While profitability is essential, it doesn’t guarantee long-term success. Some companies that rest on their margins will lose ground as competition intensifies — as Jeff Bezos said, “Your margin is my opportunity”.
A business making money today isn’t necessarily a winner, which is why we analyze companies across multiple dimensions at StockStory. That said, here is one profitable company that generates reliable profits without sacrificing growth and two that may face some trouble.
Two Stocks to Sell:
Revvity (RVTY)
Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: 13.3%
Formerly known as PerkinElmer until its rebranding in 2023, Revvity (NYSE: RVTY) provides health science technologies and services that support the complete workflow from discovery to development and diagnosis to cure.
Why Do We Think RVTY Will Underperform?
- Sales tumbled by 10.6% annually over the last five years, showing market trends are working against it during this cycle
- Absence of organic revenue growth over the past two years suggests it may have to lean into acquisitions to drive its expansion
- Performance over the past five years shows each sale was less profitable as its earnings per share dropped by 15.7% annually, worse than its revenue
Revvity’s stock price of $114.24 implies a valuation ratio of 20.4x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than RVTY.
Northern Trust (NTRS)
Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: 35.7%
Founded in 1889 during Chicago's post-Great Fire rebuilding boom, Northern Trust (NASDAQ: NTRS) provides wealth management, asset servicing, and banking solutions to corporations, institutions, families, and high-net-worth individuals globally.
Why Does NTRS Give Us Pause?
- Muted 6.9% annual revenue growth over the last five years shows its demand lagged behind its financials peers
At $184.20 per share, Northern Trust trades at 15.6x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why NTRS doesn’t pass our bar.
One Stock to Buy:
Upstart (UPST)
Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: 4%
Using over 2,500 data variables and trained on nearly 82 million repayment events, Upstart (NASDAQ: UPST) is an AI-powered lending platform that uses machine learning to help banks and credit unions more accurately assess borrower risk for personal loans, auto loans, and home equity lines of credit.
Why Is UPST a Top Pick?
- Loan originations on its platform are soaring as they averaged 54.3% growth over the last year, enabling the company to collect more fees and expand into new markets like credit cards.
- Market share will likely rise over the next 12 months as its expected revenue growth of 30.6% is robust
- Free cash flow is anticipated to be positive next year, meaning the company has reached a critical turning point
Upstart is trading at $29.71 per share, or 2x forward price-to-sales. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.
Stocks We Like Even More
ONE MORE THING: Top 5 Growth Stocks. The biggest stock winners almost always had one thing in common before they ran. Revenue growing like crazy. Meta. CrowdStrike. Broadcom. Our AI flagged all three. They returned 315%, 314%, and 455%, respectively.
Find out which 5 stocks it’s flagging this month — FREE. Get Our Top 5 Growth Stocks for Free HERE.
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,552% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
