While strong cash flow is a key indicator of stability, it doesn’t always translate to superior returns. Some cash-heavy businesses struggle with inefficient spending, slowing demand, or weak competitive positioning.

Cash flow is valuable, but it’s not everything - StockStory helps you identify the companies that truly put it to work. That said, here are three cash-producing companies to avoid and some better opportunities instead.

Atkore (ATKR)

Trailing 12-Month Free Cash Flow Margin: 6.9%

Protecting the things that power our world, Atkore (NYSE: ATKR) designs and manufactures electrical safety products.

Why Do We Avoid ATKR?

1. Organic sales performance over the past two years indicates the company may need to make strategic adjustments or rely on M&A to catalyze faster growth
2. Capital intensity has ramped up over the last five years as its free cash flow margin decreased by 9 percentage points
3. Eroding returns on capital suggest its historical profit centers are aging

Atkore’s stock price of $65.87 implies a valuation ratio of 12.6x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than ATKR.

Flex (FLEX)

Trailing 12-Month Free Cash Flow Margin: 4.3%

Originally known as Flextronics until its 2016 rebranding, Flex (NASDAQ: FLEX) is a global manufacturing partner that designs, engineers, and builds products for companies across industries from medical devices to solar trackers.

Why Is FLEX Not Exciting?

1. Sales were flat over the last two years, indicating it’s failed to expand this cycle
2. Low free cash flow margin of 2.8% for the last five years gives it little breathing room, constraining its ability to self-fund growth or return capital to shareholders
3. Diminishing returns on capital suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up

At $59.78 per share, Flex trades at 16.8x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including FLEX in your portfolio.

Taboola (TBLA)

Trailing 12-Month Free Cash Flow Margin: 9%

Often appearing as those "You May Also Like" or "Recommended For You" boxes at the bottom of news articles, Taboola (NASDAQ: TBLA) operates a digital platform that recommends personalized content to users across publisher websites, helping both publishers monetize their sites and advertisers reach target audiences.

Why Are We Hesitant About TBLA?

1. Efficiency has decreased over the last five years as its adjusted operating margin fell by 1.3 percentage points
2. Earnings per share have contracted by 25.3% annually over the last four years, a headwind for returns as stock prices often echo long-term EPS performance
3. Negative returns on capital show that some of its growth strategies have backfired

Taboola is trading at $3.62 per share, or 8.5x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why TBLA doesn’t pass our bar.

Stocks We Like More

If your portfolio success hinges on just 4 stocks, your wealth is built on fragile ground. You have a small window to secure high-quality assets before the market widens and these prices disappear.

Don’t wait for the next volatility shock. Check out our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.