Latest news with #ScottKeeneyn
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) Surprises With Strong Q1, Stock Jumps 16.3%
Laser company nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) reported Q1 CY2025 results exceeding the market's revenue expectations , with sales up 16% year on year to $51.67 million. On top of that, next quarter's revenue guidance ($56 million at the midpoint) was surprisingly good and 11.7% above what analysts were expecting. Its non-GAAP loss of $0.04 per share was 78.7% above analysts' consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy nLIGHT? Find out in our full research report. Revenue: $51.67 million vs analyst estimates of $47.34 million (16% year-on-year growth, 9.1% beat) Adjusted EPS: -$0.04 vs analyst estimates of -$0.19 (78.7% beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $116,000 vs analyst estimates of -$5.14 million (0.2% margin, significant beat) Revenue Guidance for Q2 CY2025 is $56 million at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $50.15 million EBITDA guidance for the full year is -$1.5 million at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of -$11.98 million Operating Margin: -18.6%, up from -33.1% in the same quarter last year Free Cash Flow was -$2.30 million, down from $9.82 million in the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $425.7 million Founded by a former CEO and Harvard-educated entrepreneur Scott Keeneyn, nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) offers semiconductor and fiber lasers to the industrial, aerospace & defense, and medical sectors. A company's long-term performance is an indicator of its overall quality. Any business can have short-term success, but a top-tier one grows for years. Unfortunately, nLIGHT's 2.9% annualized revenue growth over the last five years was sluggish. This fell short of our benchmarks and is a rough starting point for our analysis. Long-term growth is the most important, but within industrials, a half-decade historical view may miss new industry trends or demand cycles. nLIGHT's performance shows it grew in the past but relinquished its gains over the last two years, as its revenue fell by 5.8% annually. nLIGHT isn't alone in its struggles as the Electronic Components industry experienced a cyclical downturn, with many similar businesses observing lower sales at this time. We can better understand the company's revenue dynamics by analyzing its most important segments, Laser Products and Advanced Developments, which are 69.1% and 30.9% of revenue. Over the last two years, nLIGHT's Laser Products revenue (lasers, amplifiers, and directed energy products) averaged 10.4% year-on-year declines. On the other hand, its Advanced Developments revenue (R&D contracts) averaged 13.4% growth. This quarter, nLIGHT reported year-on-year revenue growth of 16%, and its $51.67 million of revenue exceeded Wall Street's estimates by 9.1%. Company management is currently guiding for a 10.9% year-on-year increase in sales next quarter. Looking further ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 4.3% over the next 12 months. While this projection implies its newer products and services will catalyze better top-line performance, it is still below average for the sector. Today's young investors likely haven't read the timeless lessons in Gorilla Game: Picking Winners In High Technology because it was written more than 20 years ago when Microsoft and Apple were first establishing their supremacy. But if we apply the same principles, then enterprise software stocks leveraging their own generative AI capabilities may well be the Gorillas of the future. So, in that spirit, we are excited to present our Special Free Report on a profitable, fast-growing enterprise software stock that is already riding the automation wave and looking to catch the generative AI next. Operating margin is one of the best measures of profitability because it tells us how much money a company takes home after procuring and manufacturing its products, marketing and selling those products, and most importantly, keeping them relevant through research and development. nLIGHT's high expenses have contributed to an average operating margin of negative 19.2% over the last five years. Unprofitable industrials companies require extra attention because they could get caught swimming naked when the tide goes out. It's hard to trust that the business can endure a full cycle. Analyzing the trend in its profitability, nLIGHT's operating margin decreased by 21.1 percentage points over the last five years. This raises questions about the company's expense base because its revenue growth should have given it leverage on its fixed costs, resulting in better economies of scale and profitability. nLIGHT's performance was poor no matter how you look at it - it shows that costs were rising and it couldn't pass them onto its customers. This quarter, nLIGHT generated a negative 18.6% operating margin. The company's consistent lack of profits raise a flag. We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company's growth is profitable. nLIGHT's earnings losses deepened over the last five years as its EPS dropped 46.6% annually. We tend to steer our readers away from companies with falling EPS, where diminishing earnings could imply changing secular trends and preferences. If the tide turns unexpectedly, nLIGHT's low margin of safety could leave its stock price susceptible to large downswings. Like with revenue, we analyze EPS over a shorter period to see if we are missing a change in the business. For nLIGHT, its two-year annual EPS declines of 1.1% show it's still underperforming. These results were bad no matter how you slice the data. In Q1, nLIGHT reported EPS at negative $0.04, up from negative $0.17 in the same quarter last year. This print easily cleared analysts' estimates, and shareholders should be content with the results. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street is optimistic. Analysts forecast nLIGHT's full-year EPS of negative $0.51 will reach break even. We were impressed by how significantly nLIGHT blew past analysts' EPS expectations this quarter. We were also excited its EBITDA outperformed Wall Street's estimates by a wide margin. Zooming out, we think this was a good print with some key areas of upside. The stock traded up 16.3% to $10 immediately after reporting. nLIGHT had an encouraging quarter, but one earnings result doesn't necessarily make the stock a buy. Let's see if this is a good investment. The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it's free.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
1 Unprofitable Stock Worth Investigating and 2 to Question
