Top 3D Printing Stocks for 2023

Top performing 3D printing stocks include Ansys Inc. (ANSS), 3D Systems Corp. (DDD), and Stratasys Ltd. (SSYS).

3D printing stocks suffered through last year's string of interest rate hikes, with Ansys Inc. being the only company we reviewed to see its stock price rise in the past 12 months. Though the group has rebounded slightly this year, averaging a 7% year-to-date return, it is still slightly underperforming the Russell 1000 Index's 9% return.

Here are the top three 3D printing stocks in each category: best value, fastest growth, and best performance. All data in the tables below are as of May 23.

Best Value 3D Printing Stocks

These are the 3D printing stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing price-to-sales (P/S) ratio. For companies in the early stages of development or industries suffering from major shocks, this metric can be substituted as a rough measure of a business's value.

A business with higher sales could eventually produce more profit when it achieves (or returns to) profitability. The price-to-sales ratio shows how much you're paying for the stock for each dollar of sales generated.

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• Faro Technologies Inc.: Faro Technologies designs and produces 3D measurement software for use in the metrology, public safety, reverse engineering, and factory automation industries. Faro Technologies' share price fell 44% on May 4 after the company reported a net loss of $21 million in the first quarter, double its loss in the same period the year before.
• Stratasys Ltd.: Stratasys offers 3D printing solutions, such as 3D printers, polymer materials, a software ecosystem, and related parts. It serves a variety of industries, including aerospace, automotive, consumer products, and healthcare. On May 25, Stratasys, along with Desktop Metal Inc. (DM), an additive manufacturing company, announced the merger of their two companies in an all-stock transaction valued at $1.8 billion. The closing of the transaction is expected to take place in Q4 2023. Existing Stratasys shareholders will hold 51%, and existing shareholders of Desktop Metals will own 49% of the combined company.
• Proto Labs Inc.: Proto Labs uses 3D printing and other processes to manufacture custom prototypes and production parts.

Fastest Growing 3D Printing Stocks

These are the 3D printing stocks with the highest YOY sales growth for the most recent quarter.

Rising sales can help investors identify companies that are able to grow revenue organically or through other means and find growing companies that have not yet reached profitability. In addition, accounting factors that may not reflect the overall strength of the business can significantly influence earnings per share.

However, sales growth can also be potentially misleading about the strength of a business—growing sales does not guarantee a company will ever reach profitability.

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• Ansys Inc.: Ansys develops engineering simulation software and services for customers within a variety of industries including materials, energy, health care, automotive, and aerospace. On May 3, Ansys reported a 42% increase in net income for the first quarter and raised its full-year sales and profit forecasts.
• Materialise NV: Materialise is a Belgium-based provider of additive manufacturing software and 3D printing services. It serves a range of industries, including health care, aerospace, and automotive. Net income surged 29-fold in the most first quarter, while revenue in Materialise's medical and manufacturing segments grew about 30%.
• Faro Technologies Inc.: See company description above.

3D Printing Stocks With the Best Performance

These are the 3D printing stocks that had the smallest declines in total return over the past 12 months out of the companies we looked at.

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• Ansys Inc.: See company description above.
• 3D Systems Corp.: 3D Systems provides 3D printing solutions. The company offers a range of hardware, software, and materials designed for additive manufacturing. Its products and services are used in a variety of industries and sectors, including aerospace, automotive, semiconductor, healthcare, and more.
• Stratasys Ltd.: See company description above.

Trends in 3D Printing Sector

The 3D printing industry is a young one, and companies are still jockeying for market share or facing consolidation risks. Nonetheless, 3D printing has significant potential to impact a host of other industries.

3D printing businesses may be crucial in helping other companies maximize production efficiencies and reduce their environmental impact, for example. 3D printing can be used to create personalized health care and therapeutic products.

Advantages of 3D Printing Stocks

Growth Potential: 3D printing technology is relatively new with potential applications across a range of fields, which is one reason the 3D printing market is expected to roughly triple in size to $44.5 billion by 2026.

Variety of Applications: 3D printing offers companies in several industries, like aerospace, automotive, and medical tech, several operational and logistical advantages. 3D printing technology can help produce prototypes before full-scale production. It also offers more customization options for manufacturing and produces less waste. The breadth of its use cases could insulate 3D printing companies from fluctuating demand trends within specific industries or sectors.

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As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above stocks.