Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

8.9.2026 22:09

Zámořské akciové trhy zakončily dnešní obchodování v záporném teritoriu. Index Dow Jones klesl o 1,18 % na 52 786,28 bodu, S&P 500 si odepsal 0,58 % a technologický Nasdaq Composite ztratil 0,32 %. Hlavním důvodem poklesu byl růst cen ropy způsobený geopolitickým napětím na Blízkém východě, který opět rozproudil obavy z vyšší inflace a možného zvýšení úrokových sazeb ze strany centrální banky.

V rámci indexu S&P 500 se nejvíce dařilo energetickému sektoru s růstem o 1 %, utilitám se ziskem 0,9 % a realitám, které přidaly 0 %. Naopak nejvýraznější propad zaznamenala zdravotní péče se ztrátou 2,6 %, finanční sektor klesající o 1,4 % a základní materiály nižší o 0,9 %. Z jednotlivých akcií výrazně posílily společnosti Lumentum Holdings (LITE) o 11 %, Intel Corp (INTC) o 9,1 %, Corning (GLW) o 7,6 %, Coherent Corp (COHR) o 7,1 % a Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) o 7,8 %. Naopak nejvýrazněji propadly akcie společností Amgen (AMGN) o 10 %, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) o 11 %, Stryker Corp (SYK) o 8,8 %, Expedia Group (EXPE) o 7,9 % a GoDaddy (GDDY) o 8,3 %.

Na dluhopisovém trhu rostly výnosy krátkodobých cenných papírů a výnos desetiletého amerického vládního dluhopisu mírně stoupl na 4,79 %. Měnový trh zůstal bez výraznějších změn, euro stagnovalo na úrovni 1,1623 USD a kurz japonského jenu se pohyboval kolem 154,30 JPY za dolar. Komodity zaznamenaly smíšený vývoj, když lehká ropa WTI posílila o 1 % na 92,43 USD za barel, zatímco spotové zlato mírně odepsalo 0,3 % na 4 392,74 USD za trojskou unci.

Index Dow Jones -1,18 % na 52786,28 b.
S&P 500 -0,58 % na 7673,51 b.
Nasdaq Composite -0,32 % na 26421,41 b.

Index S&P 500 -0,58 % na 7673,51 b. Nejsilnější sektory S&P Změna Nejslabší sektory S&P Změna Energie +1 % Zdravotní péče -2,6 % Utility +0,9 % Finanční sektor -1,4 % Reality +0 % Základní materiály -0,9 % Nejsilnější akcie S&P Změna Nejslabší akcie S&P Změna Lumentum Holdings (LITE) +11 % Howmet Aerospace (HWM) -11 % Intel Corp (INTC) +9,1 % Amgen (AMGN) -10 % Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) +7,8 % Stryker Corp (SYK) -8,8 % Corning (GLW) +7,6 % GoDaddy (GDDY) -8,3 % Coherent Corp (COHR) +7,1 % Expedia Group (EXPE) -7,9 %
Daniel Marván, Fio banka, a.s.

Sherri R. Luther, Chief Financial Officer of Coherent (COHR +5.53%), sold 3,000 shares of common stock on Aug. 18, 2026, as disclosed in a recent SEC Form 4 filing.

Transaction summaryMetricValueTransaction value$972,000Shares sold3,000Post-transaction shares (directly held)64,475Post-transaction value$19.7 millionTransaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average sale price ($324); post-transaction value based on Aug. 18, 2026, market close ($306.43).

Key questionsWhat was the regulatory basis for this transaction?
The sale was conducted under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted by Luther on Nov. 13, 2025, which allows corporate insiders to schedule equity transactions in advance to mitigate concerns regarding non-public information.How does the stock's recent performance compare to the transaction price?
The 3,000 shares were sold at $324 per share, with Coherent shares having delivered a 239% total return over the 12 months ending on the transaction date of Aug. 18, 2026.What is the scale of the insider's remaining equity position?
Following the sale, the CFO retains direct ownership of 64,475 shares, which carried a market value of $19.7 million.Are there other forms of beneficial ownership beyond common stock?
The filing indicates that the reporting person's equity exposure is primarily composed of direct holdings, with no reported indirect interests in family trusts or other investment vehicles at the time of this transaction.Company OverviewMetricValueShare Price (as of market close 2026-08-19)$287.47Market Capitalization$51.7 billionRevenue (TTM)$7.1 billionNet Income (TTM)$769.9 millionCompany SnapshotCoherent specializes in advanced laser technologies, offering a comprehensive portfolio of lasers, laser-based solutions, and integrated systems deployed across commercial, industrial, and scientific research applications.The company operates through two primary business segments: laser sources for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and industrial lasers with integrated systems, generating revenue through both direct sales and OEM partnerships.Coherent serves a diverse customer base, including industrial manufacturers, semiconductor equipment producers, scientific research institutions, and commercial enterprises requiring precision laser solutions.Coherent is a leading provider of advanced laser technologies, with a market capitalization of $51.7 billion and TTM revenue of $7.1 billion, reflecting substantial scale in the hardware and equipment sector. The company's dual-segment business model provides diversified revenue streams and positions Coherent at the intersection of critical technology trends in manufacturing, semiconductors, and scientific innovation. With a workforce of 51,478 employees and demonstrated operational profitability (TTM net income of $769.9 million), Coherent maintains a competitive advantage through its vertically integrated approach to laser technology development and its established relationships across key industrial verticals.

Premium Feature

Moneyball Superscore

72/100

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What this transaction means for investorsWhen a shareholder hears that an executive sells 3,000 shares for nearly $1 million, it can sound alarming. But digging into this transaction a bit, there doesn't seem to be anything indicating this sale represents something that may be amiss with Coherent. That's because this falls under a trading plan established in November 2025, so it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. In addition, while Luther sold 3,000 shares, she still holds a significant stake with 64,475 shares. In addition, even if this sale hadn't occurred under an established trading plan, it would have still made sense for the insider to sell and take some profits off the table. Over the last 12 months, the Coherent stock price has climbed 176.5% as of this writing. In comparison, the S&P 500 is up 19.1% over the same period.

Despite the massive run-up in the stock price, analysts remain generally bullish on the company's outlook over the next year. According to CNN, of the 28 analysts cover Coherent, 79% rate it a buy, 18% a hold, and 4% a sell. From that group of 28 analysts, the median one-year price target is $420, representing a 58.8% gain from today's price. The most bullish price target from the group is $500, representing a potential gain of 89.1%. And even the group's lowest price target, $280, still represents a potential gain of 5.9%.

