Small-cap stocks in the Russell 2000 (^RUT) can be a goldmine for investors looking beyond the usual large-cap names. But with less stability and fewer resources than their bigger counterparts, these companies face steeper challenges in scaling their businesses.

Picking the right small caps isn’t easy, and that’s exactly why StockStory exists - to help you focus on the best opportunities. Keeping that in mind, here are three Russell 2000 stocks that don’t make the cut and some better choices instead.

Flywire (FLYW)

Market Cap: $1.35 billion

Originally created to process international tuition payments for universities, Flywire (NASDAQ: FLYW) is a cross border payments processor and software platform focusing on complex, high-value transactions like education, healthcare and B2B payments.

Why Do We Think Twice About FLYW?

1. Steep infrastructure costs and weaker unit economics for a software company are reflected in its low gross margin of 63.6%
2. Competitive market means the company must spend more on sales and marketing to stand out even if the return on investment is low
3. Historical operating losses show it had an inefficient cost structure while scaling

Flywire’s stock price of $11.18 implies a valuation ratio of 2.3x forward price-to-sales. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than FLYW.

Ruger (RGR)

Market Cap: $612.4 million

Founded in 1949, Ruger (NYSE: RGR) is an American manufacturer of firearms for the commercial sporting market.

Why Should You Dump RGR?

1. Annual revenue declines of 3.9% over the last two years indicate problems with its market positioning
2. Earnings per share have contracted by 26.8% annually over the last four years, a headwind for returns as stock prices often echo long-term EPS performance
3. Eroding returns on capital suggest its historical profit centers are aging

At $36.99 per share, Ruger trades at 11.4x forward EV-to-EBITDA. To fully understand why you should be careful with RGR, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Lumen (LUMN)

Market Cap: $4.50 billion

With approximately 350,000 route miles of fiber optic cable spanning North America and the Asia Pacific, Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) operates a vast fiber optic network that provides communications, cloud connectivity, security, and IT solutions to businesses and consumers.

Why Should You Sell LUMN?

1. Products and services are facing significant end-market challenges during this cycle as sales have declined by 9.4% annually over the last five years
2. 7.4 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. Shrinking returns on capital from an already weak position reveal that neither previous nor ongoing investments are yielding the desired results

Lumen is trading at $4.40 per share, or 1.3x forward EV-to-EBITDA. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why LUMN doesn’t pass our bar.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

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