Whether you see them or not, industrials businesses play a crucial part in our daily activities. Unfortunately, this role also comes with a demand profile tethered to the ebbs and flows of the broader economy, and investors seem to be forecasting a downturn - over the past six months, the industry has pulled back by 9.4%. This drop was worse than the S&P 500’s 2.4% decline.
The elite companies can churn out earnings growth under any circumstance, however, and our mission at StockStory is to help you find them. Keeping that in mind, here is one industrials stock boasting a durable advantage and two that may face trouble.
Two IndustrialsStocks to Sell:
Clean Harbors (CLH)
Market Cap: $12.04 billion
Established in 1980, Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) provides environmental and industrial services like hazardous and non-hazardous waste disposal and emergency spill cleanups.
Why Are We Hesitant About CLH?
- Absence of organic revenue growth over the past two years suggests it may have to lean into acquisitions to drive its expansion
- Earnings per share have contracted by 2.5% annually over the last two years, a headwind for returns as stock prices often echo long-term EPS performance
- Capital intensity has ramped up over the last five years as its free cash flow margin decreased by 5.3 percentage points
Clean Harbors is trading at $224.73 per share, or 28.3x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than CLH.
Plug Power (PLUG)
Market Cap: $939.8 million
Powering forklifts for Walmart’s distribution centers, Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) provides hydrogen fuel cells used to power electric motors.
Why Is PLUG Risky?
- Annual sales declines of 8.7% for the past two years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market during this cycle
- Free cash flow margin dropped by 531.2 percentage points over the last five years, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up
- Short cash runway increases the probability of a capital raise that dilutes existing shareholders
Plug Power’s stock price of $0.88 implies a valuation ratio of 1x forward price-to-sales. To fully understand why you should be careful with PLUG, check out our full research report (it’s free).
One Industrials Stock to Watch:
Curtiss-Wright (CW)
Market Cap: $16.92 billion
Formed from a merger of 12 companies, Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW) provides a range of products and services to the aerospace, industrial, electronic, and maritime industries.
Why Is CW on Our Radar?
- Market share has increased this cycle as its 10.6% annual revenue growth over the last two years was exceptional
- Operating profits and efficiency rose over the last five years as it benefited from some fixed cost leverage
- Share buybacks catapulted its annual earnings per share growth to 18.2%, which outperformed its revenue gains over the last two years
At $448.96 per share, Curtiss-Wright trades at 35.8x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.
Stocks We Like Even More
Market indices reached historic highs following Donald Trump’s presidential victory in November 2024, but the outlook for 2025 is clouded by new trade policies that could impact business confidence and growth.
While this has caused many investors to adopt a "fearful" wait-and-see approach, we’re leaning into our best ideas that can grow regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate. Take advantage of Mr. Market by checking out our Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.