Key Takeaways Coherent shares fell 17% in a month despite fiscal 2026 revenues rising 22.5% to $7.12 billion.Coherent's fiscal 2027 is essentially booked through calendar 2027, with customer orders extending into 2028.Coherent's Q4 capex jumped to $556 million as operating cash flow fell to $79.5 million. Coherent Corp. (COHR - Free Report) shares have fallen 17% in the past month despite rapidly improving operating results. Fiscal 2026 revenues climbed 22.5% to $7.12 billion as AI-driven Datacenter and Communications demand accelerated.

                                                                    Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The investment debate now centers on whether Coherent can convert its record demand visibility into profitable cash flow. Rising capacity spending, working-capital needs and several overlapping product ramps keep execution risk elevated even as the growth runway lengthens.

COHR's AI Demand Backdrop Remains StrongDatacenter and Communications generated $5.27 billion in fiscal 2026 revenues, up 40.5% year over year, and represented 79% of fourth-quarter revenues. Fiscal 2027 is essentially booked through the end of calendar 2027.

Customer orders now extend into calendar 2028, while long-term agreements reach through the end of the decade. Coherent also expects quarterly revenues to exceed $3 billion by the end of fiscal 2027, supported by capacity growth and new optical platforms.

Coherent's Margin Expansion Supports the Bull CaseAdjusted gross margin reached 40.2% in the fiscal fourth quarter, up 215 basis points year over year. Full-year adjusted gross margin improved 152 basis points to 39.4%, helped by lower input costs, better manufacturing yields and pricing optimization.

Six-inch indium phosphide wafers offer roughly four times the output at about half the cost of three-inch wafers, while yields are also higher. As that platform scales, management expects further margin improvement from its lower cost structure.

COHR's Cash Flow and Capex Raise Near-Term RiskFourth-quarter capital expenditures jumped to $556 million from $131 million a year earlier. Fiscal 2026 additions to property, plant and equipment reached $1.10 billion versus $440.8 million in fiscal 2025, and management expects another sequential capital-spending increase in the current quarter.

Operating cash flow fell to $79.5 million from $633.6 million, while inventory climbed 79.5% to $2.581 billion. The buildup supports expansion, but it also raises working-capital and demand-forecasting risk until production and cash generation catch up.

Coherent Faces a Crowded Execution CalendarIndium phosphide remains the primary transceiver bottleneck, and nearly every Datacenter and Communications product line is supply constrained. Coherent must simultaneously scale 1.6-terabit transceivers, optical circuit switching, co-packaged optics, multi-rail products and six-inch wafer production while Industrial demand remains weak.

Lumentum Holdings Inc. (LITE - Free Report) is also expanding U.S. manufacturing for advanced lasers serving AI data centers. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (AAOI - Free Report) is ramping 800-gigabit and 1.6-terabit transceiver capacity and expects demand to outpace production through mid-2027, underscoring the manufacturing race across AI optics.

COHR's Momentum Signal Is Strong but Mixed ElsewhereThe decline has lowered the entry price, but valuation is not clearly cheap. COHR trades at 26.5X forward 12-month earnings, above the Zacks sub-industry's 20.2X and equal to its five-year median multiple. Durable AI demand and expanding margins support upside, while weak cash conversion and overlapping ramps argue for selectivity.

COHR currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Coherent has a Momentum Score of A. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2027 earnings has risen 13.0% over the past four weeks, supporting the favorable near-term signal. Still, a Value Score of D, Growth Score of F and VGM Score of F temper the broader Style Score picture and keep execution and valuation risks in focus.

Coherent's stock just absorbed a brutal pullback while its forward earnings estimates climbed higher, a rare split that forces a direct question about whether the optical AI infrastructure trade still has legs at this price.

Coherent (NYSE:COHR | COHR Price Prediction) looks compelling at $268.64, with the stock having pulled back 8.74% in the past week even as forward earnings estimates keep marching higher. That combination of cooling price and heating fundamentals is exactly the moment worth having a view on.

Coherent is a photonics manufacturer whose lasers, transceivers, and optical components sit at the physical layer of the AI datacenter. Its Datacenter and Communications segment now accounts for 79% of total sales and grew 59% year over year in the June quarter. A run from roughly $87.80 a year ago to the high $330s in August, followed by a fade back to the current level, has left the stock in a genuine debate zone.

Why the AI Bandwidth Trade Still Has Room The bull case rests on a supply-constrained business selling into a demand curve that keeps steepening. Q4 revenue hit $2.05 billion, non-GAAP EPS came in at $1.74, and non-GAAP operating margin expanded to 21.8% from 18.0% a year earlier. Management guided Q1 FY27 revenue to between $2.2 billion and $2.4 billion and is targeting a quarterly revenue run rate above $3 billion by the end of fiscal 2027.

Bookings hit a record, customer orders now extend into calendar 2028, and CEO Jim Anderson said “AI datacenter architectures increasingly transition from copper to optical connectivity.” That copper-to-optical shift is the same tailwind lifting the non-chip AI suppliers we profiled in a free report on seven picks-and-shovels names powering the buildout. New platforms in 1.6T transceivers, optical circuit switches, CPO, and thermal solutions all ramp into fiscal 2027, and analysts have raised the FY27 EPS estimate from $8.0885 ninety days ago to $9.4061.

Where the Valuation Gets Uncomfortable The bear case starts with the multiple. A trailing P/E of 65 leaves little margin for error, and FY26 operating cash flow fell 87.45% to $79.5 million as capital expenditures jumped 150.18% to $1.1 billion. Long-term debt sits at $3.2 billion.

Concentration compounds the risk. Nearly four fifths of revenue depends on hyperscaler AI capex, industrial revenue was roughly flat pro forma for the year, and Q3 industrial fell 16.1%. Any push out of CPO, indium phosphide yield stumbles, or slowdown in 800G and 1.6T adoption hits a stock that already tripled off its September 2025 base.

Argument for Patience The hold view says the setup is real but the entry is awkward. Shares are down 6.77% over the past month, and the next print will test whether guidance ranges tighten. Coherent Photon Link launches at an industry event on September 21, CPO revenue begins in fiscal Q2 2027, and Thermodyte cooling ramps in the second half of calendar 2027. Waiting one quarter costs optionality but buys visibility on capex payback and margin trajectory toward the 42% gross margin target.

What the Numbers Say About the Setup Coherent currently trades at $268.64 against an average analyst price target of $397.63 across 21 analysts, implying roughly 48% upside, with a consensus Buy rating. Targets are one data point among many.

Performance context matters. COHR is up 45.55% year to date and 205.97% over one year, versus roughly 11.99% YTD and 18.13% over one year for the S&P 500. FY26 revenue reached $7.12 billion, up 22.51%, with net income of $805 million.

Why the Setup Still Looks Favorable Here At $268.64, the setup warrants a closer look. Here is why.

