Stocks in the $10-50 range offer a sweet spot between affordability and stability as they’re typically more established than penny stocks.
But their headline prices don’t guarantee quality, and investors should exercise caution as some have shaky business models.
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.
Volatility cuts both ways - while it creates opportunities, it also increases risk, making sharp declines just as likely as big gains.
This unpredictability can shake out even the most experienced investors.
What a brutal six months it’s been for Confluent. The stock has dropped 24.6% and now trades at $24.48, rattling many shareholders. This might have investors contemplating their next move.
As the craze of earnings season draws to a close, here’s a look back at some of the most exciting (and some less so) results from Q1. Today, we are looking at data infrastructure stocks, starting with Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT).
From commerce to culture, software is digitizing every aspect of our lives. Companies bringing it to life have been rewarded with high valuation multiples that make fundraising easier,
but they have weighed on the returns lately as the industry has pulled back by 10.2% over the past six months. This drawdown was worse than the S&P 500’s 2.2% decline.
Data infrastructure software company, Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) reported revenue ahead of Wall Street’s expectations in Q1 CY2025, with sales up 24.8% year on year to $271.1 million. On the other hand, next quarter’s revenue guidance of $267.5 million was less impressive, coming in 3.8% below analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.08 per share was 16.5% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
Growth boosts valuation multiples, but it doesn’t always last forever.
Companies that cannot maintain it are often penalized with large declines in market value, a lesson ingrained in investors who lost money in tech stocks during 2022.
Shares of data infrastructure software company, Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT)
fell 18% in the afternoon session after the company reported weak first quarter 2025 results: its full-year revenue guidance missed significantly and its revenue guidance for next quarter fell short of Wall Street's estimates.
