Janus has gotten torched over the last six months - since July 2024, its stock price has dropped 41.1% to $8.50 per share. This was partly driven by its softer quarterly results and might have investors contemplating their next move.
Is now the time to buy Janus, or should you be careful about including it in your portfolio? See what our analysts have to say in our full research report, it’s free.
Even though the stock has become cheaper, we're sitting this one out for now. Here are three reasons why we avoid JBI and a stock we'd rather own.
Why Is Janus Not Exciting?
Standing out with its digital keyless entry into self-storage room technology, Janus (NYSE:JBI) is a provider of easily accessible self-storage solutions.
1. Slow Organic Growth Suggests Waning Demand In Core Business
Investors interested in Commercial Building Products companies should track organic revenue in addition to reported revenue. This metric gives visibility into Janus’s core business because it excludes one-time events such as mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures along with foreign currency fluctuations - non-fundamental factors that can manipulate the income statement.
Over the last two years, Janus’s organic revenue averaged 4.4% year-on-year growth. This performance was underwhelming and suggests it may need to improve its products, pricing, or go-to-market strategy, which can add an extra layer of complexity to its operations. 
2. Revenue Projections Show Stormy Skies Ahead
Forecasted revenues by Wall Street analysts signal a company’s potential. Predictions may not always be accurate, but accelerating growth typically boosts valuation multiples and stock prices while slowing growth does the opposite.
Over the next 12 months, sell-side analysts expect Janus’s revenue to drop by 18%, a decrease from its 1.1% annualized growth for the past two years. This projection doesn't excite us and indicates its products and services will see some demand headwinds.
3. EPS Trending Down
We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) because it highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.
Sadly for Janus, its EPS declined by 4.4% annually over the last four years while its revenue grew by 16.3%. This tells us the company became less profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded.
Final Judgment
Janus isn’t a terrible business, but it doesn’t pass our quality test. After the recent drawdown, the stock trades at 4.6× forward EV-to-EBITDA (or $8.50 per share). This valuation multiple is fair, but we don’t have much faith in the company. We're pretty confident there are superior stocks to buy right now. Let us point you toward one of our top software and edge computing picks.
Stocks We Would Buy Instead of Janus
With rates dropping, inflation stabilizing, and the elections in the rearview mirror, all signs point to the start of a new bull run - and we’re laser-focused on finding the best stocks for this upcoming cycle.
Put yourself in the driver’s seat by checking out our Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 175% over the last five years.
Stocks that made our list in 2019 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+2,183% between December 2019 and December 2024) as well as under-the-radar businesses like Comfort Systems (+751% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.