Running at a loss can be a red flag. Many of these businesses face mounting challenges as competition increases and funding becomes harder to secure. Unprofitable companies face an uphill battle, but not all are created equal. Luckily for you, StockStory is here to separate the promising ones from the weak. Keeping that in mind, here is one unprofitable company that could turn today's losses into long-term gains and two that could struggle to survive. Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: -33.1% Founded by a former CEO and Harvard-educated entrepreneur Scott Keeneyn, nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) offers semiconductor and fiber lasers to the industrial, aerospace & defense, and medical sectors. Why Do We Avoid LASR? Annual sales declines of 9.4% for the past two years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market during this cycle Cash-burning tendencies make us wonder if it can sustainably generate shareholder value Eroding returns on capital from an already low base indicate that management's recent investments are destroying value nLIGHT is trading at $8.80 per share, or 2x forward price-to-sales. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including LASR in your portfolio, it's free. Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: -1.6% Founded in 2011 to transform how healthcare is delivered to patients with complex needs, Evolent Health (NYSE:EVH) provides specialty care management services and technology solutions that help health plans and providers deliver better care for patients with complex conditions. Why Does EVH Worry Us? Sales are projected to tank by 18.9% over the next 12 months as demand evaporates Ability to fund investments or reward shareholders with increased buybacks or dividends is restricted by its weak free cash flow margin of 0.3% for the last five years Negative returns on capital show that some of its growth strategies have backfired Evolent Health's stock price of $10.50 implies a valuation ratio of 16.3x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why EVH doesn't pass our bar. Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: -1.3% Founded by Caltech professor Carver Mead and one of his students Chris Diorio, Impinj (NASDAQ:PI) is a maker of radio-frequency identification (RFID) hardware and software. Why Is PI on Our Radar? Annual revenue growth of 11.9% over the last two years was superb and indicates its market share increased during this cycle Performance over the past five years shows its incremental sales were extremely profitable, as its annual earnings per share growth of 48.4% outpaced its revenue gains Free cash flow margin increased by 23.7 percentage points over the last five years, giving the company more capital to invest or return to shareholders At $102 per share, Impinj trades at 61.7x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it's free. Market indices reached historic highs following Donald Trump's presidential victory in November 2024, but the outlook for 2025 is clouded by new trade policies that could impact business confidence and growth. While this has caused many investors to adopt a "fearful" wait-and-see approach, we're leaning into our best ideas that can grow regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate. Take advantage of Mr. Market by checking out our Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 175% over the last five years. Stocks that made our list in 2019 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+2,183% between December 2019 and December 2024) as well as under-the-radar businesses like United Rentals (+322% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Electronic Components Stocks Q4 Teardown: nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) Vs The Rest
Looking back on electronic components stocks' Q4 earnings, we examine this quarter's best and worst performers, including nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) and its peers. Like many equipment and component manufacturers, electronic components companies are buoyed by secular trends such as connectivity and industrial automation. More specific pockets of strong demand include data centers and telecommunications, which can benefit companies whose optical and transceiver offerings fit those markets. But like the broader industrials sector, these companies are also at the whim of economic cycles. Consumer spending, for example, can greatly impact these companies' volumes. The 10 electronic components stocks we track reported a mixed Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts' consensus estimates by 3.1% while next quarter's revenue guidance was 0.8% below. Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 9.9% since the latest earnings results. Founded by a former CEO and Harvard-educated entrepreneur Scott Keeneyn, nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) offers semiconductor and fiber lasers to the industrial, aerospace & defense, and medical sectors. nLIGHT reported revenues of $47.38 million, down 8.7% year on year. This print fell short of analysts' expectations by 3.7%. Overall, it was a slower quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts' EBITDA and EPS estimates. '2024 was a transformative year for nLIGHT as our defense business began to scale, with revenue growing 20% year-over-year to $110 million and representing approximately 55% of our overall sales,' commented Scott Keeney, nLIGHT's President and Chief Executive Officer. nLIGHT delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates of the whole group. The stock is down 14.6% since reporting and currently trades at $7.75. Read our full report on nLIGHT here, it's free. Pioneering technologies for radio frequency power delivery, Advanced Energy (NASDAQ:AEIS) provides power supplies, thermal management systems, and measurement and control instruments for various manufacturing processes. Advanced Energy reported revenues of $415.4 million, up 2.5% year on year, outperforming analysts' expectations by 5.5%. The business had an exceptional quarter with an impressive beat of analysts' EBITDA estimates. Although it had a fine quarter compared to its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 16% since reporting. It currently trades at $93.39. Is now the time to buy Advanced Energy? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free. Emerging from Vishay Intertechnology in 2010, Vishay Precision (NYSE:VPG) operates as a global provider of precision measurement and sensing technologies. Vishay Precision reported revenues of $72.65 million, down 18.8% year on year, falling short of analysts' expectations by 1.3%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts' EBITDA and EPS estimates. Vishay Precision delivered the slowest revenue growth in the group. The stock is flat since the results and currently trades at $24.20. Read our full analysis of Vishay Precision's results here. The developer of the first blade-type automotive fuse, Littelfuse (NASDAQ:LFUS) provides electrical protection and control components for the automotive, industrial, electronics, and telecommunications industries. Littelfuse reported revenues of $529.5 million, flat year on year. This result beat analysts' expectations by 1%. However, it was a slower quarter as it produced EPS guidance for next quarter missing analysts' expectations and a miss of analysts' EBITDA estimates. The stock is down 10.5% since reporting and currently trades at $200.36. Read our full, actionable report on Littelfuse here, it's free. Founded by a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Vicor (NASDAQ:VICR) provides electrical power conversion and delivery products for a range of industries. Vicor reported revenues of $96.17 million, up 3.8% year on year. This number surpassed analysts' expectations by 5.6%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also put up an impressive beat of analysts' EPS estimates. The stock is down 7.6% since reporting and currently trades at $47.91. Read our full, actionable report on Vicor here, it's free. Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 6 Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate. Join Paid Stock Investor Research Help us make StockStory more helpful to investors like yourself. Join our paid user research session and receive a $50 Amazon gift card for your opinions. Sign up here. Sign in to access your portfolio
