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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

2 Reasons to Sell BDC and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

BDC Cover Image

What a brutal six months it’s been for Belden. The stock has dropped 20.9% and now trades at $93.30, rattling many shareholders. This might have investors contemplating their next move.

Is now the time to buy Belden, or should you be careful about including it in your portfolio? Get the full stock story straight from our expert analysts, it’s free.

Despite the more favorable entry price, we're swiping left on Belden for now. Here are two reasons why BDC doesn't excite us and a stock we'd rather own.

Why Is Belden Not Exciting?

With its enamel-coated copper wire used in WWI for the Allied forces, Belden (NYSE: BDC) designs, manufactures, and sells electronic components to various industries.

1. Long-Term Revenue Growth Disappoints

A company’s long-term sales performance is one signal of its overall quality. Even a bad business can shine for one or two quarters, but a top-tier one grows for years. Regrettably, Belden’s sales grew at a sluggish 2.9% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. This was below our standards. Belden Quarterly Revenue

2. EPS Barely Growing

Analyzing the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) shows whether a company's incremental sales were profitable – for example, revenue could be inflated through excessive spending on advertising and promotions.

Belden’s EPS grew at an unimpressive 7.2% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. On the bright side, this performance was better than its 2.9% annualized revenue growth and tells us the company became more profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded.

Belden Trailing 12-Month EPS (Non-GAAP)

Final Judgment

Belden isn’t a terrible business, but it doesn’t pass our quality test. After the recent drawdown, the stock trades at 12.3× forward price-to-earnings (or $93.30 per share). This valuation multiple is fair, but we don’t have much faith in the company. We're pretty confident there are superior stocks to buy right now. We’d recommend looking at a dominant Aerospace business that has perfected its M&A strategy.

Stocks We Would Buy Instead of Belden

Market indices reached historic highs following Donald Trump’s presidential victory in November 2024, but the outlook for 2025 is clouded by new trade policies that could impact business confidence and growth.

While this has caused many investors to adopt a "fearful" wait-and-see approach, we’re leaning into our best ideas that can grow regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate. Take advantage of Mr. Market by checking out our Top 6 Stocks for this week. 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 Comfort Systems (+751% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.

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