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Optics and photonics

The 14 companies in this industry listed on the NYSE and Nasdaq are worth $140 bn combined; the largest are Lumentum Holdings (LITE), Coherent Corp. (COHR) and Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI). For each one: what it does, revenue, margin, free cash flow over the last five years and a score from 0 to 10.

Data as of October 2026

Comfortable leader
14 companies value 140 bn revenue 13 bn margin -47.1% free cash flow -1.0 bn avg. score 1.4
LITE holds 53.7% of the group's value, 1.6x the runner-up · COHR leads the industry without being the largest
Rank Ticker Company Share Value Revenue Margin FCF 5 years FCF/px Yield What it does · why it is here
1 LITE Lumentum Holdings
United States · score 2.5
54% 75 bn 3.0 bn -230.1% 0.3 bn 0.4% — Optical components and lasers for networks and data centers · Key supplier of lasers and optical components for data centers
2 COHR Coherent Corp.
United States · score 2.0
33% 45 bn 7.1 bn 11.3% -1.0 bn -2.3% — Lasers, transceivers and optical components · Leader in 800G/1.6T optical transceivers for AI
3 AAOI Applied Optoelectronics
United States · score 0.0
5% 6.6 bn 0.6 bn -9.6% -0.3 bn -5.2% — Fiber-optic networking transceivers and components · Optical transceivers for data centers and broadband
4 NOVT NOVANTA INC
United States · score 5.5
4% 5.0 bn 1.0 bn 6.0% 0.1 bn 2.3% — Photonics and motion components for medical and industrial equipment · Massachusetts — revenue of $1bn
5 IPGP IPG Photonics
United States · score 4.2
2% 3.1 bn 1.1 bn 2.6% 0.0 bn 0.7% — Fiber lasers for cutting, welding and marking · Fiber lasers for industrial cutting and welding
6 LASR NLIGHT, INC.
United States · score 3.0
1% 2.0 bn 0.3 bn -4.0% 0.0 bn 2.1% — High-power lasers for directed energy and advanced manufacturing · Washington — revenue of $311m
7 POET POET TECHNOLOGIES INC.
Canada · score 0.0
1% 1.0 bn 0.0 bn -59x -0.0 bn -3.5% — Photonic integrated circuits, light sources and optical modules for AI data centers · Canada — revenue of $1m
8 LWLG Lightwave Logic, Inc.
United States · score 0.0
0% 0.6 bn 0.0 bn -94x -0.0 bn -3.0% — Electro-optic polymers for high-speed modulators · Colorado
9 LPTH LIGHTPATH TECHNOLOGIES INC
United States · score 0.2
0% 0.5 bn 0.1 bn -28.6% -0.0 bn -3.1% — Precision optical lenses and components · Florida — revenue of $72m
10 OPTX SYNTEC OPTICS HOLDINGS, INC.
United States · score 0.6
0% 0.3 bn 0.0 bn -8.3% 0.0 bn -0.2% — Custom optics and photonics · Florida — revenue of $29m
11 ALMU Aeluma, Inc.
United States · score 0.3
0% 0.2 bn 0.0 bn -205.3% 0.0 bn -2.6% — Semiconductors for sensing, communications and computing · California — revenue of $4m
12 QCLS Q/C TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
United States · score 0.0
0% 0.0 bn — — -0.0 bn -273.5% — Early-stage optical AI, after writing off its laser processing license · New York
13 GAUZ Gauzy Ltd.
Israel · score 0.6
— — 0.1 bn -39.6% -0.0 bn — — Smart glass and light control for vehicles and buildings · Israel — revenue of $97m
14 LASE Laser Photonics Corp
United States · score 0.2
— — 0.0 bn -327.5% -0.0 bn — — Manufacturing of photonics-based industrial products · Florida — revenue of $6m

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What this is. A catalogue, not a guide. Every industry with stocks listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ, the companies contending for its leadership, what each one does according to its own annual report, and the balance sheet it filed with the SEC.

The score runs from 0 to 10 and compares each company with every other one in the almanac on cash generation, profitability, debt, dividends and consistency over the last five years. The higher it is, the better the company fares in that comparison. Curious how much each part weighs? Ask at the bottom of the page.

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