3D Systems Corporation (DDD), Stratasys, Ltd. (SYSS): Should You Buy Into 3D Printing?

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A Newcomer
Last week 3D printing company ExOne Co (NASDAQ:XONE) went public, raising around $90 million. ExOne is an upstart company that has only earned $18.6 million in the past twelve months. In 2012 ExOne sold a total of five printers that specialize in metal printing. Each printer sells for between $800,000 to $1.5 million, and currently ExOne has six printers in its backlog. What might be most impressive about ExOne is its list of customers, which include Deere, Caterpillar, Boeing, and Ford. It is too early to tell how successful ExOne could be on a large scale, but they have a niche in the 3D market by providing large metal printing, which could have plenty of potential for growth.

The Bottom Line
Now is a good time to get into the 3D printing market; with such few companies you can easily invest in the whole market right now. The three companies listed above all have potential for growth while still being leaders in the industry and not overlapping too much in each of their markets. Risks include if the 3D printing industry does not grow as expected, as well as the threat that new companies with better technology come in and disrupt the market. DDD and SYSS, however, are solid enough in the market right now to be able to roll with whatever comes their way. I will be adding these three companies to my CAPS page to track them until I am able to put money into this market.

The article Should You Buy Into 3D Printing? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Howard Cranford.

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