Plexus trades at $141.28 per share and has stayed right on track with the overall market, gaining 14.7% over the last six months. At the same time, the S&P 500 has returned 17.7%.

Is there a buying opportunity in Plexus, or does it present a risk to your portfolio? Get the full stock story straight from our expert analysts, it’s free.

Why Is Plexus Not Exciting?

We're cautious about Plexus. Here are three reasons there are better opportunities than PLXS and a stock we'd rather own.

1. Long-Term Revenue Growth Disappoints

A company’s long-term sales performance can indicate its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but the best consistently grow over the long haul. Unfortunately, Plexus’s 4.1% annualized revenue growth over the last five years was mediocre. This was below our standard for the business services sector.

2. Mediocre Free Cash Flow Margin Limits Reinvestment Potential

If you’ve followed StockStory for a while, you know we emphasize free cash flow. Why, you ask? We believe that in the end, cash is king, and you can’t use accounting profits to pay the bills.

Plexus has shown weak cash profitability over the last five years, giving the company limited opportunities to return capital to shareholders. Its free cash flow margin averaged 2.7%, subpar for a business services business.

3. New Investments Fail to Bear Fruit as ROIC Declines

A company’s ROIC, or return on invested capital, shows how much operating profit it makes compared to the money it has raised (debt and equity).

We like to invest in businesses with high returns, but the trend in a company’s ROIC is what often surprises the market and moves the stock price. Unfortunately, Plexus’s ROIC averaged 3.4 percentage point decreases over the last few years. We like what management has done in the past, but its declining returns are perhaps a symptom of fewer profitable growth opportunities.

Final Judgment

Plexus isn’t a terrible business, but it isn’t one of our picks. That said, the stock currently trades at 18.9× forward P/E (or $141.28 per share). Investors with a higher risk tolerance might like the company, but we don’t really see a big opportunity at the moment. We're pretty confident there are more exciting stocks to buy at the moment. We’d recommend looking at one of our top digital advertising picks.

Stocks We Would Buy Instead of Plexus

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