What Happened?
Shares of 3D printing company 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD) fell 19.9% in the afternoon session after the company reported weak fourth-quarter 2024 results, which missed across the key metrics we track, including sales, operating income, and earnings. The major highlight for the quarter was the steep 21% drop in Healthcare revenue, largely tied to a change in accounting in its Regenerative Medicine program, which masked positive momentum in other areas.
Looking ahead, the company guided to essentially flat sales for 2025 after adjusting for its upcoming Geomagic divestiture, and it expects to reach break-even adjusted EBITDA only by the end of the year, another sign of slow progress. Overall, this was a weak quarter marked by sluggish growth and soft guidance.
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What The Market Is Telling Us
3D Systems’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 68 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for 3D Systems and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 2 months ago when the stock gained 23% on the news that the company announced a deal with Daimler Trucks and Buses to improve the production of spare parts using additive manufacturing. Through this partnership, Daimler will use 3D Systems' expertise in additive manufacturing to produce hard-to-find components like fuse box covers. These parts often face sourcing delays during vehicle production, causing bottlenecks in the supply chain. The market for additive manufacturing in the automotive sector is expected to grow from $2.9 billion in 2022 to $7.9 billion by 2027, according to Markets and Markets. This deal highlights significant progress and underscores DDD's strong position in the market.
3D Systems is down 31.1% since the beginning of the year, and at $2.21 per share, it is trading 53.3% below its 52-week high of $4.72 from February 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of 3D Systems’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $297.17.
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