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1 Profitable Stock to Own for Decades and 2 Facing Challenges

By: StockStory

August 20, 2025 at 00:37 AM EDT

TDG Cover Image

Not all profitable companies are built to last - some rely on outdated models or unsustainable advantages. Just because a business is in the green today doesn’t mean it will thrive tomorrow.

Not all profitable companies are created equal, and that’s why we built StockStory - to help you find the ones that truly shine bright. That said, here is one profitable company that generates reliable profits without sacrificing growth and two that may struggle to keep up.

Two Industrials Stocks to Sell:

Hillenbrand (HI)

Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: 10.2%

Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE: HI) is an industrial company that designs, manufactures, and sells highly engineered processing equipment and solutions for various industries.

Why Do We Pass on HI?

Sales trends were unexciting over the last two years as its 3.5% annual growth was below the typical industrials company
Free cash flow margin shrank by 18.9 percentage points over the last five years, suggesting the company is consuming more capital to stay competitive
Eroding returns on capital suggest its historical profit centers are aging

Hillenbrand’s stock price of $25.56 implies a valuation ratio of 10.7x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including HI in your portfolio.

Werner (WERN)

Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: 3.1%

Conducting business in over a 100 countries, Werner (NASDAQ: WERN) offers full-truckload, less-than-truckload, and intermodal delivery services.

Why Should You Dump WERN?

Products and services are facing significant end-market challenges during this cycle as sales have declined by 5.7% annually over the last two years
Incremental sales over the last five years were much less profitable as its earnings per share fell by 37.2% annually while its revenue grew
Waning returns on capital from an already weak starting point displays the inefficacy of management’s past and current investment decisions

Werner is trading at $28.74 per share, or 36.4x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with WERN, check out our full research report (it’s free).

One Industrials Stock to Buy:

TransDigm (TDG)

Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: 46%

Supplying parts for nearly all aircraft currently in service, TransDigm (NYSE: TDG) develops and manufactures components and systems for military and commercial aviation.

Why Do We Love TDG?

Existing business lines can expand without risky acquisitions as its organic revenue growth averaged 13% over the past two years
Incremental sales significantly boosted profitability as its annual earnings per share growth of 24.9% over the last two years outstripped its revenue performance
Strong free cash flow margin of 19.5% enables it to reinvest or return capital consistently, and its growing cash flow gives it even more resources to deploy

At $1,400 per share, TransDigm trades at 33.2x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free.

Stocks We Like Even More

Donald Trump’s April 2025 "Liberation Day" tariffs sent markets into a tailspin, but stocks have since rebounded strongly, proving that knee-jerk reactions often create the best buying opportunities.

The smart money is already positioning for the next leg up. Don’t miss out on the recovery - check out 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-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

StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.

Symbol	Price	Change (%)
AMZN	227.63	+3.42 (1.53%)
AAPL	265.89	+3.07 (1.17%)
AMD	255.09	+2.17 (0.86%)
BAC	52.84	+0.27 (0.50%)
GOOG	267.65	+7.14 (2.74%)
META	749.56	+11.20 (1.52%)
MSFT	531.43	+7.82 (1.49%)
NVDA	191.29	+5.03 (2.70%)
ORCL	280.93	-2.40 (-0.85%)
TSLA	458.77	+25.05 (5.78%)

Symbol

Price

Change (%)

AMZN

227.63

+3.42 (1.53%)

AAPL

265.89

+3.07 (1.17%)

AMD

255.09

+2.17 (0.86%)

BAC

52.84

+0.27 (0.50%)

GOOG

267.65

+7.14 (2.74%)

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