At a glance
Proto Labs Inc is worth $2.17B, about 103 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 6.4% to $533.1M in fiscal 2025, with 4.0% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 4.2% a year. It pays no dividend; it spent $200.1M buying back its shares over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +70.0% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +9.2% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 35.3% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 40.4% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 1 month and 40 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Proto Labs, founded in Minnesota in 1999, makes and sells custom plastic, metal and liquid silicone rubber parts to order, from a single piece to more than a million. Customers upload a design made in 3D computer-aided design (CAD) software, get an automated price quote with feedback on how easily the part can be made, and can receive parts in as little as one day. Nearly all orders come in over the internet.
Its more than 48,000 customers a year range from large companies to small business owners. They include engineers, product developers and purchasing teams who need prototypes, short production runs or parts for products near the end of their life, without the setup costs and minimum orders of a traditional factory. Orders are filled either in Proto Labs' own factories in the United States and Europe or through the Protolabs Network, a group of outside manufacturing partners across North America, Europe and Asia that grew out of the 2021 purchase of 3D Hubs.
In fiscal 2025, revenue was $533.1 million. CNC machining (cutting parts from solid material with computer-controlled tools) made up 45.6%, injection molding (forcing melted plastic into a mold) 35.9%, 3D printing 15.1% and sheet metal 3.2%. The United States accounted for 81.1% of revenue and Europe 18.9%.
Price history
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PRLB +70.0% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| CNC Machining | $243.3M | 45.6% |
| Injection Molding | $191.5M | 35.9% |
| 3D Printing | $80.3M | 15.1% |
| Sheet Metal | $17.2M | 3.2% |
| Other Revenue | $821K | 0.2% |
By business segment
| United States | $432.3M | 81.1% |
| Europe | $100.8M | 18.9% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $154.3M, up 14% from a year earlier, and net income was $11.8M (+63.0%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $533.1M (+6.4% year over year; +4.2% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 4% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +4.2% watch |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 4.7% weak |
| Free cash flow margin | 11.2% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 3.2% weak |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 2.8% weak |
| Cash and investments | $175.0M (no borrowings found in the filings) good |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $434.4M | $50.9M | $60.0M |
| FY2021 | $488.1M | $33.4M | $21.0M |
| FY2022 | $488.4M | $-103.5M | $40.4M |
| FY2023 | $503.9M | $17.2M | $45.2M |
| FY2024 | $500.9M | $16.6M | $68.7M |
| FY2025 | $533.1M | $21.2M | $59.7M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $2.17B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 103.3 |
| Dividend yield | None |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Proto Labs’s market value went from $1.36B at the end of 2016 to $2.17B on Oct 28, 2026, up 60%; since the end of 2025 it is up 81%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $2.17B | +81.2% |
| 2025 | $1.20B | +25.0% |
| 2024 | $958.1M | -4.6% |
| 2023 | $1.00B | +45.1% |
| 2022 | $692.3M | -51.1% |
| 2021 | $1.42B | -65.5% |
| 2020 | $4.10B | +51.0% |
| 2019 | $2.72B | -11.0% |
| 2018 | $3.05B | +11.2% |
| 2017 | $2.74B | +102.2% |
| 2016 | $1.36B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRLB price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +79.7% | +70.0% | +57.5% | +9.2% | +7.4% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +79.7% |
| 2025 | +29.4% |
| 2024 | +0.3% |
| 2023 | +52.6% |
| 2022 | -50.3% |
| 2021 | -66.5% |
| 2020 | +51.1% |
| 2019 | -10.0% |
| 2018 | +9.5% |
| 2017 | +100.6% |
| 2016 | -19.4% |
| 2015 | -5.2% |
| 2014 | -5.7% |
| 2013 | +80.6% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 34.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 35.3%, back to its old high 1.3 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 33.8% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 40.4%, back to its old high 40.3 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-30 to 2026-10-30 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 13 sales ($3.2M), 11 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 2026 | Michael R. Kenison Chief Operations Officer | sell (plan) | $522K |
| Sep 24, 2026 | Daniel Schumacher Chief Financial Officer | sell (plan) | $477K |
| May 12, 2026 | Michael R. Kenison Chief Operations Officer | sell (plan) | $467K |
| Sep 17, 2026 | Daniel Schumacher Chief Financial Officer | sell (plan) | $418K |
| Feb 17, 2026 | Michael R. Kenison Chief Operations Officer | sell (plan) | $332K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 15% | Jun 30, 2025 |
| DISCIPLINED GROWTH INVESTORS INC /MN | 10% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 6.51% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.1% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors LP | 4.8% | Jun 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in PRLB
| BULD Pacer BlueStar Engineering the Future ETF | 7.2% |
| PRNT 3D Printing ETF | 4.2% |
| CVAR Cultivar ETF | 2.44% |
| CAFG Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows Growth Leaders ETF | 1.81% |
| DTEC ALPS Disruptive Technologies ETF | 0.98% |
| PSCI Invesco S&P SmallCap Industrials ETF | 0.39% |
| KOMP SPDR S&P Kensho New Economies Composite ETF | 0.3% |
| BSVO EA Bridgeway Omni Small-Cap Value ETF | 0.26% |
What could go wrong
- Rivals could copy the automated approach. Custom parts manufacturing is fragmented and highly competitive. Better-funded rivals could copy its instant online quoting and automation, and design software companies could help machine shops and mold-makers compete.