The path to appreciation is mechanical. Internal indium phosphide capacity doubles by the end of the current quarter, one quarter ahead of plan, and doubles again by the end of calendar 2027. That directly translates into transceiver volume for 800G and 1.6T, the two products in tightest demand. Layer in CPO revenue starting fiscal Q2 2027 with NVIDIA-linked ultra-high-power lasers, plus optical circuit switching addressing a $4 billion opportunity, and the FY28 consensus of $13.9489 in EPS looks bracketed by real orders.

The risk/reward at this entry is favorable because the stock has already absorbed a roughly 20% drawdown from the August print while forward estimates rose. What would invalidate the call: a CPO push out, a 1.6T adoption stall, or a hyperscaler capex reset. Investors should watch quarterly indium phosphide output, 1.6T mix, and CPO revenue recognition in the December quarter.

Coherent is compounding earnings faster than its price is rising, and that is the crux of the bull case.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Deutsche Bank Unveils Its Top AI Hardware Stocks as Demand Keeps Growing Summary

Deutsche Bank sees opportunities across optical components, networking and computing hardware as AI infrastructure spending expands

Deutsche Bank has started covering a group of hardware stocks tied to the expansion of AI infrastructure, with Lumentum Holdings LITE and Coherent COHR emerging as its top picks.

Analyst Gianmarco Conti said AI adoption is increasing demand for computing capacity as consumers and businesses use more data and digital services. That trend could broaden the investment opportunity beyond GPUs toward CPUs, optical components and other infrastructure.

Lumentum and Coherent received Buy ratings. Deutsche Bank pointed to their laser technologies, which are used in optical connections for AI systems. Conti also noted that both companies face supply constraints and are raising prices, while Nvidia has invested $2 billion in each company.

Arista Networks ANET and Cisco Systems CSCO also received Buy ratings. Deutsche Bank cited Arista's exposure to enterprise and sovereign AI deployments and Cisco's combination of silicon, optics and networking systems, alongside $9.3 billion in hyperscaler AI orders.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) also earned a Buy rating. A10 Networks (ATEN), Dell Technologies (DELL) and Ingram Micro (INGM) received Hold ratings.

What it means for stocks: Deutsche Bank's coverage highlights optical and networking suppliers as potential beneficiaries of continued AI infrastructure spending.

Disclosures I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and have no plans to buy any new positions in the stocks mentioned within the next 72 hours.

Click for the complete disclosure

Shares of Coherent (COHR - Free Report) have gained 1.5% over the past four weeks to close the last trading session at $275.49, but there could still be a solid upside left in the stock if short-term price targets of Wall Street analysts are any indication. Going by the price targets, the mean estimate of $408.7 indicates a potential upside of 48.4%.

The mean estimate comprises 20 short-term price targets with a standard deviation of $58.69. While the lowest estimate of $279.00 indicates a 1.3% increase from the current price level, the most optimistic analyst expects the stock to surge 81.5% to reach $500.00. It's very important to note the standard deviation here, as it helps understand the variability of the estimates. The smaller the standard deviation, the greater the agreement among analysts.

While the consensus price target is highly sought after by investors, the ability and unbiasedness of analysts in setting price targets have long been questionable. And investors making investment decisions solely based on this tool would arguably do themselves a disservice.

But, for COHR, an impressive average price target is not the only indicator of a potential upside. Strong agreement among analysts about the company's ability to report better earnings than they predicted earlier strengthens this view. While a positive trend in earnings estimate revisions doesn't gauge how much a stock could gain, it has proven to be powerful in predicting an upside.

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Here's What You Should Know About Analysts' Price TargetsAccording to researchers at several universities across the globe, a price target is one of many pieces of information about a stock that misleads investors far more often than it guides. In fact, empirical research shows that price targets set by several analysts, irrespective of the extent of agreement, rarely indicate where the price of a stock could actually be heading.

While Wall Street analysts have deep knowledge of a company's fundamentals and the sensitivity of its business to economic and industry issues, many of them tend to set overly optimistic price targets. Are you wondering why?

They usually do that to drum up interest in shares of companies that their firms either have existing business relationships with or are looking to be associated with. In other words, business incentives of firms covering a stock often result in inflated price targets set by analysts.

However, a tight clustering of price targets, which is represented by a low standard deviation, indicates that analysts have a high degree of agreement about the direction and magnitude of a stock's price movement. While that doesn't necessarily mean the stock will hit the average price target, it could be a good starting point for further research aimed at identifying the potential fundamental driving forces.

That said, while investors should not entirely ignore price targets, making an investment decision solely based on them could lead to disappointing ROI. So, price targets should always be treated with a high degree of skepticism.

Here's Why There Could be Plenty of Upside Left in COHRThere has been increasing optimism among analysts lately about the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by strong agreement among them in revising EPS estimates higher. And that could be a legitimate reason to expect an upside in the stock. After all, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For the current year, 10 estimates have moved higher over the last 30 days compared to no negative revision. As a result, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased 13.1%.

Moreover, COHR currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), which means it is in the top 20% of more than 4,000 stocks that we rank based on four factors related to earnings estimates. Given an impressive externally-audited track record, this is a more conclusive indication of the stock's potential upside in the near term. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .

Therefore, while the consensus price target may not be a reliable indicator of how much COHR could gain, the direction of price movement it implies does appear to be a good guide.

SK Hynix just published a technology roadmap that redraws where optics belong inside an AI system, and one company supplies nearly every component required to build it.

The investment case for Coherent Corp. (NYSE: COHR) | COHR Price Prediction has largely centered on one increasingly important problem: artificial intelligence processors are producing data faster than conventional electrical connections can move it. That imbalance has driven rapid demand for Coherent’s 800-gigabit and 1.6-terabit optical transceivers, indium phosphide lasers, optical circuit switches, and silicon-photonics components.

A new technology roadmap from SK hynix Inc. (NASDAQ: SKHY) suggests that Coherent’s opportunity could become substantially broader.

On August 20, SK hynix announced that it had collaborated with researchers from several leading universities on a co-packaged-optics roadmap published in Nature Electronics. The paper describes an AI architecture in which optical links move beyond communications between conventional network switches and directly connect separate pools of processors and memory.

That distinction is the investment hook. Coherent is already benefiting as data centers replace copper connections with optical transceivers. Nvidia has also moved CPO into production for networking switches. SK hynix is now describing an additional stage in which photonics becomes part of the architecture connecting processors with memory resources.

If the industry follows this direction, optics will not remain confined to the edges of AI servers and switches. It will move progressively closer to the most valuable components in the system: accelerators and high-bandwidth memory.

