Company research

PRLB · NYSE

Proto Labs Inc

Industrials · Metal Fabrication

$77.64

-14.60%

Close on Oct 29, 2026

Research data through 2026-10-28

Long-term research evidence only. No price targets, no trading signals, no recommendations.

Free research · no account required

Pro Investor Academy research

Research data through Oct 28, 2026. Research is updated periodically, not in real time.

Quality

64

of 100 · stored research reading

Stored Quality research reads 64 of 100, a middle-of-the-universe reading. The measurements behind it are mixed.

Quality research measures durability of the business itself from stored fundamentals: balance-sheet strength, profitability consistency and cash generation. It is a research reading, not a prediction of future returns.

How this is measured

Fundamental Momentum

Accelerating

68

of 100 · stored research reading

Stored Fundamental Momentum research reads 68 of 100. Stored measurements classify recent reported fundamentals as accelerating. This describes reported financial change already disclosed, with no forward-looking claim.

Fundamental Momentum research measures the direction of recently reported company fundamentals compared with the company's own history. It describes reported change, not future price movement.

How this is measured

Capital Returns

Favorable

61

of 100 · stored research reading

Stored Capital Returns research reads 61 of 100, recorded as favorable. No dividend is recorded for this company, so the reading rests on buybacks and dilution control. Share count has been reduced at about 2.5% a year in the stored window.

Capital Returns research measures how a company has actually returned cash to shareholders: dividend record, buyback effectiveness, dilution control and how those payments were funded.

How this is measured

Valuation context

Price / earnings
71.4

Stored ratios recorded at the last research date (2026-10-28). Valuation Intelligence remains research context and is not a validated allocation signal.

Learn the basics of valuation

Investor intelligence

What Investor adds for PRLB

The research below is part of Investor membership. Values are withheld from this page entirely — nothing premium is loaded into it. Start the free trial and the intelligence you asked for unlocks right here.

Investor

See how this company ranks.

Unlock its Pro Investor Score and ranking across the research universe.

7 days · No credit card required

Investor

Understand the risk before you invest.

Unlock Risk Intelligence, Price Risk, and Market Confirmation.

7 days · No credit card required

Investor

Know why, not just what.

Unlock the Pro Research Brief with What Changed & Why, research history and tensions.

7 days · No credit card required

Investor

See what professional investors are reporting.

Unlock Pro Investor Intelligence: disclosed professional-manager and insider activity beside company research.

7 days · No credit card required

Investor

Ask the research.

Unlock Pro Investor AI to ask questions grounded in Pro Investor Academy research and evidence.

7 days · No credit card required

Investor

Keep researching after today.

Save companies and monitor how their research changes over time.

7 days · No credit card required

Explore other companies in this industry. These are objective industry neighbours, not suggested alternatives.

Want to know what qualified today?

Pro Investor Academy continuously applies its research rules across the eligible universe and surfaces a small number of investments for deeper research when they qualify.

Research Collections

This company does not currently satisfy any collection rule. That is a stored research result, not a judgement about the business.

Browse collections

Learn the metrics on this page

Plain-English definitions, with the formula and the limitations of each measure.

In the company’s own words

What this company does

Proto Labs, Inc. was incorporated in Minnesota in 1999. The terms "Proto Labs," "Protolabs," the "Company," "we," "us," and "our" as used herein refer to the business and operations of Proto Labs, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

We are the world’s fastest manufacturing service enabling companies across every industry to streamline production of quality parts throughout the entire product life cycle. From custom prototyping to end-use production, we support product developers, engineers, and supply chain teams along every phase of their manufacturing journey. Founded in 1999, we radically reduced the time needed to produce injection molding prototypes through complex software that automated the manufacturing process. Over the next two decades, we added computer numerical control ("CNC") machining, 3D printing, and sheet metal fabrication, and later acquired 3D Hubs, Inc ("Hubs") and launched the Protolabs Network, our global network of manufacturing partners ("MPs"). Our 25+ years of growth while expanding capabilities provide customers with the best digital manufacturing experience in the industry.

Our vision is accelerating innovation by revolutionizing manufacturing. Our mission is to shape the future by bringing customer ideas to life across every stage of the product life cycle. We accomplish this by offering a variety of manufacturing capabilities fulfilled through a combination of owned manufacturing factories ("Factory") and a worldwide network of premium manufacturing partners ("Network").

Our automated quoting and manufacturing systems are highly integrated with our manufacturing and fulfillment systems, which allow us to offer a vast array of manufacturing technologies in a variety of materials across a continuum of lead times and prices. Protolabs uses artificial intelligence ("AI") in a number of different ways to improve our efficiency and the value we offer to customers, including: intelligent pricing and sourcing algorithms, automated quality inspection in injection molding, toolpath verification in CNC machining, software development, and various other AI end use cases. In the age of AI, we are well-positioned with our long history of leveraging technology to solve legacy manufacturing challenges and are deploying AI to power how we drive innovation to better serve our customers. AI is enabling us to move faster than ever before and continue to scale our business efficiently. Our highly differentiated manufacturing offerings are backed by an intellectual property portfolio of 60 patents, and over 60 additional trade secrets. Our patents are in the areas of methods of manufacturing (both subtractive and additive), software supporting methods of manufacturing, and pricing of parts.

Quoted from the business section of this company’s 10-K filed February 20, 2026. Read the filing

General research only. Not personalized advice. Public filings may be delayed, amended, incomplete, or reflect positions that have changed since the reporting date.