Many small-cap stocks have limited Wall Street coverage, giving savvy investors the chance to act before everyone else catches on. But the flip side is that these businesses have increased downside risk because they lack the scale and staying power of their larger competitors.
These trade-offs can cause headaches for even the most seasoned professionals, which is why we started StockStory - to help you separate the good companies from the bad. Keeping that in mind, here are three small-cap stocks to avoid and some other investments you should consider instead.
SunOpta (STKL)
Market Cap: $780.5 million
Committed to clean-label foods, SunOpta (NASDAQ: STKL) is a sustainability-focused food and beverage company specializing in the sourcing, processing, and packaging of organic products.
Why Do We Think Twice About STKL?
- Sales tumbled by 4.2% annually over the last three years, showing consumer trends are working against its favor
- Modest revenue base of $742.7 million gives it less fixed cost leverage and fewer distribution channels than larger companies
- Easily substituted products (and therefore stiff competition) result in an inferior gross margin of 16% that must be offset through higher volumes
SunOpta is trading at $6.56 per share, or 33.6x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including STKL in your portfolio.
SmartRent (SMRT)
Market Cap: $214.5 million
Founded by an employee at a real estate rental company, SmartRent (NYSE: SMRT) provides smart home devices and software for multifamily residential properties, single-family rental homes, and student housing communities.
Why Does SMRT Worry Us?
- Annual sales declines of 7.9% for the past two years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market during this cycle
- Gross margin of 14.3% is below its competitors, leaving less money to invest in areas like marketing and R&D
- Cash burn makes us question whether it can achieve sustainable long-term growth
SmartRent’s stock price of $1.15 implies a valuation ratio of 1.4x forward price-to-sales. If you’re considering SMRT for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.
Grid Dynamics (GDYN)
Market Cap: $884.4 million
With engineering centers across the Americas, Europe, and India serving Fortune 1000 companies, Grid Dynamics (NASDAQ: GDYN) provides technology consulting, engineering, and analytics services to help large enterprises modernize their technology systems and business processes.
Why Does GDYN Give Us Pause?
- Modest revenue base of $371.2 million gives it less fixed cost leverage and fewer distribution channels than larger companies
- Incremental sales over the last two years were much less profitable as its earnings per share fell by 8.5% annually while its revenue grew
- Negative returns on capital show that some of its growth strategies have backfired
At $10.50 per share, Grid Dynamics trades at 26.5x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why GDYN doesn’t pass our bar.
Stocks We Like More
Donald Trump’s April 2025 "Liberation Day" tariffs sent markets into a tailspin, but stocks have since rebounded strongly, proving that knee-jerk reactions often create the best buying opportunities.
The smart money is already positioning for the next leg up. Don’t miss out on the recovery - check out our Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.
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