nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Key Points

• nLight beat second-quarter expectations: EPS was $0.15 versus the $0.14 consensus, while revenue rose 33.8% year over year to $82.59 million. The company also reported record product revenue, adjusted EBITDA and operating cash flow.
• Defense demand and a new laser-weapons contract support long-term growth. nLight won a Joint Laser Weapon System contract with a ceiling exceeding $600 million, expected to begin contributing revenue in the third quarter and ramp in 2027.
• Supply-chain disruptions cloud the near-term outlook: Delays involving China-linked suppliers are expected to defer about $17 million of product revenue, prompting third-quarter revenue guidance of $63 million to $73 million and adjusted EBITDA guidance of $1 million to $7 million.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. nLight had a negative return on equity of 3.19% and a negative net margin of 4.02%.The firm had revenue of $82.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.06 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from nLight's conference call:

• Record second-quarter results included revenue of $82.6 million, up 34% year over year, record product revenue of $59 million, $10.7 million in adjusted EBITDA, and record operating cash flow of $20.7 million.
• nLIGHT won the Joint Laser Weapon System contract, with a ceiling of more than $600 million. The program begins contributing revenue in the third quarter, is expected to ramp in 2027, and management says it should more than offset the expected wind-down of HELSI-2.
• Demand remained strong across defense, laser sensing, additive manufacturing, and microfabrication, while kinetic-weapons programs benefited from global restocking and expanding mission applications.
• Supply-chain delays involving optics and other materials from Chinese suppliers are expected to defer roughly $17 million of product revenue from the third quarter into future periods, primarily affecting commercial products. Third-quarter revenue is guided to $63 million-$73 million, with adjusted EBITDA of only $1 million-$7 million and gross margin of 24%-30%.
• The company is qualifying alternative suppliers, redesigning products where possible, and shifting manufacturing and sourcing outside China, but management said the disruption could resolve quickly or persist for months to quarters.

nLight Stock Performance

NASDAQ LASR traded down $19.29 on Friday, reaching $56.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,447,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 961,228. nLight has a twelve month low of $23.61 and a twelve month high of $86.95. The firm's 50 day moving average is $67.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of -224.60 and a beta of 2.31.

Trending Headlines about nLight

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations. nLIGHT reported adjusted earnings of $0.15 per share versus the $0.14 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 33.8% year over year to $82.59 million, above expectations of approximately $78.6 million. nLIGHT Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Defense and aerospace demand remained strong. Record aerospace and defense revenue, increasing demand for high-power lasers, and gross-margin and adjusted-EBITDA performance at or above company expectations supported the quarter’s results. LASR Q2 Earnings Surpass Estimates on Strong A&D Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Management will participate in upcoming Needham and Jefferies investor conferences, potentially providing additional updates on defense demand, supply-chain conditions and growth plans. nLIGHT Announces Participation in Upcoming Investor Events
• Negative Sentiment: Supply issues cloud the near-term outlook. China-linked supply delays are expected to affect third-quarter shipments. nLIGHT guided for Q3 revenue of $63 million to $73 million, a range whose midpoint is below the roughly $69.1 million analyst consensus and signals a potential sequential decline despite robust underlying demand. nLIGHT Stock Falls as China-Linked Supply Issues Overshadow Quarterly Beat
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings outlook prompted caution among analysts, including a Zacks Research downgrade from “strong buy” to “hold,” adding pressure to the stock’s valuation and near-term sentiment. LASR Earnings Call Focuses on Defense and Supply Constraints

Insider Activity at nLight

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 46,735 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $3,200,412.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,375,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,675,541.12. This trade represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,497,510.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 177,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,501,068.80. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 391,038 shares of company stock worth $28,367,419 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LASR. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of nLight by 7,142.9% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of nLight during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of nLight by 1,599.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of nLight by 120.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,509 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in nLight by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group set a $90.00 price target on nLight in a report on Friday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of nLight from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of nLight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.94.

About nLight

nLIGHT, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor and fiber lasers for industrial, microfabrication, and aerospace and defense applications. The company operates in two segments, Laser Products and Advanced Development. It offers semiconductor lasers with various ranges of power levels, wavelengths, and output fiber sizes; and programmable and serviceable fiber lasers for use in industrial and aerospace and defense applications. The company also provides laser sensors, including light detection and ranging technologies for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications; and fiber amplifiers, beam combination, and control systems for use in high-energy laser systems in directed energy applications.

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