Laravel is the most universally adopted framework in PHP community. It removes complex functionalities by providing simple to perform functions and methods to do the work for you. The below are six hidden strengths of laravel;

1.Rapid development 

Adding a REST route is as simple adding one function to the routes.php file. The ORM does away with the need to write low-level database code. 

 The controllers make building a full REST API quick and easy.

2.Expressive code

 Using the Eloquent ORM you can do things like $employee->address->city->name or $post->comments()->get()

3.Data layer abstraction

Laravel project started with MySQL, and it was very easy to add MongoDB alongside MySQL, all using the Eloquent ORM.

4.Enforced Structure

 Application code is structured in a predictable way, separating components into an MVC structure

5.Environment and configuration management

Managing development and production environments, and their related configurations (database config, s3 config, etc.) is a breeze.

6.Flexibility

 You can use Laravel's template system to build server-side rendered apps, or you can use Laravel to provide the REST API and use whatever SPA framework you want, like backbone, AngularJS, etc. to build the client app.