Coherent is positioned across nearly every critical portion of that transition. The company supplies high-power indium phosphide lasers, external laser-source modules, silicon-photonics components, microlens arrays, fiber-attach units, polarization-maintaining fiber, optical circuit switches, and complete optical transceivers. It has demonstrated a 6.4-terabit silicon-photonics CPO system and has secured very-high-volume, multiyear orders from a leading AI data center customer.

The market has already recognized Coherent as an AI optical-transceiver company. SK hynix’s roadmap creates a more expansive possibility: Coherent could become an enabling supplier for the optical fabric connecting processors, switches, and memory throughout the AI system.

SK Hynix Is Looking Beyond HBM SK hynix became one of the largest financial beneficiaries of the AI boom by solving the first major memory bottleneck. Its high-bandwidth memory places vertically stacked DRAM close to the processor and connects it through an extremely wide interface, allowing substantially more data to reach the accelerator than conventional server memory can provide.

That position has generated extraordinary cash flow. On August 19, SK hynix announced a KRW40 trillion, or approximately $28.7 billion, share-repurchase program. The company will buy and cancel 24.07 million common shares, representing approximately 3.3% of its issued shares.

The cancellation is important because those shares will be permanently removed rather than held in treasury for possible reissuance. SK hynix also committed to returning more than 50% of cumulative free cash flow generated during its 2025–2027 shareholder-return period through repurchases, cancellations, and dividends.

One day after announcing the buyback, however, SK hynix focused attention on what comes after HBM.

The company’s CPO technology roadmap argues that the AI industry is moving from chip-level competition toward system-level competition. HBM increased bandwidth between memory and an accelerator, but increasingly large AI systems must also move data between thousands of accelerators, multiple memory resources, storage systems, and network switches.

Electrical signals encounter greater power consumption, heat generation, and signal-integrity problems as speeds and distances increase. The industry can continue improving copper connections, but the physical limitations become progressively more difficult and expensive to overcome.

Optical connections carry more data over longer distances while consuming less energy per bit. CPO moves the optical conversion closer to the processor or switching silicon, minimizing the distance traveled electrically.

SK hynix’s proposed architecture goes further than the CPO switches attracting most current investment attention. It describes a photonic interposer that directly connects computing resources in an XPU pool with memory resources in a separate memory pool.

This would allow processors to access larger and more flexible quantities of memory rather than depending entirely upon the HBM physically attached to each accelerator. The architecture remains a roadmap rather than a commercial product, but its direction is important. The world’s leading HBM supplier believes future memory systems will increasingly require optical as well as electrical connectivity.

Why This Matters More Than Another CPO Announcement Investors have been hearing about CPO for several years, creating understandable skepticism about whether every new roadmap represents a meaningful commercial development. In this case, two factors make the announcement more important.

First, CPO has entered production.

In May, Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) announced that its Spectrum-X Ethernet Photonics switches were in production as part of the Vera Rubin infrastructure ramp. The platform uses CPO and 200-gigabit-per-second serializer/deserializer technology to support networks connecting extremely large numbers of AI accelerators.

Nvidia says Spectrum-X Ethernet Photonics provides five times better power efficiency, five times longer AI-system uptime, and 1.3 times faster deployment than networks based on traditional transceivers. CoreWeave, Lambda, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure are among the first identified adopters.

The production announcement moved CPO beyond a laboratory demonstration or conference prototype. Data center customers can now begin deploying the technology within commercial AI infrastructure.

Second, SK hynix is not an optical-component manufacturer attempting to create demand for its own products. It is the leading supplier of the HBM used with Nvidia accelerators. Its decision to publish a roadmap for processor-to-memory optical architecture provides independent confirmation that data movement is becoming a system-level constraint.

Nvidia validates the near-term CPO market in network switches. SK hynix expands the long-term opportunity toward memory and compute.

Coherent participates in both.

Coherent Has More Than a Laser Position The immediate temptation is to frame CPO primarily as an external-laser opportunity. That interpretation is incomplete for Coherent because the company supplies a considerably broader collection of components.

A CPO system must generate light, deliver it to the optical engine, modulate it with data, align it precisely, and transfer it into optical fiber. Each function requires specialized active and passive components.

High-power continuous-wave indium phosphide lasers provide the light. External laser-source modules move those lasers away from the hot switch package, improving thermal stability, reliability, and serviceability. Silicon-photonics integrated circuits modulate the light with data. Microlens arrays and fiber-attach units align the optical signal with the fiber, where extremely small deviations can increase loss and impair performance.

Coherent participates at each of these levels.

The company produces high-power indium phosphide continuous-wave lasers at its Sherman, Texas, facility. It integrates lasers with isolators and thermoelectric cooling into external laser-source modules. It designs silicon-photonics products and manufactures microlenses, polarization-maintaining fiber, prisms, and fiber-attach assemblies.

Coherent’s vertical participation does not guarantee that it will supply every component in a production platform. Nvidia and other customers will maintain multiple suppliers to reduce risk and preserve negotiating leverage. However, Coherent’s breadth gives it several opportunities to win content within the same system.

It also allows Coherent to optimize components as a coordinated optical platform instead of developing each product independently. That can become increasingly important as CPO architectures require tighter alignment, lower optical loss, higher laser power, and greater reliability.

According to Table 1, the optical transition is developing across several increasingly demanding stages. Coherent already generates substantial revenue from pluggable transceivers, is positioned in commercial CPO switching platforms, and could eventually address processor-to-memory optical architectures of the type proposed by SK hynix.

The progression matters because each stage increases the amount of optical content required to support an AI system. Pluggable optics connect discrete pieces of equipment. Switch CPO moves photonics onto the switching package. Processor-to-memory photonics could embed optical communication more deeply within the compute architecture.

That is why Coherent describes CPO as an expansion of its serviceable available market rather than merely a replacement for existing transceivers.

A Potential $15 Billion Market At its March 2026 Optical Fiber Communication investor presentation, Coherent estimated that the CPO serviceable available market could exceed $15 billion by 2030.

That forecast is a company estimate rather than an independent guarantee, but it illustrates the scale of the opportunity management believes is developing. More importantly, the estimate was based principally on CPO and near-packaged-optics adoption in switches and processors. SK hynix’s proposed memory-pooling architecture could increase the ultimate market by adding more optical interfaces around memory.

The addressable market should not be interpreted as revenue Coherent will automatically capture. The supply chain includes Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LITE) in high-power lasers and external laser sources, Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) in optical fiber and connectivity, TSMC in silicon-photonics manufacturing and advanced packaging, and numerous companies supplying connectors, fiber assemblies, and optical engines.

Coherent’s advantage is not that it operates without competitors. It is that it competes across more individual CPO components than most publicly traded alternatives.

Lumentum may possess particularly strong exposure to the high-power external-laser bottleneck. Corning supplies essential fiber, alignment grooves, and connectivity products. Coherent combines laser and passive-optical technologies with transceivers, silicon photonics, fiber attachment, and advanced manufacturing.

