3 Profitable Stocks Walking a Fine Line

Core Insights - The article emphasizes that profitability alone does not guarantee a good investment, as some companies may struggle with growth, face threats, or fail to reinvest effectively, limiting future potential [1] Company Summaries Lowe's (LOW) - Lowe's has a trailing 12-month GAAP operating margin of 12.4% and is a home improvement retailer selling a variety of products [2] - The stock is currently trading at $232.01 per share, with a forward P/E ratio of 18.3x [4] Wabash (WNC) - Wabash has a trailing 12-month GAAP operating margin of 22.6% and specializes in semi-trailers and transportation equipment [5] - The stock is priced at $7.77 per share, trading at 4.7x forward EV-to-EBITDA [7] FTI Consulting (FCN) - FTI Consulting has a trailing 12-month GAAP operating margin of 9.4% and operates globally to address complex business challenges [8] - The company has experienced annual sales growth of only 2.6% over the last six years, lagging behind its peers [10] - A significant backlog drop of 36.2% over the past two years indicates a loss of orders amid increasing competition [11] - Earnings per share have contracted by 39.2% annually over the last five years, which could negatively impact stock prices [11] - The company has seen a decrease in efficiency, with a 2.7 percentage point drop in adjusted operating margin over the last five years [12]