nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $81.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.71 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 17.11% and a negative net margin of 19.13%.The business’s revenue was up 71.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.30) earnings per share.

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

• nLIGHT reported strong 2025 results with full-year revenue of $261 million (up 32% YoY), record A&D revenue of $175 million (+60% YoY), gross margin expanding to ~30%, Adjusted EBITDA of $23.5 million, and positive operating cash flow—showing clear operating leverage.
• The company gave Q1 2026 guidance of $70M–$76M (midpoint $73M) with overall gross margin expected 27%–32% and Adjusted EBITDA of $5M–$10M, while noting development revenue should decline sequentially after the DE M-SHORAD delivery.
• nLIGHT completed a follow-on equity raise netting over $190 million, giving it more than a quarter-billion in cash to fund a new 50,000 sq ft Longmont manufacturing buildout, supply-chain investments, staffing, R&D, and opportunistic M&A.
• The company is exiting the cutting and welding markets, which it expects will create a ~$25 million–$30 million full-year revenue headwind (mostly gone by H2 2026) even as it transitions those resources to higher-priority A&D and advanced manufacturing areas.
• nLIGHT highlighted a robust A&D pipeline—including progress on HELSI-2 (a $171M 1 MW program), delivery of the 50 kW DE M-SHORAD laser weapon module, a $50M missile-sensing contract, new international customers, and expected further awards tied to the government’s Golden Dome priorities.

nLight Trading Down 10.7%

LASR traded down $6.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $56.19. The stock had a trading volume of 3,702,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,350,725. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -63.85 and a beta of 2.33. nLight has a 52 week low of $6.20 and a 52 week high of $62.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a current ratio of 5.63. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.27.

Key Stories Impacting nLight

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham raised its price target from $48 to $70 and assigned a “buy” rating, signaling confidence in continued revenue growth and implying ~24.6% upside from the current price. Needham Price Target Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target to $62.50 and moved to “overweight,” providing additional analyst support for the stock after the quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Price Target Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results topped expectations: EPS $0.14 vs. $0.11 consensus and revenue $81.2M vs. $76.7M; revenue rose ~71% year‑over‑year. Management also set Q1 revenue guidance ($70–$76M) above consensus, which supports near‑term growth expectations. Q4 Earnings & Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional interest: Bleakley Financial reported a new stake in nLight, indicating some institutional accumulation. Bleakley Stake
• Positive Sentiment: Management scheduled investor events and conferences in early March, increasing chances for deeper analyst/investor engagement and potentially clearer forward commentary. Investor Events
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually large options volume was reported, suggesting heightened speculative or hedging activity that can amplify intraday moves but is not itself a directional signal. Options Volume Note
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat and raised guidance, the stock dropped as investors appeared to take profits after recent gains and reacted to remaining profitability concerns (negative net margin and ROE noted in the report). Several outlets reported the stock “tumbled” after the release. Stock Reaction Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy intraday volume and elevated volatility accompanied the move lower, which can exacerbate declines and indicates short‑term positioning changes rather than a change in underlying fundamentals. Market Reaction & Volume

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LASR. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research cut shares of nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of nLight in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 31,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total value of $1,190,867.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,285,020 shares in the company, valued at $85,711,100.20. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total transaction of $2,399,844.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 196,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,126,855.68. The trade was a 25.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 127,502 shares of company stock worth $4,622,166 in the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in nLight by 7,142.9% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of nLight during the third quarter worth $41,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of nLight by 1,599.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted 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 during the period. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

nLight Company Profile

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.