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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The latest in products within the biophotonics industry. (4x per year)

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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 Small-Cap Stocks with Open Questions

PUBM Cover Image

Small-cap stocks can be incredibly lucrative investments because their lack of analyst coverage leads to frequent mispricings. However, these businesses (and their stock prices) often stay small because their subscale operations make it harder to expand their competitive moats.

Luckily for you, our mission at StockStory is to help you make money and avoid losses by sorting the winners from the losers. Keeping that in mind, here are three small-cap stocks to swipe left on and some alternatives you should look into instead.

PubMatic (PUBM)

Market Cap: $394.6 million

Powering billions of daily ad impressions across the open internet, PubMatic (NASDAQ: PUBM) operates a technology platform that helps publishers maximize revenue from their digital advertising inventory while giving advertisers more control and transparency.

Why Are We Out on PUBM?

  1. Struggled to drive increased usage of its software, demonstrated by its subpar 110% net revenue retention rate
  2. Projected sales decline of 8.5% for the next 12 months points to a tough demand environment ahead
  3. Expenses have increased as a percentage of revenue over the last year as its operating margin fell by 5 percentage points

PubMatic is trading at $8.55 per share, or 1.5x forward price-to-sales. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including PUBM in your portfolio.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (FDP)

Market Cap: $1.71 billion

Translating to "of the mountain" in Spanish, Fresh Del Monte (NYSE: FDP) is a leader in providing high-quality, sustainably grown fresh fruits and vegetables.

Why Is FDP Risky?

  1. Sales were flat over the last three years, indicating it’s failed to expand its business
  2. Commoditized products, bad unit economics, and high competition are reflected in its low gross margin of 8.3%
  3. Below-average returns on capital indicate management struggled to find compelling investment opportunities

Fresh Del Monte Produce’s stock price of $35.69 implies a valuation ratio of 15.8x forward EV-to-EBITDA. If you’re considering FDP for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

Sinclair (SBGI)

Market Cap: $984.1 million

With over 2,400 hours of local news produced weekly and 640 broadcast channels reaching millions of American homes, Sinclair (NASDAQ: SBGI) operates a network of 185 local television stations across 86 U.S. markets, producing news programming and distributing content from major networks.

Why Should You Sell SBGI?

  1. Sales tumbled by 9.2% annually over the last five years, showing market trends are working against its favor during this cycle
  2. Sales were less profitable over the last five years as its earnings per share fell by 21.9% annually, worse than its revenue declines
  3. Capital intensity has ramped up over the last five years as its free cash flow margin decreased by 8.2 percentage points

At $14.54 per share, Sinclair trades at 1.9x forward EV-to-EBITDA. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than SBGI.

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 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-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

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.

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