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 Consumer Stocks That Concern Us

K Cover Image

Regarded as defensive investments, consumer staples stocks are generally safe bets in choppy markets. But they’re also double-edged swords as they often lag in booming conditions, and this pattern has persisted recently. Over the past six months, the industry has recorded a loss of 3.4%, a far cry from the S&P 500’s 17.4% ascent.

Some companies can buck this trend, but the odds aren’t great for the ones we’re analyzing today. On that note, here are three consumer stocks we’re steering clear of.

Kellanova (K)

Market Cap: $27.48 billion

With Corn Flakes as its first and most iconic product, Kellanova (NYSE: K) is a packaged foods company that is dominant in the cereal and snack categories.

Why Are We Cautious About K?

  1. Shrinking unit sales over the past two years imply it may need to invest in product improvements to get back on track
  2. Issuance of new shares over the last three years caused its earnings per share to fall by 4.4% annually, even worse than its revenue declines
  3. Free cash flow margin dropped by 3.5 percentage points over the last year, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up

At $78.72 per share, Kellanova trades at 20.9x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including K in your portfolio.

SunOpta (STKL)

Market Cap: $735.1 million

Committed to clean-label foods, SunOpta (NASDAQ: STKL) is a sustainability-focused food and beverage company specializing in the sourcing, processing, and packaging of organic products.

Why Does STKL Fall Short?

  1. Annual revenue declines of 4.9% over the last three years indicate problems with its market positioning
  2. Subscale operations are evident in its revenue base of $763.2 million, meaning it has fewer distribution channels than its larger rivals
  3. Gross margin of 15.6% is an output of its commoditized products

SunOpta’s stock price of $6.24 implies a valuation ratio of 25.7x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than STKL.

TreeHouse Foods (THS)

Market Cap: $886.3 million

Whether it be packaged crackers, broths, or beverages, Treehouse Foods (NYSE: THS) produces a wide range of private-label foods for grocery and food service customers.

Why Should You Dump THS?

  1. Falling unit sales over the past two years suggest it might have to lower prices to stimulate growth
  2. Commoditized products, bad unit economics, and high competition are reflected in its low gross margin of 16.5%
  3. Underwhelming 1.5% return on capital reflects management’s difficulties in finding profitable growth opportunities

TreeHouse Foods is trading at $17.55 per share, or 8.8x forward P/E. If you’re considering THS for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

Stocks We Like More

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 6 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 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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