That breadth gives Coherent several potential revenue paths as customers determine which CPO architectures reach volume production.

The Commercial Evidence Is Already Building Coherent is not relying solely upon SK hynix’s future roadmap.

The company disclosed at OFC 2026 that it had secured very-high-volume, multiyear orders from a market-leading AI data center customer for CPO solutions. The products include high-power continuous-wave lasers and external laser sources manufactured using Coherent’s expanding 6-inch indium phosphide platform.

Coherent has also demonstrated a socketed 6.4-terabit silicon-photonics CPO platform. The demonstration combined an external laser source, an internally produced indium phosphide continuous-wave laser, an isolator, thermoelectric cooling, polarization-maintaining fiber, microlenses, and fiber-attach technology.

The importance is not simply the 6.4-terabit data rate. The demonstration showed that Coherent can integrate active and passive technologies drawn from multiple portions of its portfolio into a working CPO architecture.

The company’s Sherman facility is ramping high-power continuous-wave lasers on 6-inch indium phosphide wafers. Moving from 3-inch to 6-inch wafers increases the available manufacturing area by approximately four times, allowing more devices to be fabricated during each process cycle. Coherent has reported that yields on its 6-inch platform have exceeded those of its older 3-inch lines.

This manufacturing transition is essential because the CPO opportunity cannot be monetized through technical demonstrations alone. Coherent must produce large quantities of high-power lasers with consistent performance, reliability, and acceptable cost.

Nvidia’s March agreement provided additional validation. The company invested $2 billion in Coherent as part of a multiyear, nonexclusive strategic partnership covering advanced optical technology, manufacturing expansion, research and development, and future capacity access. The agreement also includes a multibillion-dollar purchase commitment.

Nvidia made a parallel investment in Lumentum, confirming that it intends to maintain multiple laser suppliers. But its willingness to invest directly in Coherent demonstrates that the company’s manufacturing capacity and technology have become strategically important to Nvidia’s AI roadmap.

Coherent’s Current Revenue Acceleration CPO offers substantial future upside, but investors do not need to wait for processor-to-memory photonics to justify Coherent’s current AI position. Its established optical business is already converting higher AI infrastructure spending into revenue growth and margin expansion.

During Coherent’s fiscal fourth quarter, Data Center and Communications revenue increased 59% year over year and 19% sequentially to $1.62 billion. The segment reached 79% of total company revenue, compared with a much smaller contribution from the Industrial business.

Total quarterly revenue increased 34% year over year to $2.05 billion, or 42% on a pro forma basis excluding divested operations. Non-GAAP gross margin expanded by 215 basis points to 40.2%, while adjusted earnings increased to $1.74 per share from $1.00 one year earlier.

For fiscal 2026, Data Center and Communications revenue increased approximately 40% to $5.27 billion. Coherent’s full-year revenue reached $7.12 billion, increasing 23% on a reported basis and approximately 28% on a pro forma basis.

Management guided fiscal first-quarter 2027 revenue to between $2.2 billion and $2.4 billion, with non-GAAP earnings of $1.85 to $2.05 per share. The midpoint of the revenue range would represent another sequential increase of approximately 12%.

The current growth is being driven primarily by conventional optical products rather than the longer-term CPO opportunity. Coherent is shipping 800G transceivers while rapidly ramping 1.6T products across multiple customers. The higher-speed products carry higher initial average selling prices and can improve product mix as manufacturing yields rise.

This provides an important balance to the investment case. Coherent does not require immediate mass adoption of SK hynix’s photonic-memory architecture. Its current optical business is already growing quickly, while CPO and processor-to-memory connectivity add longer-term optionality.

From SiC Tailwinds to AI Optical Growth The longer-term revenue record shows how completely Coherent’s growth engine has changed. The fiscal 2022 baseline is important because the Materials operation initially expanded strongly in fiscal 2023 before weaker consumer electronics and the EV-driven SiC retrenchment reduced revenue.

According to Table 2, Networking revenue increased 55.6% from fiscal 2022 through fiscal 2025, while Materials declined 14.7% and legacy Coherent Lasers declined 5.6%. The smaller decline in Lasers should not be interpreted as evidence that the acquired business produced a superior return. II-VI paid approximately $7.1 billion for legacy Coherent and assumed substantial debt and integration costs for a business that subsequently generated little revenue growth.

Note: The fiscal 2022 Lasers figure represents legacy Coherent’s trailing-12-month pro forma revenue. Networking and Materials reflect II-VI’s recast segment results.

The Materials decline does not invalidate the SiC investment thesis that existed in 2023. Materials initially increased 20.6%, from $1.119 billion in fiscal 2022 to $1.350 billion in fiscal 2023, consistent with Coherent’s disclosure that SiC revenue had grown more than 40%.

Most of the fiscal 2024 Materials contraction resulted from a significant consumer-electronics customer’s design change. The later weakness reflected slowing automotive and SiC demand as the U.S. EV market retrenched. That reversal was becoming identifiable in early 2024 before it became fully visible in Coherent’s annual results.

Materials also retained considerable economic value. Fiscal 2025 Materials revenue declined 6%, but segment profit increased 19% to $355 million because of better product mix, improved pricing, and lower manufacturing costs.

Networking produced a fundamentally different result. Revenue increased from $2.198 billion in fiscal 2022 to $3.421 billion in fiscal 2025, before Data Center and Communications accelerated further in fiscal 2026.

Optical networking became the growth platform that SiC appeared capable of becoming before the EV downturn. The difference is that optical demand is now being supported simultaneously by Nvidia’s product roadmap, hyperscaler capital spending, the transition from 800G to 1.6T transceivers, CPO commercialization, and the potential movement of photonics toward processors and memory.

The historical numbers therefore add an important dimension to the SK hynix announcement. Coherent is not attempting to build an optical business around an unproven technology roadmap. It is extending the strongest-performing part of its existing portfolio into another layer of AI infrastructure.

Why the Market Could Still Be Underestimating Coherent Coherent’s share price already reflects substantial enthusiasm for AI optical networking. The stock cannot be characterized as an undiscovered or conventionally inexpensive company based on trailing GAAP earnings.

The possible mispricing lies elsewhere. Investors may be valuing Coherent primarily as a supplier of faster generations of pluggable optical transceivers. That captures the existing 800G-to-1.6T transition but does not necessarily capture the full expansion of optical content inside future AI systems.

If CPO merely replaces pluggable transceivers one-for-one, the investment opportunity would be less compelling because revenue would migrate between product categories rather than create a substantially larger market.

Coherent’s argument is that CPO expands the market because optics begins replacing copper in additional connections. The optical content moves from the front panel of a switch closer to the switching ASIC, then toward processors, and potentially toward pools of memory.

