Are 3D Systems and Stratasys' stumbles a harbinger for the 3D printing industry?

The 3D printing market is growing quickly but revenue and earnings report in Q1 says otherwise, at least for market leaders Stratasys and 3D Systems. The consumer and industrial robot manufacturers both reported poor Q1 revenue and earnings, either saying that their revenue guidance would slip or not providing guidance at all. For example, Stratasys' MakerBot consumer 3D printer sales slipped 18 percent YoY to $17.2 million while overall growth was a far cry from the annual revenue increases that characterized the last few years.

So does this mean that the 3D printing industry is in trouble? Not really. It does, however, indicate a shift in the competitive landscape. Stratasys and 3D Systems emphasized in their recent earnings calls that the biggest issue was in their channel sales and both companies are taking steps to address that problem. The two makers had significant growth and revenue impacts from currency fluctuations. In all, however, most analysts attributed the disappointing quarter to execution issues in a small but still rapidly-growing industry. MakerBot in particular suffered from quality control issues as Stratasys attempted to diversify its product line - too quickly, in the eyes of several analysts.

In addition, there is some indication that the crisis has already passed. Stratasys noted that while there had been deferred orders in Q1, those orders were expected to be fulfilled in Q2. The entry of HP into the market, expected to be in early 2016, is also expected to create a significant impact on the overall market, particularly in the commercial segment where HP has many existing channel relationships from its other businesses. In fact, some analysts have suggested that commercial customers are delaying their purchase decisions until HP releases its own multi-jet fusion product in 2016.

See a comparison table of selected personal 3D printer suppliers on GlobalSources.com