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.

Laser Focus World is part of Endeavor Business Media, a division of EndeavorB2B.

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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 Cash-Producing Stocks with Open Questions

BL Cover Image

Generating cash is essential for any business, but not all cash-rich companies are great investments. Some produce plenty of cash but fail to allocate it effectively, leading to missed opportunities.

Luckily for you, we built StockStory to help you separate the good from the bad. That said, here are three cash-producing companies that don’t make the cut and some better opportunities instead.

BlackLine (BL)

Trailing 12-Month Free Cash Flow Margin: 23.1%

Started in 2001 by software engineer Therese Tucker, one of the very few women founders who took their companies public, BlackLine (NASDAQ: BL) provides software for organizations to automate accounting and finance tasks.

Why Does BL Fall Short?

  1. Customers had second thoughts about committing to its platform over the last year as its average billings growth of 7.4% underwhelmed
  2. Estimated sales growth of 7.5% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its three-year trend
  3. Costs have risen faster than its revenue over the last year, causing its operating margin to decline by 2.1 percentage points

At $54.78 per share, BlackLine trades at 5x forward price-to-sales. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why BL doesn’t pass our bar.

Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC)

Trailing 12-Month Free Cash Flow Margin: 24%

A global leader in its category, Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ: LSCC) is a semiconductor designer specializing in customer-programmable chips that enhance CPU performance for intensive tasks such as machine learning.

Why Is LSCC Not Exciting?

  1. Customers postponed purchases of its products and services this cycle as its revenue declined by 16.1% annually over the last two years
  2. Expenses have increased as a percentage of revenue over the last five years as its operating margin fell by 9.7 percentage points
  3. Earnings growth underperformed the sector average over the last five years as its EPS grew by just 5.6% annually

Lattice Semiconductor is trading at $50.30 per share, or 42.8x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including LSCC in your portfolio.

GEO Group (GEO)

Trailing 12-Month Free Cash Flow Margin: 5.5%

With a global footprint spanning three continents and approximately 81,000 beds across 100 facilities, GEO Group (NYSE: GEO) operates secure facilities, processing centers, and reentry services for government agencies in the United States, Australia, and South Africa.

Why Do We Steer Clear of GEO?

  1. Sales were flat over the last five years, indicating it’s failed to expand this cycle
  2. Earnings per share fell by 31.5% annually over the last five years while its revenue was flat, showing each sale was less profitable
  3. Free cash flow margin shrank by 8.9 percentage points over the last five years, suggesting the company is consuming more capital to stay competitive

GEO Group’s stock price of $23.27 implies a valuation ratio of 13.1x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than GEO.

Stocks We Like More

The market surged in 2024 and reached record highs after Donald Trump’s presidential victory in November, but questions about new economic policies are adding much uncertainty for 2025.

While the crowd speculates what might happen next, we’re homing in on the companies that can succeed regardless of the political or macroeconomic environment. Put yourself in the driver’s seat and build a durable portfolio by checking out our 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 Exlservice (+354% 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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