LASR

nLIGHT delivered the inflection bulls were waiting for: FY2025 revenue jumped 31.6% to $261M after three straight years of decline (FY22 $242M → FY23 $210M → FY24 $199M), gross profit more than doubled to $78M (+136%), and the net loss narrowed from -$60.8M to -$23.5M. Operating cash flow swung to +$21.3M (vs. roughly $2M prior), and the balance sheet is genuinely strong — $98.7M cash, zero long-term debt since FY2021, and current assets of $243M against just $64.2M of current liabilities. Management attributes the lift to 'higher sales volumes in the Laser Products segment and continued growth in the Advanced Development segment,' which is consistent with the directed-energy/defense narrative the 10-K leans on ('high power lasers for mission-critical directed energy, optical sensing, and advanced manufacturing').

The problem is what the market is paying for that progress. At $63.81 the cap is $3.56B against $261M of revenue — 13.6x sales for a business still running a -10.2% operating margin, a -10.3% ROE, and a -$349M accumulated deficit that has gotten worse, not better, year on year. Gross margin of 29.8% is healthier than it was, but it is not where a 13x-sales multiple usually lives; that multiple implicitly assumes defense/directed-energy revenue compounds for years and drops to the bottom line. The MD&A itself flags how lumpy that path is: A&D demand depends on 'continued investment in laser technology by the U.S. government and its allies' and on subcontractor customers whose orders 'can be delayed for a substantial period of time and is largely outside of our control.'