We're now two years into what can only be called a nightmare
period for investors in the 3D printing industry. After
flirting with a $10 billion market cap,
3D Systems
is now a $700 million small cap.
Stratasys
suffered similarly, as both industry leaders have lost around
90% in share value.
It's as if a child pointed out that the 3D emperor has no
clothes and is unable to print his own. But is the
selling overdone?
It was with this question that I rolled into this year's
Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, eager for my yearly
meet-up with the knowledgeable folks at TCT Magazine who have
been covering 3D printing for nearly a quarter century. Group
Editor Daniel O'Connor says the industry is actually in a
good place. He acknowledges that some segments of 3D printing
are in the "Trough of Disillusionment" phase of the Gartner
Hype Cycle but thinks some of the beaten-down companies are due
for a rebound. See the full story below (a transcript follows
the video).
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Rex Moore:
Stock prices may have continued their slide over the past year,
but the 3D printing industry advanced even further -- with big
players like
Canon
,
Ricoh
, and
Toshiba
announcing their entrance into the market. And one of the most
important technological advancements is speed, as consumer
printers especially are much faster than their
predecessors.
What's more, even though 3D Systems and Stratasys have
struggled, not all companies have disappointed with their
financial results.
Daniel O'Connor:
Actually companies like Lulzbot and the smaller
companies, the start-ups, have been posting some really
impressive financial results. I think the consumer side's
staying on track ... but what I think personally is we're
starting to see people really use the 3D printers, understand
what they'd use them for. We're not just printing knick-knacks
and things like that now, we're printing parts, spare parts,
for things around the home. To be honest that's where I see a
huge chunk of consumer 3D printing, in the DIY space.
Moore:
So, does a so-called trough of disillusionment indicate that a
rebound is coming any time soon?
O'Connor:
I mean the hype was so big about 3D printing that it
couldn't fail to disappoint some people -- we'll have a 3D
printer in every home dream and all of that stuff, but what
we're seeing now is people using the printers properly, and I
think using them for good means. One of my favorite examples is
if you take a look at the e-NABLE community and how that's
grown. Which is prosthetic hands for children, people printing
them on the fly. That community's really grown. I was lucky
enough to go to a maker event and see a child who is benefiting
from that massively. He couldn't afford to get a prosthetic and
he'd outgrow it, so they printed him one, and he's loving life
now. Catching balls!
Moore:
As far as the public companies in the sector, O'Connor says it
might be a good time for investors to consider getting back
in.
O'Connor:
A lot of the biggest company's shares have dropped
massively, but I think they'll go back up. They might not reach
the peaks of $90 like 3D Systems did two years ago, but they're
so low now. And people are using the technology, and they are
making sales. Stratasys has made huge strides in the past year.
They've improved MakerBot and all of its technology, so I think
that we're at a point now where it would make sense to
invest.
Moore:
With the latest on 3D printing at CES in Las Vegas, I'm Motley
Fool analyst Rex Moore.
The article
These Are the Days of Disillusionment in 3D
Printing
originally appeared on Fool.com.
Rex Moore
has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool
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