SK hynix’s roadmap supports that argument. It does not present CPO as a different packaging format for the same network connection. It presents optical communication as part of a restructured computing and memory architecture.

That is a significantly larger vision—and one in which Coherent’s broad component portfolio becomes more valuable.

Risks Remain Substantial The principal risk is adoption timing. SK hynix’s photonic-interposer architecture remains a technology roadmap, not a product with a disclosed manufacturing date or customer commitment. Processor-to-memory optical links will require new standards, packaging techniques, memory controllers, software, and system architectures.

CPO also creates reliability and serviceability challenges. Integrating optical engines close to a hot switch ASIC can complicate manufacturing and repair. External laser sources solve part of the problem by keeping replaceable lasers away from the hottest silicon, but fiber coupling and optical alignment must remain stable under demanding operating conditions.

Customer concentration presents another concern. AI optical demand is driven by a relatively small number of hyperscalers and accelerator-platform companies. Large customers can change architectures, qualify competing suppliers, or alter deployment schedules. Nvidia’s agreement is nonexclusive, and Coherent must continue competing with Lumentum and other suppliers for content.

Coherent is also investing heavily to expand capacity. Capital expenditures reached approximately $1.10 billion during fiscal 2026, while rapid growth increased working-capital requirements. Converting orders into profitable revenue will depend upon manufacturing yields, utilization, and execution across multiple facilities.

Finally, strong demand does not eliminate valuation risk. Investors have already rewarded optical companies for anticipated AI growth. Any delay in 1.6T deployments, CPO production, or hyperscaler capital spending could produce substantial share-price volatility.

These risks argue against treating the SK hynix announcement as an immediate earnings event. Its importance is strategic: it increases the number of AI connections that could eventually become optical.

Investor Takeaway SK hynix’s announcement is not simply another endorsement of CPO. It expands the technological objective.

Nvidia has already moved co-packaged optics into production for Ethernet switches. SK hynix is now proposing an architecture in which optical links connect processors directly with pooled memory resources. The combination suggests that photonics is progressing from data center networking toward the internal architecture of AI computing systems.

Coherent is unusually well positioned for that progression because it does not depend upon a single optical component. The company supplies indium phosphide lasers, external laser sources, silicon photonics, microlenses, optical circuit switches, polarization-maintaining fiber, and fiber-attach assemblies. It has demonstrated an integrated 6.4T CPO platform and has secured very-high-volume, multiyear orders from a leading AI data center customer.

The revenue record supports the thesis. Networking increased 55.6% between fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2025, while the company’s Data Center and Communications segment grew another 59% year over year during the latest quarter. Total quarterly revenue reached $2.05 billion, and management expects as much as $2.4 billion in the current quarter. Nvidia’s $2 billion investment provides additional validation and supports the capacity expansion required to meet future demand.

The SK hynix roadmap adds something not fully reflected in those current results. If optical connectivity moves from switches toward processors and memory, Coherent’s addressable market increases without requiring the company to abandon its existing transceiver business. Pluggable optics, optical circuit switching, CPO, and processor-to-memory photonics can coexist as separate layers of the same AI infrastructure.

Coherent estimates that CPO alone could become a market exceeding $15 billion by 2030. SK hynix’s entry into the discussion suggests that even this estimate may not capture the full long-term opportunity if memory architectures become increasingly optical.

Coherent is already helping AI systems move data between servers and switches. SK hynix has now provided a roadmap for moving optics directly toward compute and memory. That development makes Coherent more than a beneficiary of the current transceiver cycle. It positions the company for a broader architectural change in how future AI systems are connected.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Key Takeaways Coherent appears better positioned, backed by faster expected growth, estimate momentum and a lower valuation.COHR expects fiscal 2027 sales and EPS growth of 50% and 67%, with EPS estimates trending higher.APP offers stronger margins and cash generation, but its richer valuation weigh on appeal. Coherent Corp. (COHR - Free Report) and AppLovin Corporation (APP - Free Report) are both high-growth technology companies benefiting from the broader expansion of artificial intelligence. Coherent supports AI infrastructure through optical networking, lasers, and communications technologies used in data centers and high-speed connectivity. AppLovin applies AI through its Axon advertising platform to improve targeting, monetization and performance marketing. Both stocks attract growth-oriented investors seeking exposure to companies with strong AI-related demand, expanding markets and significant long-term earnings potential.

COHR: Optical Demand Drives Strong GrowthCoherent's latest results show how rapidly AI infrastructure demand is reshaping its business. Fiscal fourth-quarter revenues crossed $2 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.7% and rising 33.8% year over year and 13.3% sequentially. Full-year revenues increased 22.5% to a record $7.1 billion. The Datacenter & Communications segment generated $1.6 billion in quarterly revenues, up 58.6% year over year, and accounted for about 79% of the total. However, Industrial revenues declined 15.8% to $430.5 million, making Coherent increasingly dependent on AI networking and optical connectivity.

Profitability improved along with sales. Non-GAAP gross margin reached 40.2%, while non-GAAP operating income jumped 62.1% to $446 million and the related margin expanded to 21.8%. Adjusted earnings of $1.74 per share increased 74% and beat the consensus mark by 7.4%. Better manufacturing yields, lower input costs, pricing actions and the shift to six-inch indium phosphide production supported the gains. The six-inch process can produce roughly four times the output at about half the cost of the older three-inch platform, improving Coherent's ability to convert demand into earnings.

The near-term outlook remains compelling. Coherent expects first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenues of $2.2-$2.4 billion. The $2.3 billion midpoint implies about 12.4% sequential growth, while the adjusted EPS guidance midpoint of $1.95 suggests another earnings step-up. Demand visibility extends into calendar 2028, supported by long-term agreements and ramps in 800-gigabit and 1.6-terabit transceivers, optical circuit switching, co-packaged optics and PhotonLink. These opportunities give Coherent substantial long-term growth potential.

The challenge is funding that expansion efficiently. Fourth-quarter capital expenditures reached $556 million, full-year property, plant and equipment additions surged 150.2% to $1.103 billion, and annual operating cash flow fell 87.5% to $79.5 million. Inventory increased 79.5% to $2.581 billion as the company prepared for higher output. Cash rose to $1.162 billion and total debt declined to $3.222 billion, but capacity constraints, heavy spending and weak Industrial demand leave execution and cash-conversion risks elevated.

APP: AI Advertising Delivers Exceptional EconomicsAppLovin continues to post faster growth and much stronger cash generation. Second-quarter 2026 revenues rose 52.4% year over year to $1.92 billion, although they missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.8%. Adjusted earnings increased 66.4% to $3.76 per share and beat the consensus mark by 1.1%, extending the company's streak of earnings beats to four quarters. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 58% to $1.61 billion, or about 83.9% of revenues, while free cash flow totaled $863 million. This combination highlights the operating leverage of AppLovin's AI-driven advertising platform.

