What happened 

Shares of 3D printing stock Stratasys (SSYS 1.84%) jumped as much as 18.1% on Thursday after the company reported second-quarter 2021 financial results. As of 1:10 p.m. EDT, the stock was up 13.6%. 

So what

Revenue increased 25% versus a year ago to $147 million and gross margin expanded from 37.2% to 43%. Net loss improved from $28 million a year ago to $20.2 million, or $0.31 per share. On an adjusted basis, which pulls out one-time items, the company lost $1.6 million, or $0.02 per share.

A 3D shoe being printed.

Image source: Getty Images.

Analysts were expecting revenue of just $136.1 million and an adjusted loss of $0.07 per share, so the earnings beat is what's pushing shares higher. It doesn't hurt that management is expecting third-quarter revenue to also be up 17% to 18% versus a year ago. 

Now what

Shares of Stratasys may be bouncing back today, but operations are really just recovering from what they lost during the pandemic. The company still hasn't returned to the revenue run rate of over $600 million it had in early 2020 and may not by the end of the year. Investors may be buying shares today, but long-term, Stratasys has not proven the ability to grow profitably, and that's what will keep me out of the stock.