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 Hated Stocks with Mounting Challenges

MMI Cover Image

The past year hasn't been kind to the stocks featured in this article. Each has tumbled to their lowest points in 12 months, leaving investors to decide whether they're witnessing fire sales or falling knives.

Price charts only tell part of the story. Our team at StockStory evaluates each company's underlying fundamentals to separate temporary setbacks from structural declines. That said, here are three stocks where the outlook is warranted and some alternatives with better fundamentals.

Marcus & Millichap (MMI)

One-Month Return: -13.3%

Founded in 1971, Marcus & Millichap (NYSE: MMI) specializes in commercial real estate investment sales, financing, research, and advisory services.

Why Is MMI Risky?

  1. Products and services have few die-hard fans as sales have declined by 2.9% annually over the last five years
  2. Cash-burning history makes us doubt the long-term viability of its business model
  3. Diminishing returns on capital suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up

At $30.30 per share, Marcus & Millichap trades at 380.9x forward price-to-earnings. To fully understand why you should be careful with MMI, check out our full research report (it’s free).

GMS (GMS)

One-Month Return: +2%

Founded in 1971, GMS (NYSE: GMS) distributes specialty building materials including wallboard, ceilings, and insulation products, to the construction industry.

Why Are We Hesitant About GMS?

  1. Absence of organic revenue growth over the past two years suggests it may have to lean into acquisitions to drive its expansion
  2. Estimated sales decline of 3.7% for the next 12 months implies a challenging demand environment
  3. Earnings per share have contracted by 13.3% annually over the last two years, a headwind for returns as stock prices often echo long-term EPS performance

GMS’s stock price of $72.06 implies a valuation ratio of 9.2x forward price-to-earnings. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including GMS in your portfolio.

Alamo (ALG)

One-Month Return: -9%

Expanding its markets through acquisitions since its founding, Alamo (NSYE:ALG) designs, manufactures, and services vegetation management and infrastructure maintenance equipment for governmental, industrial, and agricultural use.

Why Does ALG Give Us Pause?

  1. Annual revenue growth of 3.7% over the last two years was below our standards for the industrials sector
  2. Demand is forecasted to shrink as its estimated sales for the next 12 months are flat
  3. Capital intensity has ramped up over the last five years as its free cash flow margin decreased by 4.9 percentage points

Alamo is trading at $169.04 per share, or 15.6x forward price-to-earnings. If you’re considering ALG for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

Stocks We Like 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 9 Market-Beating Stocks. 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 United Rentals (+322% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.

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