nLight

LASR · Nasdaq · Information Technology · Financials, fiscal 2016 to 2025

LASR · Last close · November 6, 2026

$38.02

nLight's revenue rose 31.6% to $261 million in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was −10.2%, up from −33.1% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $12 million. The diluted share count rose 4.3%.

NLIGHT, INC. Latest fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 10-K filed February 27, 2026 · 0001124796-26-000012 Updated November 7, 2026

Revenue

$261M

31.6%

Operating margin

−10.2%

22.9 pts

Net income

−$24M

Free cash flow

$12M

Return on capital

−20.1%

20.2 pts

Market cap

$2.2B

Nov 6 close

P/E

—

Loss: no P/E

Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

What nLight does

nLIGHT designs, makes and sells high-power lasers. Its customers are mostly companies that build laser systems or manufacturing tools and put nLIGHT's lasers inside them. It sells into three end markets: aerospace and defense, industrial, and microfabrication, meaning the making of very small parts.

It reports two segments. Laser Products sells semiconductor lasers, which are built on chips made from gallium arsenide, and fiber lasers, which use a special fiber to amplify the light from those chips into a stronger beam. For defense customers it also makes high-energy pulsed and continuous-wave fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers and beam control systems for directed energy weapons and laser sensing systems. Advanced Development handles development work, often under government contracts.

The company says its vertical integration, meaning it makes key parts itself, lets it build different products on the same core technology. Some of its U.S. government contracts are classified, which limits what it can tell investors about that part of the business.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Strong competition in its markets, and falling average selling prices for lasers.
Changes in the markets it serves, and the need to keep up with rapid technological change.
Depending on winning new U.S. government awards and design wins, some of them classified.
High fixed costs and inventory levels that can hurt its profits when sales fall.
Reliance on third parties to make some of its products and parts.

From nLight's annual report on Form 10-K, filed February 27, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new annual report.

Income statement

Revenue and net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; net losses in red. Revenue on the left axis, net income on the right; zero is the same line on both.

Revenue (left axis)Net income (right axis)

Gross profit, R&D and operating income

US$ billions, fiscal years. Gross profit is revenue minus the cost of what was sold; research and development is one of the costs paid from it; what remains after all operating costs is operating income. Losses in red.

Gross profitResearch and developmentOperating income

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

nLight lost money in fiscal 2025: a net loss of $24 million.

Diluted earnings per share

US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity

Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.

Return on capitalReturn on equity

Balance sheet

Cash and debt

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Debt includes finance leases.

Cash and short-term investmentsDebt

Assets, liabilities and equity

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Assets equal liabilities plus equity; negative equity in red.

Total assetsTotal liabilitiesShareholders' equity

Debt and liquidity ratios

Times. Debt to equity, current assets over current liabilities, and net debt over EBITDA (a full year's).

Debt to equityCurrent ratioNet debt to EBITDA

Five years at a glance

Fiscal year end	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Cash and short-term investments	146	108	113	101	134
Debt incl. finance leases	0	0	0	0	0
Net debt (negative means net cash)	−146	−108	−113	−101	−134
Net debt to EBITDA	—	—	—	—	—
Debt to equity	0.0x	0.0x	0.0x	0.0x	0.0x
Interest coverage	—	—	−698.0x	−625.1x	−24.5x
Current ratio	6.1x	6.7x	6.7x	5.7x	3.8x
Quick ratio	4.5x	4.7x	5.1x	4.5x	3.1x

US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Cash flow

Cash from operations, capital spending and free cash flow

US$ billions, fiscal years. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; negative years in red.

Cash from operationsCapital spendingFree cash flow

Stock-based compensation and buybacks

US$ billions, fiscal years. Shares paid to employees (stock-based compensation, a cost that uses no cash) against cash spent buying shares back. Buybacks that only match it leave the share count roughly where it was.

Stock-based compensationShare buybacks

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Projections

Project nLight's revenue, net income and earnings per share five years ahead in a bull, a base and a bear case with your own figures, and see the share prices your P/E estimates give them, or value it with a discounted cash flow model. Every projected figure is yours: it is not a forecast of ours.

Open nLight's projections

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between November 7, 2025 and November 6, 2026, no insider bought nLight shares on the open market, and 6 insiders sold $71.6 million, $60.9 million of it under trading plans set up in advance.

Buys and sells by month

US$ millions, open-market purchases (up) and sales (down) by officers, directors and 10% owners in each month.

BoughtSold

Date	Insider	Trade	Shares	Price	Value	Filing
Sep 15, 2026	Geoffrey MooreDirector	Sold plan	4,452	$38.45	$171,179	Form 4
Sep 9, 2026	Scott H KeeneyPresident and CEO, Director	Sold plan	100,000	$41.01	$4.1 million	Form 4
Sep 8, 2026	Scott H KeeneyPresident and CEO, Director	Sold plan	115,252	$41.32	$4.8 million	Form 4
Sep 4, 2026	Joseph John CorsoChief Financial Officer	Sold plan	3,524	$41.49	$146,211	Form 4
Sep 3, 2026	Scott H KeeneyPresident and CEO, Director	Sold	9,753	$40.69	$396,850	Form 4
Sep 3, 2026	Joseph John CorsoChief Financial Officer	Sold plan	4,191	$40.69	$170,532	Form 4
Sep 3, 2026	James NiasChief Accounting Officer	Sold	1,025	$40.69	$41,707	Form 4
Aug 28, 2026	William GossmanDirector	Sold plan	15,000	$44.36	$665,400	Form 4
Aug 24, 2026	Scott H KeeneyPresident and CEO, Director	Sold plan	181,750	$44.15	$8.0 million	Form 4
Aug 21, 2026	Scott H KeeneyPresident and CEO, Director	Sold plan	181,750	$46.88	$8.5 million	Form 4
Jun 4, 2026	Scott H KeeneyPresident and CEO, Director	Sold plan	16,089	$74.60	$1.2 million	Form 4
Jun 4, 2026	Joseph John CorsoChief Financial Officer	Sold plan	3,817	$72.90	$278,259	Form 4

The latest 12 of 48 trades. Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

Indicators

Four widely used measures, worked out from the company's filings. The cutoffs are the ones their authors or users go by, not a verdict of ours.

