Why Stratasys, Ltd. (SSYS) Earnings Sent Shares Skyward

With this in mind, I firmly believe there’s plenty of money to be made for 3-D printing companies who choose to dip their additive manufacturing toes into the consumer market pool. On one hand, as it stands with the consumer 3-D printing market still in its infancy, ExOne is content to focus nearly all its energy on its industrial printers. And while Stratasys, on the other hand, does have a multitude of professional partners outside the industrial space, it offers little in the way of relatively affordable consumer solutions.

Meanwhile, as I wrote last month, other competitors like 3D Systems and privately owned MakerBot are placing big bets on the huge potential for consumers to adopt 3-D printing, with both companies increasingly honing their focus on developing lower-cost 3-D printing solutions for our homes. In fact, considering the growth of its at-home Cube printers, 3D Systems management stated during the company’s most recent earnings conference call they now “expect material revenue contributions from consumer’s solutions … in the second half of [2013].”

To its credit, however, Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS) still plans to spend a significant chunk of its revenue on R&D in 2013, and the company did launch its new “Scholar” 3-D printer in the fourth quarter — “an accessible and highly affordable PolyJet 3D printer package for academia.” While we can be fairly sure this is part of a greater effort to give future engineers an earlier look at its professional solutions, it’s at least a step in the right direction toward demonstrating Stratasys’ ability to create a more widely accessible solution should it wish to enter the consumer market in earnest down the road.

Now what?
In any case, putting short-term, company-specific fluctuations aside, it’s safe to say the 3-D printing industry is here to stay. Given its massive potential to change our lives for the better, I’m convinced long-term investors would be wise to consider adding at least one of the aforementioned companies to their portfolio.

The article Why Stratasys Earnings Sent Shares Skyward originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Steve Symington.

Fool contributor Steve Symington has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends 3D Systems and Stratasys. The Motley Fool owns shares of 3D Systems and Stratasys and has the following options: Short Jan 2014 $36 Calls on 3D Systems and Short Jan 2014 $20 Puts on 3D Systems.

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