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.

Laser Focus World Membership

Never miss any articles, videos, podcasts, or webinars by signing up for membership access to Laser Focus World online. You can manage your preferences all in one place—and provide our editorial team with your valued feedback.

Magazine Subscription

Can you subscribe to receive our print issue for free? Yes, you sure can!

Newsletter Subscription

Laser Focus World newsletter subscription is free to qualified professionals:

The Daily Beam

Showcases the newest content from Laser Focus World, including photonics- and optics-based applications, components, research, and trends. (Daily)

Product Watch

The latest in products within the photonics industry. (9x per year)

Bio & Life Sciences Product Watch

The latest in products within the biophotonics industry. (4x per year)

Laser Processing Product Watch

The latest in products within the laser processing industry. (3x per year)

Get Published!

If you’d like to write an article for us, reach out with a short pitch to Sally Cole Johnson: [email protected]. We love to hear from you.

Photonics Hot List

Laser Focus World produces a video newscast that gives a peek into what’s happening in the world of photonics.

Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast

Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast dives deep into the fascinating world of photonics. Our weekly episodes feature interviews and discussions with industry and research experts, providing valuable perspectives on the issues, technologies, and trends shaping the photonics community.

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 Unpopular Stocks that Should Get More Attention and 1 to Avoid

UBER Cover Image

Wall Street’s bearish price targets for the stocks in this article signal serious concerns. Such forecasts are uncommon in an industry where maintaining cordial corporate relationships often trumps delivering the hard truth.

Whatever the consensus opinion may be, our team at StockStory cuts through the noise by conducting independent analysis to determine a company’s long-term prospects. That said, here are two stocks poised to prove Wall Street wrong and one facing legitimate challenges.

One Stock to Sell:

AECOM (ACM)

Consensus Price Target: $120.86 (8.4% implied return)

Founded in 1990 when a group of engineers from five companies decided to merge, AECOM (NYSE: ACM) provides various infrastructure consulting services.

Why Does ACM Give Us Pause?

  1. Backlog has dropped by 1.6% on average over the past two years, suggesting it’s losing orders as competition picks up
  2. Gross margin of 6.4% reflects its high production costs
  3. Poor expense management has led to an operating margin of 4.3% that is below the industry average

At $111.54 per share, AECOM trades at 21.6x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including ACM in your portfolio.

Two Stocks to Watch:

Uber (UBER)

Consensus Price Target: $96.54 (6.2% implied return)

Notoriously funded with $7.7 billion from the Softbank Vision Fund, Uber (NYSE: UBER) operates a platform of on-demand services such as ride-hailing, food delivery, and freight.

Why Will UBER Outperform?

  1. Monthly Active Platform Consumers have increased by an average of 13.9% annually, giving it the potential for margin-accretive growth if it can develop valuable complementary products and features
  2. Incremental sales significantly boosted profitability as its annual earnings per share growth of 183% over the last three years outstripped its revenue performance
  3. Free cash flow margin increased by 17.7 percentage points over the last few years, giving the company more capital to invest or return to shareholders

Uber is trading at $90.92 per share, or 21.5x forward EV/EBITDA. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

VeriSign (VRSN)

Consensus Price Target: $253.84 (-9% implied return)

While the company is not a domain registrar and does not directly sell domain names to end users, Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN) operates and maintains the infrastructure to support domain names such as .com and .net.

Why Is VRSN on Our Radar?

  1. Billings growth has averaged 15.6% over the last year, indicating a healthy pipeline of new contracts that should drive future revenue increases
  2. Superior software functionality and low servicing costs are reflected in its best-in-class gross margin of 87.8%
  3. Robust free cash flow margin of 57.5% gives it many options for capital deployment

VeriSign’s stock price of $278.88 implies a valuation ratio of 16.4x forward price-to-sales. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our in-depth research report, it’s free.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

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 6 Stocks for this week. 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 Tecnoglass (+1,754% 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

Stock Quote API & Stock News API supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms Of Service.