Stock Prices of 3D Systems and Stratasys are way, way off their peaks!

Below is a portion of an article, authored by Jesse DePinto, that appeared in the Milwaukee Business News on March 9^th, 2015:

“By now, most people have heard of 3D printing. We’ve all been told by now that 3D printing can solve humanity’s problems: produce cheaper buildings, download and print useful products at home, fabricate human organs on-demand, etc. The list goes on. While the concept of 3D printing certainly has the potential to revolutionize our everyday life, the technology is not ready for prime time.

Stock plummet:  Two companies dominate the 3D printing market: 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD) and Stratasys (NYSE: SSYS). Last January, both companies were trading at their highest stock price since inception. Since then, both stocks have been on a long, painful decline. 3D Systems traded at its lowest price this January at $28.33 per share, compared to $96.42 last January!

What does this mean for 3D printing? It means the hype is finally over. Reality has set in. You can’t make an iPhone on your home 3D printer like you were promised. You can’t get an FDA-approved replacement liver. You can’t instruct your 3D printer robot to make dinner for you.”

Blog Publisher’s comments:

As Mr. DePinto pointed out, 3D Systems peaked at $96.42 in January 2014.

Today, 3D Systems is trading at around $13.44.

3D Systems’ sales were a wee bit higher in 2015 than in 2014.

Stratasys also peaked in January 2014, at $136.46.

Today, Stratasys is trading at around $17.65.

Stratasys’ sales were lower in 2015 than in 2014.

Since 2015, GE has entered the 3D printing field (we did a brief blog-post about that a few months ago).  And, since 2015, HP entered the 3D printing field with its own 3D printing equipment.

While the future of 3D printing – additive manufacturing – appears to be very bright, it will take quite a bit of time to see if Stratasys and 3D Systems eventually thrive, if not survive.