- Missing on speed, price or quality. Customers come for parts in as little as a day at competitive prices. The 10-K warns that missing turnaround times, price expectations or quality specifications would hurt the business and its results.
- Outages could stop the order flow. Nearly all customers order online through automated quoting software. Problems with the website, computer systems or factory processes could damage the brand and results, and a data breach could expose confidential customer information.
- Growth has been slow and may stall. Revenue grew about 4.2% a year from 2020 to 2025 and changed little between 2021 and 2024. The company lists many factors, some outside its control, that could hold back future growth.
- A disaster at a factory. The company makes parts in its own plants in the United States and Europe. The 10-K warns a natural or man-made disaster at one could halt production for a substantial time and reduce sales.
- A volatile share price. The 10-K calls the stock volatile. It once fell 91.2% from a peak, and in the year to October 28, 2026, it moved about twice as much as the market (beta of 2.09).
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change; Shareholder vote results
- Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
Proto Labs pays no dividend, and its 10-K says it does not expect to pay cash dividends for the foreseeable future. For an income investor, any return must come from the share price, and drawing cash means selling shares. The company returns cash by repurchasing its own shares instead, spending $200.1 million from fiscal 2021 to 2025. Shares outstanding fell 13.8% between July 29, 2021 and July 28, 2026. Fiscal 2025 buybacks of $43.0 million were less than that year's $59.7 million of free cash flow (cash left after running the business and investing in equipment).
The stock fell hard in downturns. It dropped 35.3% in the 2020 COVID crash but was back by April 30, 2020. In the 2022 bear market, when stocks fell broadly, it lost 40.4% and did not regain its February 15, 2022 level until February 6, 2026, about 40 months after its low. A single stock like this carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Proto Labs make money?
Proto Labs makes money by manufacturing custom parts to order. Engineers and purchasing teams upload a 3D design online, get an automated quote and can order anything from one part to more than a million. In fiscal 2025, revenue was $533.1 million: CNC machining provided 45.6%, injection molding 35.9%, 3D printing 15.1% and sheet metal 3.2%. Net income was $21.2 million that year. Parts come from its own factories in the United States and Europe or from the Protolabs Network of outside manufacturing partners.
Does Proto Labs pay a dividend?
No. Proto Labs does not pay a dividend, and its 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 says it does not expect to pay cash dividends for the foreseeable future. It returns cash through share buybacks instead, spending about $200.1 million on them from fiscal 2021 to 2025. The share count fell 13.8% between July 2021 and July 2026. That gives each remaining share a bigger slice of profits, but shareholders receive no regular income.
Does Proto Labs have any debt?
Proto Labs appears to carry little or no debt. Its filings as of June 30, 2026 did not report any borrowings, and it held about $162.9 million in cash and investments, with total assets of $791.3 million and shareholders' equity of $691.7 million. With little or no debt, the company has few interest payments to cover when sales slow. That does not shield the share price, which has swung sharply in past downturns.
Why is Proto Labs' P/E ratio so high?
Mostly because profits are small relative to the share price. The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio divides the share price by profit per share. As of October 28, 2026, Proto Labs traded at about 103 times its fiscal 2025 earnings of $0.88 a share, after rising 79.7% since the start of 2026. Its net profit margin was 4%. Net income more than doubled in the quarter ended June 30, 2026, from a year earlier, but a P/E this high leaves the price dependent on continued profit growth.
How has Proto Labs stock performed over the long term?
Long-term returns have been positive but very uneven. As of October 28, 2026, the share price had gained about 7.4% a year over 10 years and 9.2% a year over five years, plus 70% over the 12 months to that date. The path was rough: the stock lost 66.5% in 2021 and 50.3% in 2022, then gained 52.6% in 2023 and 29.4% in 2025. Because Proto Labs pays no dividend, these price returns are the whole return.