3D Systems Begins CEO Search as Jeff Graves Plans Retirement

3D Systems announced that Dr. Jeffrey Graves will step down as president and CEO once the board names a replacement, a process the company expects to finish before the end of 2026. Graves will then retire from the board entirely, though he will remain in his current role and serve as a consultant for six months to support the handover.

The news broke alongside the company's second-quarter 2026 financial results. Chairman Chip McClure thanked Graves for stabilizing the business over the past six years, noting cost cuts, a narrower strategic focus on aerospace, defense, healthcare, and dental markets, and the divestiture of several underperforming units.

Graves joined 3D Systems in May 2020, shortly after the pandemic began. His tenure included splitting the business into healthcare and industrial divisions, cutting roughly a fifth of the workforce in 2020, and overseeing acquisitions of Allevi, Kumovis, Titan Robotics, and Oqton. He also sold off Geomagic, Simbionix, and Quickparts.

Not every bet paid off. Allevi and volumetric bioprinting never became the leaders some expected. Oqton, purchased for $180 million, was later sold without delivering a major AI windfall. Titan Robotics has not grown as fast as the large-format material extrusion market. Formlabs and Chinese competitors now challenge some of the company's polymer powder bed and vat polymerization positions.

The company still depends heavily on two customers for roughly 10% of revenue each: Stryker and Align Technology. Gross margins face pressure from a higher mix of hardware sales in the second half of 2026, and a large government project was canceled, reducing defense exposure.

Q2 showed a slight revenue uptick and record industrial orders, but earnings were flat year over year before divestitures. The company holds $129 million in cash against $96 million in debt and hopes to hit $99 million in revenue next quarter.

The board has engaged an executive search firm. Whoever takes over will inherit a more focused business but one still searching for a clear growth engine beyond medical implants and dental aligners. The new leader will need to decide whether to keep buying niche players, push harder into services and software, or try to rebuild the hardware portfolio against increasingly aggressive competition from HP, Stratasys, and low-cost Asian systems.