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 Walking a Fine Line

FSTR Cover Image

While strong cash flow is a key indicator of stability, it doesn’t always translate to superior returns. Some cash-heavy businesses struggle with inefficient spending, slowing demand, or weak competitive positioning.

Cash flow is valuable, but it’s not everything - StockStory helps you identify the companies that truly put it to work. Keeping that in mind, here are three cash-producing companies that don’t make the cut and some better opportunities instead.

L.B. Foster (FSTR)

Trailing 12-Month Free Cash Flow Margin: 4.5%

Founded with a $2,500 loan, L.B. Foster (NASDAQ: FSTR) is a provider of products and services for the transportation and energy infrastructure sectors, including rail products, construction materials, and coating solutions.

Why Do We Avoid FSTR?

  1. Annual sales declines of 1.6% for the past five years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market during this cycle
  2. Low free cash flow margin of 0.3% for the last five years gives it little breathing room, constraining its ability to self-fund growth or return capital to shareholders
  3. Underwhelming 4.5% return on capital reflects management’s difficulties in finding profitable growth opportunities

L.B. Foster is trading at $22.33 per share, or 10.8x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with FSTR, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Mercury Systems (MRCY)

Trailing 12-Month Free Cash Flow Margin: 13.1%

Founded in 1981, Mercury Systems (NASDAQ: MRCY) specializes in providing processing subsystems and components for primarily defense applications.

Why Do We Think MRCY Will Underperform?

  1. Absence of organic revenue growth over the past two years suggests it may have to lean into acquisitions to drive its expansion
  2. Issuance of new shares over the last five years caused its earnings per share to fall by 22.5% annually while its revenue grew
  3. Diminishing returns on capital from an already low starting point show that neither management’s prior nor current bets are going as planned

Mercury Systems’s stock price of $65.91 implies a valuation ratio of 71.8x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why MRCY doesn’t pass our bar.

U.S. Physical Therapy (USPH)

Trailing 12-Month Free Cash Flow Margin: 8.3%

With a nationwide footprint spanning 671 clinics across 42 states, U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE: USPH) operates a network of outpatient physical therapy clinics and provides industrial injury prevention services to employers across the United States.

Why Are We Cautious About USPH?

  1. Subscale operations are evident in its revenue base of $729.6 million, meaning it has fewer distribution channels than its larger rivals
  2. 9 percentage point decline in its free cash flow margin over the last five years reflects the company’s increased investments to defend its market position
  3. Waning returns on capital imply its previous profit engines are losing steam

At $84.47 per share, U.S. Physical Therapy trades at 32.6x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than USPH.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

When Trump unveiled his aggressive tariff plan in April 2025, markets tanked as investors feared a full-blown trade war. But those who panicked and sold missed the subsequent rebound that’s already erased most losses.

Don’t let fear keep you from great opportunities and take a look at 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 Comfort Systems (+782% 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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