Ouster Inc. (OUST Quick QuoteOUST - Free Report) is slated to release third-quarter 2026 results on Nov. 3, after the closing bell. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter’s loss per share and revenues is pegged at 30 cents and $56.2 million, respectively.

The loss estimate for the to-be-reported quarter has remained stable over the past 60 days. The bottom line suggests a year-over-year improvement of 19%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues suggests 42% growth from the year-ago quarter’s figure.

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For full-year 2026, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ouster’s revenues is pegged at $222 million, suggesting an increase of roughly 31% year over year. The consensus mark for full-year loss per share is $1.05, narrower than $1.07 incurred in 2025. The consensus mark for 2027 loss per share points to a 67% narrower loss from the projected 2026 levels.

Notably, Ouster surpassed earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, with the average surprise being 41.2%.

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Earnings Whisper for Q3

Our proven model doesn’t conclusively predict an earnings beat for the company this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. That’s not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Ouster has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #3.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Factors at Play

Ouster’s third-quarter results will be shaped largely by the ramp of its Rev8 platform, which the company sees as its most important near-term product catalyst. Rev8 introduces native color digital lidar, while the OS1 Max variant offers greater range and resolution, widening the applications Ouster can address. Early demand has been encouraging, with multiple customers placing million-dollar-plus orders.

The constraint is timing. Rev8 is expected to have reached production volumes only toward the latter part of the quarter, so much of this demand will convert to revenues later. This explains the company’s revenue guidance of $54.5-$57.5 million for the quarter to be reported, compared with $55 million in the second quarter. The midpoint of roughly $56 million implies only modest sequential growth, despite strong Rev8 interest. The comparison base is also demanding, since the second quarter was a record quarter in which Ouster shipped more than 17,000 lidar and camera sensors.

Smart infrastructure offers a more visible deployment engine in the meantime. During the second quarter of 2026, BlueCity supported a 42-location digital traffic twin in New Jersey and more than 30 intersections in Georgia. Building on this, in the third quarter of 2026, Econolite secured an expansion contract from the Utah Department of Transportation to deploy BlueCity at another 160 intersections statewide. The deployment uses the OS1 Max Rev8 sensor, which provides up to 500 feet of advance detection, and shows Rev8 already moving into live installations.

Beyond infrastructure, a series of partnerships announced in the third quarter of 2026 are expected to have broadened Rev8’s reach across end markets. GeoCue will integrate the sensor into its TrueView drone payloads for survey-grade utility mapping. Other drone OEMs and payload integrators have also selected it for inspection and defense work. In agriculture, John Deere subsidiary GUSS Automation plans to embed Rev8 in precision autonomy systems, while Ouster’s Stereolabs subsidiary is partnering with Trossen Robotics to supply stereo vision for physical AI data collection.

Ouster’s Price Performance & Valuation

Year to date, shares of OUST have increased 37.3%, outperforming the industry as well as its close peers Aeva Technologies (AEVA Quick QuoteAEVA - Free Report) and Hesai Group (HSAI Quick QuoteHSAI - Free Report) . In the same timeframe, shares of Aeva and Hesai have declined 25% and 40%, respectively.

YTD Price Comparison

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Ouster trades at roughly 7.5 times forward 12-month sales. That is below Aeva's 8.46 times, but still carries a meaningful premium to the industry and Hesai. Ouster carries a Value Score of F.

OUST's F12M P/S Vs. AEVA, HSAI & Industry

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How to Play Ouster Ahead of Earnings

Ouster’s growth story is easy to like. Rev8 demand is strong, Physical AI adoption is rising, and the February 2026 acquisition of Stereolabs has widened the opportunity beyond lidar into cameras, edge AI and perception software. Rev8 production volumes are likely to have been reached, and the expanded Benchmark manufacturing arrangement supports capacity of more than 100,000 units annually. So Rev8 should become a meaningful revenue contributor through the second half of 2026 and beyond.

In terms of Smart infrastructure, North America has roughly 300,000 signalized intersections, while only hundreds to thousands use Ouster’s technology currently. Management expects BlueCity and Gemini to grow as a share of revenues as customers scale from initial deployments to citywide and statewide networks.

The difficulty is valuation. Investors are paying for this potential before it has shown up in earnings, and Ouster remains loss-making. Adjusted EBITDA was negative $4 million in the second quarter of 2026, while GAAP operating expenses reached $47 million, up about 10% year over year. Management expects third-quarter operating expenses to run 5-8% above the prior-year level as investment continues in Stereolabs, Rev8, ZED X Nano and Physical AI.

Ouster needs both strong revenue growth and operating leverage to justify its valuation. With that bar still unmet, you should hold rather than buy ahead of earnings and wait for evidence that Rev8 volumes are lifting margins.