Indicator	FY23	FY24	FY25
Piotroski F-score	5 of 9	2 of 9	5 of 9
Rule of 40	−11.0%	−10.6%	36.3%
Altman Z''	5.28	2.55	2.25
Accruals ratio	−16.3%	−20.2%	−15.3%

Piotroski F-score: how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency the company passed in the year (Piotroski, 2000); 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Rule of 40: revenue growth plus free cash flow margin; software investors treat 40% or more as the bar. Altman Z'': working capital, retained earnings, operating income and equity weighed against assets and liabilities (Altman, 1995); Altman puts above 2.6 in the safe zone and below 1.1 in the distress zone. Accruals ratio: net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets; lower means profit is backed by cash.

The nine F-score tests

Test	FY23	FY24	FY25
Net income is positive	Fail	Fail	Fail
Cash from operations is positive	Pass	Fail	Pass
Return on assets rose	Pass	Fail	Pass
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Pass	Pass
Debt fell relative to assets	Fail	Fail	Fail
Current ratio rose	Pass	Fail	Fail
Share count didn't rise	Fail	Fail	Fail
Gross margin rose	Pass	Fail	Pass
Revenue rose relative to assets	Fail	Pass	Pass
F-score	5 of 9	2 of 9	5 of 9

Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

Compare

Put nLight side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

Company	Year	Revenue growth	Operating margin	Free cash flow margin	Return on capital	Net debt to EBITDA	F-score	Compare
nLight	FY25	31.6%	−10.2%	4.7%	−20.1%	—	5
Knowles	FY25	7.2%	11.8%	—	6.7%	0.6x	—	Compare
Bel Fuse	FY25	26.3%	16.4%	10.2%	15.1%	1.0x	—	Compare
Rogers	FY25	−2.3%	−5.5%	8.8%	−3.4%	−20.2x	4	Compare
LightPath Technologies	FY26	92.8%	−27.4%	−23.0%	—	—	—	Compare

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score under Indicators.

10 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY16	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Income statement
Revenue	101	139	191	177	223	270	242	210	198	261
Revenue growth	—	36.8%	38.1%	−7.7%	26.1%	21.3%	−10.4%	−13.3%	−5.4%	31.6%
Gross profit	23	44	67	52	59	77	51	46	33	78
Research and development	15	15	21	28	41	55	54	46	45	48
Operating income	−9	10	17	−10	−21	−30	−55	−47	−66	−26
Net income	−14	2	14	−13	−21	−30	−55	−42	−61	−24
Diluted EPS (US$)	−5.68	0.00	0.32	−0.35	−0.55	−0.70	−1.23	−0.90	−1.27	−0.47
Diluted shares (millions)	2	3	30	37	38	42	44	46	48	50
Cash flow
Cash from operations	6	3	3	−4	13	−7	−14	10	−2	21
Capital expenditure	4	6	11	12	23	19	21	5	8	9
Free cash flow	2	−2	−7	−17	−10	−27	−36	5	−10	12
Dividends paid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Share buybacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Acquisitions	0	0	0	17	0	0	1	0	0	0
Stock-based compensation	0	0	5	10	26	38	27	26	25	33
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	14	37	150	117	102	146	108	113	101	134
Debt incl. finance leases	—	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total assets	—	110	250	250	284	374	329	307	270	315
Total liabilities	—	49	32	33	64	72	58	52	54	88
Shareholders' equity	30	61	218	217	220	302	271	254	216	227
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	22.9%	31.9%	35.0%	29.6%	26.6%	28.6%	21.0%	22.0%	16.6%	29.8%
Operating margin	−9.2%	7.1%	8.9%	−5.6%	−9.4%	−11.2%	−22.8%	−22.3%	−33.1%	−10.2%
Net margin	−14.0%	1.3%	7.3%	−7.3%	−9.4%	−11.0%	−22.6%	−19.9%	−30.6%	−9.0%
Free cash flow margin	1.9%	−1.5%	−3.8%	−9.4%	−4.7%	−9.9%	−14.8%	2.3%	−5.2%	4.7%
Rule of 40 (growth + FCF margin)	—	35.3%	34.3%	−17.1%	21.5%	11.3%	−25.2%	−11.0%	−10.6%	36.3%
Return on capital	—	—	24.6%	−9.3%	−15.3%	−17.4%	−27.4%	−24.3%	−40.3%	−20.1%
Return on equity	—	—	10.0%	−5.9%	−9.6%	−11.4%	−19.1%	−15.9%	−25.8%	−10.6%
Return on assets	—	—	7.7%	−5.2%	−7.8%	−9.0%	−15.5%	−13.1%	−21.1%	−8.0%
Net debt to EBITDA	—	−1.1x	−5.9x	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)

Source: nLight's Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with nLight.