Proto Labs (NYSE: PRLB), a quick-turn contract manufacturer, is slated to report its third-quarter 2019 results before the market opens on Thursday, Oct. 24. The Minneapolis area-based company uses traditional and 3D printing manufacturing techniques to provide prototyping and short-run production services.
Proto Labs stock has been struggling this year -- it's down 7% through Oct. 21 versus the S&P 500's 21.7% return -- but it remains an outperformer over the three-year period. For additional context, shares of the two largest pure-play 3D printing companies, 3D Systems and Stratasys, are down 18.3% and up 9%, respectively, so far in 2019.
Here are four things to watch in Proto Labs' report.