Double Trouble Comes To 3D Printing

3D printing is supposed to be the next big thing. We have noted earlier that it has been called the next bubble  by some investors. Unfortunately, two 3D printing outfits have issued cautious guidance in the last twenty-four hours. The first was Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS), and now we have a warning from The ExOne Company (NASDAQ: XONE). 3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) managed to escape the carnage on Tuesday during the day, but that appears to no longer be the case.

ExOne said that it now expects 2013 revenue to be in the range of $40 million to $42 million. This is lower than the prior revenue guidance of about $48 million. It said, “The shortfall primarily relates to machine sales not yet completed for customers in Russia, India, Mexico and France, some of which involve approval processes that were deferred into 2014. The specific machines to be sold are four S-Max™ and one S-Print™. is being hurt by its 2014 guidance.”

Stratasys said before ExOne’s confessional session that its full 2014 earnings would come in at $2.15 to $2.25 per share, shy of the $2.35 consensus estimate. Revenue was put in a range of $660 to $680 million versus its prior estimate of almost $656 million. Stratasys was a scenario where operating expenses are rising handily. The company has lifted its sales and marketing investments and boosted its research and development expenses.

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What The ExOne Company signaled is that it has not lost a single order and that certain 2013 machine sales now expected in first half of 2014. ExOne said that it still expects 40% to 50% in organic growth. Stratasys warned that 2014 would be back-end loaded.

Our question is simple yet complex – What happens if more issues arise between now and the second half of 2014?

Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) was the big loser on Tuesday with an 8.2% drop down to $119.37. Its stock is now down almost $20 from its all-time high of $138.10 put in recently. ,

The ExOne Company (NASDAQ: XONE) shares closed down almost 5.4% at $62.26 on Tuesday, putting its stock now down close to $17 from its recent high of $78.80. ExOne shares were down 14% at $53.00 in late Tuesday trading after the close.

3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) shares closed down only 0.4% at $91.21 on the day, about $6 short of its all-time high of $97.28. Unfortunately, the sector leader saw its stock price drop almost 4% more in the after-hours session down to $87.63.

Voxeljet AG (NYSE: VJET) is the most recent of the 3D printing stocks, and it has larger international exposure. This one fell 1.6% to $42.43 on Tuesday and is already down sharply from the $70 post-IPO high. Shares are unfortunately getting hit even more with a drop of over 6% down to $39.50.