Management's third-quarter guidance points to renewed momentum. The $2.07 billion revenue midpoint implies about 7.8% sequential growth, nearly double the second quarter's pace of 4%. The adjusted EBITDA midpoint of $1.725 billion indicates 7.1% sequential growth, with the margin expected to remain near 83%. Importantly, the outlook incorporates model enhancements already deployed after the June quarter. Consumer-advertiser spending also reached a record, up 28% from fourth-quarter 2025 levels, supporting AppLovin's effort to diversify beyond gaming.

AppLovin's balance sheet provides additional flexibility. The company ended the quarter with $3.05 billion in cash and $3.7 billion in debt, while net leverage was only about 0.1 times trailing adjusted EBITDA. It also repurchased or withheld approximately 1.14 million shares for $551 million. Risks remain: gaming-model improvements can arrive unevenly, AI compute costs are rising, and creative-production and onboarding bottlenecks could slow consumer expansion. These concerns, together with a slight revenue miss, contributed to the stock's roughly 17% post-earnings decline despite healthy underlying demand.

How Do Zacks Estimates Compare for COHR & APP?The Zacks Consensus Estimate for APP’s 2026 sales indicates year-over-year growth of 40%, and that for earnings indicates a year-over-year increase of 55%. EPS estimates have been trending downward over the past 60 days.

                                                                      Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for COHR’s fiscal 2027 sales and EPS indicates year-over-year growth of 50% and 67%, respectively. EPS estimates have been trending upwards over the past 60 days.

                                                              Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

COHR’s Valuation More Attractive Than APPCOHR is trading at a forward price-to-sales multiple of 5.01X, below its 12-month median of 5.25X. APP’s forward price-to-sales multiple stands at 10.81X, below its median of 19.47X.

Coherent Appears Better PositionedCoherent appears better positioned for investors seeking a more balanced AI growth opportunity, supported by stronger earnings-estimate momentum, faster expected growth and a more attractive valuation. Demand for AI-driven optical networking continues to accelerate, while improving manufacturing efficiency and a favorable product mix are strengthening margins. The company also enjoys extended demand visibility across advanced transceivers, optical circuit switching and co-packaged optics. Although AppLovin offers superior margins, cash generation and balance-sheet flexibility, and its AI-powered advertising platform is expanding, its richer valuation and downward earnings-estimate revisions temper its appeal.

While COHR carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), APP has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Key Takeaways Coherent's fiscal Q4 revenues rose 34% to $2.05B, led by 59% growth in Datacenter & Communications.Datacenter & Communications supplied nearly 79% of revenue, while adjusted operating margin rose to 21.8%.COHR sees fiscal Q1 2027 revenues of $2.2-$2.4B, while Industrial sales fell 16% year over year. Coherent Corp.’s (COHR - Free Report) quarterly revenues climbed to $2.05 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, up 34% year over year and 13% sequentially. The standout was Datacenter & Communications, where sales reached $1.62 billion, increasing 59% from the prior-year quarter and 19% from the fiscal third quarter. The business supplied nearly 79% of total revenues, underscoring how rapidly AI infrastructure demand is reshaping Coherent’s portfolio.

That momentum is also lifting profitability. GAAP gross margin expanded 277 basis points year over year to 38.5%, while adjusted operating margin improved 381 basis points to 21.8%. Management expects first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenues of $2.2-$2.4 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.85-$2.05 per share. The outlook suggests optical-connectivity demand and capacity additions can extend the growth run. However, Industrial revenues fell 16% year over year to $431 million, leaving results increasingly dependent on datacenter spending, production ramps and customer execution.

Two Optical Peers to WatchAmong optical peers, Lumentum Holdings (LITE - Free Report) and Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI - Free Report) provide useful benchmarks. Lumentum Holdings generated fiscal fourth-quarter revenues of $1.01 billion, more than doubling year over year, and guided to further sequential growth. Applied Optoelectronics posted second-quarter revenues of $191.9 million, up 86%, as its 800G ramp strengthened.

Lumentum Holdings offers broader scale and stronger margins, whereas Applied Optoelectronics brings faster expansion from a smaller base. Coherent’s greater revenue scale is an advantage, but the progress of both rivals shows that competition for AI-optics demand remains intense. Sustaining leadership will require converting demand into consistent margins and cash.

COHR’s Price Performance & EstimatesThe stock has gained 226.5% over the past year against the industry’s 9% fall.

                                                         Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, COHR trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 31.55X, well above the industry’s 21.17X. It carries a Value Score of D.

                                                                Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for COHR’s fiscal 2027 earnings increased over the past 60 days.

COHR currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.      

The artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure build-out is hitting a physical wall. As next-generation processors push past the 1,000-watt threshold, legacy packaging substrates are failing to dissipate the extreme heat generated by these clusters. Data center operators are discovering that without advanced thermal materials, the world's most powerful chips will throttle themselves to prevent hardware failures. Effective thermal management is no longer an optional upgrade; it is a hard constraint on performance.

Coherent Today

$297.21 +7.18 (+2.48%)

As of 09:40 AM Eastern

$85.94▼

$440.0072.31

$397.50

While the broader market fixates on software and chip design, the physical bottlenecks of AI hardware present a compelling investment thesis. Recent macroeconomic jitters have dragged shares of Coherent Corp. NYSE: COHR down about 12% in the past five days. This price drop is due to broader de-risking in the semiconductor sector, creating a severe disconnect between Coherent's technical valuation and its operational reality.

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By examining the fundamentals, investors can spot where the market is mispricing a vital supplier and observe how Coherent is positioning itself to address this industry-wide thermal crisis.

Spotting Value in a Sector-Wide Cool DownThe recent slide in Coherent's stock price feels detached from the underlying business fundamentals. Short interest remains healthy at current levels, indicating that institutional funds are not aggressively betting against Coherent's core operations. Instead, the current sub-$290 price level appears to be a byproduct of sector-wide rotation and general market anxiety.

Institutional accumulation continues to provide a robust floor, driven by sophisticated asset managers who recognize the durability of the current infrastructure cycle. When a ticker boasting a year-to-date climb exceeding 56% experiences a sharp, double-digit contraction in the absence of any fundamental deterioration, the structural narrative demands a closer look.

For market participants monitoring global supply chain pivots, this macro-induced volatility represents a severe disconnect, offering an asymmetrical entry into a vital, highly capitalized supplier precisely as their next-generation technology reaches the evaluation phase.

