We recently published a list of 11 Best 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing Stocks to Buy. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) stands against other best 3D printing and additive manufacturing stocks to buy.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing Industry Outlook 2025

According to Fortune Business Insights, the international 3D printing market was valued at $19.33 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 23.4% to reach 101.4 billion by 2032. The industry is driven by the rapid rise of digitization and increased adoption of advanced technologies. The report indicates that a shift towards smart factories, machine learning, and robotics is expected to fuel demand for the 3D printing and additive manufacturing industry.

Moreover, a report published by the 3D Printing Industry highlighted significant trends moving into 2025. As per the report industry experts expect AI and automation to revolutionize 3D printing workflows through optimizing design, production, and post-processing workflows. AI-powered monitoring systems. In addition, AI-driven designs are also accelerating the creation of lightweight, high-performance components, particularly for aerospace, defense, and automotive applications. These advancements reduce failures, improve efficiency, and unlock new possibilities for complex designs. Industry experts also believe that 2025 will mark the year of full industrialization of additive manufacturing as an industry that will go beyond prototyping to mass production. By 2025, the technology is expected to achieve cost-competitive manufacturing for high-performance applications in sectors such as aerospace, medical, and automotive.

The report also highlighted Sona Dadhania, Principal Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, outlook for the industry. Dadhania has a cautiously optimistic outlook for the 3D printing industry in 2025, emphasizing both challenges and opportunities. She identifies macroeconomic factors as key influences on the industry’s near-term trajectory. In 2024, rising interest rates discouraged the purchase of 3D printing equipment, while broader economic difficulties, particularly in Europe, created significant headwinds. Moreover, Germany, which is a critical market for additive manufacturing, faced notable challenges due to its economic struggles as well. She noted that these unfavorable conditions are likely to persist in 2025, with additional uncertainty arising from potential tariffs that could further hinder adoption, especially among new users.

Despite these obstacles, Dadhania highlights areas of potential growth. She noted that established users who are scaling up their additive manufacturing operations and services are likely to drive progress. The focus will remain on high-value applications, with solutions tailored to meet the demands of industries seeking advanced capabilities.

Our Methodology

To curate the list of 11 best 3D printing and additive manufacturing stocks to buy we used ETFs, financial media reports, and stock screeners. Using these sources we aggregated a list of 3D printing stocks. Next we ranked these stocks in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders, sourced from Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database. We have also added the analyst upside potential for each stock. Please note that the data was recorded on March 19, 2025.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

Analyst Upside Potential: 22.98%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 18

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) is a digital manufacturing company that provides rapid prototyping and on-demand production services. The company specializes in manufacturing custom parts using advanced technologies including injection molding, CNC machining, 3D printing, and sheet metal fabrication.

During the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024, the company exceeded expectations by generating $78 million in cash from operations and expanding its consolidated gross margin and earnings per share. In addition, revenue from production use cases surpassed prototyping, with a 50% increase in customers using combined offerings and higher revenue per customer. Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) has expanded its focus beyond prototyping to include low-to-mid volume production manufacturing. Moreover, it has also enhanced its production capabilities with improved pricing for larger orders, additional quality control measures, industry certifications, and advanced automation technologies.

Looking ahead, the company aims to accelerate revenue growth by leveraging its reorganized structure, expanded production offerings, and continued investments in prototyping services. It is one of the best 3D printing and additive manufacturing stocks to buy.

Overall, PRLB ranks 9th on our list of best 3D printing and additive manufacturing stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of PRLB as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PRLB but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.