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

3 Software Stocks to Keep an Eye On

SNOW Cover Image

From commerce to culture, software is digitizing every aspect of our lives. This secular theme makes SaaS companies attractive investment candidates but also comes with higher valuations that cause volatility. Unfortunately, the rich prices have haunted them over the past six months as the industry has shed 2.3%. This performance was discouraging since the S&P 500 returned 5%.

However, some businesses can support their premium valuations with superior earnings growth, and our mission at StockStory is to help you find them. Keeping that in mind, here are three resilient software stocks at the top of our wish list.

Snowflake (SNOW)

Market Cap: $73.9 billion

Founded in 2013 by three French engineers who spent decades working for Oracle, Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) provides a data warehouse-as-a-service in the cloud that allows companies to store large amounts of data and analyze it in real time.

Why Do We Like SNOW?

  1. Billings have averaged 26.5% growth over the last year, showing it’s securing new contracts that could potentially increase in value over time
  2. High switching costs and customer loyalty are evident in its net revenue retention rate of 126%
  3. Expected revenue growth of 24.4% for the next year suggests its market share will rise

Snowflake is trading at $221.49 per share, or 15.4x forward price-to-sales. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

Semrush (SEMR)

Market Cap: $1.36 billion

Started by Oleg Shchegolev while still in university, Semrush (NYSE: SEMR) is a software-as-a-service platform that helps companies optimize their search engine and content marketing efforts.

Why Are We Fans of SEMR?

  1. Winning new contracts that can potentially increase in value as its billings growth has averaged 24.8% over the last year
  2. Projected revenue growth of 18.7% for the next 12 months suggests its momentum from the last three years will persist
  3. Prominent and differentiated software results in a premier gross margin of 82.1%

Semrush’s stock price of $9.15 implies a valuation ratio of 2.9x forward price-to-sales. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our in-depth research report, it’s free.

Freshworks (FRSH)

Market Cap: $4.48 billion

Founded in Chennai, India in 2010 with the idea of creating a “fresh” helpdesk product, Freshworks (NASDAQ: FRSH) offers a broad range of software targeted at small and medium-sized businesses.

Why Are We Positive On FRSH?

  1. Ability to secure long-term commitments with customers is evident in its 19.7% ARR growth over the last year
  2. Superior software functionality and low servicing costs result in a stellar gross margin of 84.4%
  3. Operating margin expanded by 9.2 percentage points over the last year as it scaled and became more efficient

At $15.40 per share, Freshworks trades at 5.4x forward price-to-sales. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

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 5 Strong Momentum 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 Kadant (+351% 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.