High-beta lovers rejoice. 3D Systems (DDD +27.30%) and its bouncing ball of a stock chart reports earnings tomorrow. Stratasys (SSYS 2.00%), its chief competitor, reports next Friday, Nov. 2.
Both stocks have more than doubled year to date as the business of 3-D printing -- i.e., sketching a product on a computer and then having the design "printed" whole -- has captured our collective imagination. Consumers increasingly see a future in which it's possible to print anything we need right at home.
And why not? January's unveiling of the $1,299 Cube printer and a sort of accompanying "app store" of 3-D designs at Cubify.com felt more like an homage to the iPhone than a new manufacturing system. Fast-forward 10 months and investors still see 3D Systems' potential, despite a slight Q2 revenue miss.
Stratasys merits four of five stars from the more than 740 Fools who've rated the stock in our Motley Fool CAPS database. 3D Systems rates a full five stars from the more than 1,200 investors who've weighed in at CAPS, a one-star improvement over August's rating.
Will 3D Systems reward investors' faith? We'll know more when the company reports earnings Thursday after the bell. In the meantime, here's a closer look at Wall Street's estimates versus last year's third quarter:
|
Metric |
Q3 2012 Estimate |
Q3 2011 |
Growth (YOY) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Earnings per share |
$0.27 |
$0.14 |
92.9% |
|
Revenue |
$87.29 million |
$57.54 million |
51.7% |
Source: Yahoo! Finance.
A win is by no means guaranteed. History shows that 3D Systems beat estimates by more than 92% in the March quarter, but only after falling more than 12% short in last year's Q3. Hence its 2.38 beta rating -- 3D Systems whips shareholders to and fro like a carnival ride. Investing in disruptive technology can be like that.
