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.

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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 Out-of-Favor Stocks in Hot Water

CHD 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.

Church & Dwight (CHD)

One-Month Return: -3%

Best known for its Arm & Hammer baking soda, Church & Dwight (NYSE: CHD) is a household and personal care products company with a vast portfolio that spans laundry detergent to toothbrushes to hair removal creams.

Why Is CHD Not Exciting?

  1. Core business is underperforming as its organic revenue has disappointed over the past two years, suggesting it might need acquisitions to stimulate growth
  2. Estimated sales growth of 1% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its three-year trend
  3. Expenses have increased as a percentage of revenue over the last year as its operating margin fell by 4.9 percentage points

Church & Dwight’s stock price of $94.97 implies a valuation ratio of 25.2x forward P/E. If you’re considering CHD for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

Reynolds (REYN)

One-Month Return: -3.8%

Best known for its aluminum foil, Reynolds (NASDAQ: REYN) is a household products company whose products focus on food storage, cooking, and waste.

Why Do We Pass on REYN?

  1. Falling unit sales over the past two years show it’s struggled to move its products and had to rely on price increases
  2. Forecasted revenue decline of 1.4% for the upcoming 12 months implies demand will fall off a cliff
  3. Free cash flow margin dropped by 6.1 percentage points over the last year, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up

Reynolds is trading at $21.49 per share, or 13x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including REYN in your portfolio.

Warner Music Group (WMG)

One-Month Return: +2.4%

Launching the careers of legendary artists like Frank Sinatra, Warner Music Group (NASDAQ: WMG) is a music company managing a diverse portfolio of artists, recordings, and music publishing services worldwide.

Why Are We Hesitant About WMG?

  1. 4.4% annual revenue growth over the last two years was slower than its consumer discretionary peers
  2. Estimated sales growth of 3.7% for the next 12 months is soft and implies weaker demand
  3. Low returns on capital reflect management’s struggle to allocate funds effectively

At $26.80 per share, Warner Music Group trades at 9.2x forward EV-to-EBITDA. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why WMG doesn’t pass our bar.

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 5 Growth Stocks for this month. 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

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