Back to top

Image: Bigstock

nLIGHT Gears Up to Report Q3 Earnings: What's in Store for the Stock?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Key Takeaways

  • nLIGHT expects Q3 revenues of $62-$67 million, up from $56.1 million a year earlier.
  • Earnings are projected at 2 cents per share, improving from a loss of 8 cents last year.
  • Growth in aerospace and defense demand is likely to offset weakness in industrial markets.

nLIGHT, Inc. (LASR - Free Report) is scheduled to report third-quarter 2025 earnings after market close on Nov. 6.

For the third quarter, LASR anticipates revenues between $62 million and $67 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pinned at $62.5 million, indicating an improvement of 11.3% from the year-ago quarter’s revenues of $56.1 million.

The consensus mark for third-quarter earnings has remained unchanged at 2 cents per share over the past 60 days. This signifies a robust improvement from the year-ago quarter’s loss of 8 cents per share.

The stock has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings twice in the trailing four quarters, matching on one occasion and missing once, the average surprise being 50.4%.

nLight Price and EPS Surprise

nLight Price and EPS Surprise

nLight price-eps-surprise | nLight Quote

Let’s see how things are shaping up for the upcoming announcement.

Factors Likely to Influence nLIGHT’s Q3 Results

nLIGHT focuses heavily on high-power semiconductor and fiber lasers, serving markets like aerospace, defense and industrial cutting. The company’s third-quarter results are likely to reflect the benefits of strong demand from the aerospace and defense (A&D) end market. In the second quarter of 2025, the company’s A&D end market delivered record revenues of $40.7 million, up 49% year over year and making up 66% of total sales compared with 54% in the prior-year period.

In the A&D space, nLIGHT is tapping into areas like directed energy systems, missile defense and laser sensing, all of which are long-term funding priorities for the Department of Defense (DoD). With defense programs benefiting from rising spending in the United States and among allied nations, the company’s A&D segment is likely to have witnessed strong year-over-year growth in the to-be-reported quarter.

With products used in missile guidance, range finding and countermeasures, Laser sensing is one of the key areas that would have driven A&D’s revenues. Several classified programs have moved into the next phase, which are likely to have added revenues in the third quarter.

Additionally, the favorable business mix that leans toward defense products is likely to have boosted margins during the to-be-reported quarter. Higher factory absorption and better execution from manufacturing and operations teams are also anticipated to have driven the bottom-line performance.

Nonetheless, sluggish demand across the industrial end market is likely to have weighed on the company’s overall performance in the to-be-reported quarter.

What Our Model Says About LASR’s Q3 Earnings

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for LASR this season. According to the Zacks model, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. However, that is not the exact case here.

Though nLIGHT carries a Zacks Rank #2, it has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some companies worth considering, as our model indicates that these possess the right combination of factors to exceed earnings expectations in their upcoming releases:

StoneCo (STNE - Free Report) is set to report third-quarter 2025 results on Nov. 6. It has an Earnings ESP of +7.81% and sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for StoneCo’s third-quarter earnings is pegged at 43 cents per share, up by 2 cents over the past 30 days, indicating an increase of 22.9% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. Shares of StoneCo have soared 138.7% year to date.

Fair Isaac (FICO - Free Report) is set to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results on Nov. 5. It has an Earnings ESP of +0.46% and sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Fair Isaac’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at $7.34 per share, up by 2 cents over the past 30 days, implying a rise of 12.2% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. Shares of Fair Isaac have plunged 17% year to date.

QUALCOMM (QCOM - Free Report) is slated to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results on Nov. 5. It has an Earnings ESP of +1.43% and carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for QUALCOMM’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at $2.87 per share, revised upward by a penny over the past 60 days, calling for an increase of 6.7% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. Shares of QUALCOMM have rallied 17.7% year to date.

Published in