (LBRDK)

Market Cap: $12.19 billion

Operating across the United States, Liberty Broadband (NASDAQ: LBRDK) is a provider of high-speed internet, cable television, and telecommunications services across various markets.

Why Does LBRDK Fall Short?

  1. Annual revenue growth of 2.1% over the last two years was below our standards for the business services sector
  2. Cash burn makes us question whether it can achieve sustainable long-term growth
  3. Short cash runway increases the probability of a capital raise that dilutes existing shareholders

Liberty Broadband is trading at $85.05 per share, or 16.3x forward price-to-earnings. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than LBRDK.

Ingram Micro (INGM)

Market Cap: $4.17 billion

Operating as the crucial link in the global technology supply chain with a presence in 57 countries, Ingram Micro (NYSE: INGM) is a global technology distributor that connects manufacturers with resellers, providing hardware, software, cloud services, and logistics expertise.

Why Should You Dump INGM?

  1. Annual sales declines of 2.5% for the past two years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market during this cycle
  2. Earnings per share have contracted by 7.2% annually over the last two years, a headwind for returns as stock prices often echo long-term EPS performance
  3. Low free cash flow margin of 0.6% for the last five years gives it little breathing room, constraining its ability to self-fund growth or return capital to shareholders

At $17.74 per share, Ingram Micro trades at 5.7x forward price-to-earnings. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why INGM doesn’t pass our bar.

Vimeo (VMEO)

Market Cap: $867.1 million

Originally launched in 2004 as a platform for filmmakers seeking a high-quality alternative to YouTube, Vimeo (NASDAQ: VMEO) provides cloud-based video creation, editing, hosting, and distribution software that helps businesses and creators make, manage, and share professional-quality videos.

Why Does VMEO Worry Us?

  1. Products and services are facing significant end-market challenges during this cycle as sales have declined by 1.9% annually over the last two years
  2. Smaller revenue base of $417 million means it hasn’t achieved the economies of scale that some industry juggernauts enjoy
  3. Anticipated sales growth of 2.1% for the next year implies demand will be shaky

Vimeo’s stock price of $5.26 implies a valuation ratio of 17.6x forward EV-to-EBITDA. To fully understand why you should be careful with VMEO, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Stocks We Like More

The Trump trade may have passed, but rates are still dropping and inflation is still cooling. Opportunities are ripe for those ready to act - and we’re here to help you pick them.

Get started by checking out 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 175% over the last five years.

Stocks that made our list in 2019 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+2,183% between December 2019 and December 2024) as well as under-the-radar businesses like Axon (+711% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.

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