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.

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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

1 Industrials Stock on Our Watchlist and 2 We Ignore

DY Cover Image

Whether you see them or not, industrials businesses play a crucial part in our daily activities. Their momentum is also rising as lower interest rates have incentivized higher capital spending. As a result, the industry has posted a 16.7% gain over the past six months, beating the S&P 500 by 8.1 percentage points.

Nevertheless, investors must be mindful as the cycle can unexpectedly turn. When this inevitably happens, only the elite companies will survive and ultimately thrive. Taking that into account, here is one industrials stock poised to generate sustainable market-beating returns and two we’re steering clear of.

Two Industrials Stocks to Sell:

Avis Budget Group (CAR)

Market Cap: $5.47 billion

The parent company of brands such as Zipcar and Budget Truck Rental, Avis (NASDAQ: CAR) is a provider of car rental and mobility solutions.

Why Do We Pass on CAR?

  1. Demand for its offerings was relatively low as its number of available rental days - car rental has underwhelmed
  2. Shrinking returns on capital suggest that increasing competition is eating into the company’s profitability
  3. Unfavorable liquidity position could lead to additional equity financing that dilutes shareholders

At $154.56 per share, Avis Budget Group trades at 11.2x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including CAR in your portfolio.

Installed Building Products (IBP)

Market Cap: $7.42 billion

Founded in 1977, Installed Building Products (NYSE: IBP) is a company specializing in the installation of insulation, waterproofing, and other complementary building products for residential and commercial construction.

Why Are We Hesitant About IBP?

  1. Sales trends were unexciting over the last two years as its 3.5% annual growth was below the typical industrials company
  2. Estimated sales decline of 3.1% for the next 12 months implies a challenging demand environment
  3. Earnings per share lagged its peers over the last two years as they only grew by 5.3% annually

Installed Building Products’s stock price of $273.08 implies a valuation ratio of 27.3x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with IBP, check out our full research report (it’s free).

One Industrials Stock to Watch:

Dycom (DY)

Market Cap: $7.45 billion

Working alongside some of the most popular mobile carriers in the world, Dycom (NYSE: DY) builds and maintains telecommunications infrastructure.

Why Could DY Be a Winner?

  1. Annual revenue growth of 11.1% over the last two years was superb and indicates its market share increased during this cycle
  2. Operating margin expanded by 5.1 percentage points over the last five years as it scaled and became more efficient
  3. Share repurchases over the last two years enabled its annual earnings per share growth of 18% to outpace its revenue gains

Dycom is trading at $257.42 per share, or 25.4x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

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