Breaking the 1,000-Watt Thermal CeilingThe thermal dynamics of modern computing are changing at a blistering pace. High-performance AI clusters operate at extreme temperatures, and the industry is quickly realizing that standard silicon packaging cannot handle the thermal load. Standard materials lack the thermal conductivity needed to quickly remove heat from the core. When this happens, chips warp, system performance degrades, and cooling costs skyrocket.

Coherent recently announced customer sampling of its industry-first 300mm high-thermal-conductivity silicon carbide substrates. Engineered specifically for AI semiconductor partners, this platform directly addresses the thermal bottlenecks throttling modern data centers. Silicon carbide offers incredible mechanical strength and stability, but Coherent's specific engineering delivers up to a 25% improvement in heat spreading compared to current market solutions.

By successfully moving 300mm silicon carbide from internal development to customer evaluation, Coherent transitions from a traditional optical components provider to an indispensable thermal management vendor. When heat removal dictates system reliability, owning the technology that cools the processors means owning a critical piece of the AI value chain.

Bigger Wafers, Better MarginsMoving from a 200mm to a 300mm-diameter platform is a notable technical milestone, but the financial impact should be what catches an investor's attention. Larger wafers drastically increase the usable chip yield per run, improving unit economics. As Coherent fulfills a heavily backlogged order book for AI infrastructure, this pricing power translates directly into margin expansion.

The valuation metrics already reflect this anticipated growth. Coherent is currently trading at a trailing price-to-earnings ratio near 70, which compresses sharply to a forward multiple closer to 37. This expectation of near-term earnings expansion is validated by recent execution. In the fourth quarter earnings report, Coherent delivered earnings per share of $1.74, beating consensus estimates by 31 cents, while driving top-line revenue up about 34% year-over-year.

Scaling manufacturing capacity is notoriously expensive and often forces technology hardware firms to take on heavy debt loads. Coherent has effectively bypassed this risk. Coherent secured an aggregate investment of around $1 billion from Denso OTCMKTS: DNZOY and Mitsubishi Electric OTCMKTS: MIELY, structurally de-risking the aggressive capital expenditures required for the 300mm transition. Denso and Mitsubishi are not passive financiers; they are large consumers of silicon carbide. Their capital injection serves as a heavy validation of Coherent's manufacturing prowess while subsidizing the data center scale-up.

Backed by a debt-to-equity ratio of about 0.29, the balance sheet has ample liquidity to fund the factory expansion without diluting shareholder equity. This setup creates a favorable PEG ratio sitting near 0.8, signaling that the market has not fully priced in the upcoming earnings growth curve.

Regulatory Firewalls and Captive MarketsBeyond the immediate product catalyst, structural shifts in federal policy are creating a wide moat around Coherent's optical and thermal businesses. The Federal Communications Commission is reportedly eyeing a potential ban on Chinese optical transceivers. A regulatory shift of this magnitude fundamentally reroutes domestic data center supply chains.

These components act as the nervous system of the modern data center. Swapping them out for compliant hardware is a capital-intensive necessity for server operators, not a choice. Hyperscalers are being forced to prioritize domestic suppliers to avoid regulatory friction. This creates an artificial supply-demand imbalance, effectively handing a captive-market duopoly to domestic manufacturers like Coherent and its optical communications peers. Industry tracking suggests that order flow is currently outrunning factory capacity, creating a backlog that provides Coherent with highly predictable revenue visibility extending well into the coming fiscal years.

The Cold Hard Truth About Coherent's Value96th Percentile

Moderate Buy

37.4% Upside

Healthy

N/A

0.09 Selling Shares

43.96%

See Full Analysis

When a business posts a 34% revenue jump, beats earnings estimates, secures a billion dollars in strategic backing, and launches a vital infrastructure product, a double-digit contraction in its stock price rarely aligns with the core business reality. The market is temporarily mispricing the equity due to macroeconomic fears, ignoring the reality that AI demand is outpacing the factories capable of supplying the hardware.

The consensus among analysts remains a Moderate Buy, with average price targets indicating nearly 38% upside from current levels. For those looking to gain exposure to the physical build-out of the artificial intelligence economy, the recent pullback offers a highly compelling entry point.

Coherent has positioned itself as the direct solution to the industry's most pressing engineering problem, making it a foundational piece of tomorrow's technological infrastructure.

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Key Takeaways Ciena benefits from AI demand, record revenue and a $7.7 billion backlog, supporting growth visibility.Coherent saw strong AI data center growth, with 800G and 1.6T transceiver demand driving opportunities.Coherent's improving earnings outlook and lower valuation give it an edge over Ciena. Ciena Corporation (CIEN - Free Report) and Coherent Corp. (COHR - Free Report) are benefiting from growing AI-driven demand for high-speed optical networking infrastructure as hyperscalers and service providers expand data center capacity and require higher-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity. Ciena is leveraging its broad portfolio across optical systems, routing and switching, interconnects and related technologies, while Coherent is benefiting from demand for optical components and transceivers supporting the expansion of AI data centers.

Both companies are positioned to benefit from the continued expansion of AI infrastructure, but their growth drivers and market opportunities differ. Ciena is seeing strong demand from cloud customers and service providers, supported by a growing backlog, new hyperscaler wins and adoption of high-speed connectivity solutions. The comparison therefore centers on which company offers the stronger growth opportunity and overall investment case as AI continues to drive spending on optical networking infrastructure.

Let’s analyze their fundamentals, growth opportunities, market challenges and valuation to assess which one presents a stronger investment opportunity.

The Case for CIENCiena is benefiting from strong AI-driven demand for optical networking infrastructure from hyperscalers and service providers, supported by rising bandwidth requirements, increasing data center interconnect activity and solid adoption of coherent optical technologies. This strength was reflected in record second-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue of $1.57 billion, up 40% year over year. Backlog also increased by more than $600 million sequentially to $7.7 billion, providing strong visibility into 2027.

Product adoption and new customer wins are further supporting Ciena’s growth outlook. The company secured the industry’s first multi-rail order for its RLS Hyper-Rail platform from a leading hyperscaler, while DCOM helped drive 88% year-over-year growth in the Routing and Switching segment in the fiscal second quarter. Demand for 400G and 800G pluggables remains strong, with pluggable revenue expected to more than double from 2025. Direct cloud customer revenue increased 70% year over year, while service provider revenue rose 28%.

Ciena’s improving financial performance and higher fiscal 2026 outlook also reinforce its growth prospects. Adjusted gross margin expanded to 44.9%, adjusted operating margin reached 19.5% and adjusted EPS nearly quadrupled to $1.64. Free cash flow totaled $219 million, while cash was $1.4 billion. Following strong first-half execution, management raised its fiscal 2026 guidance and now expects revenue of approximately $6.3 billion, plus or minus $100 million, with adjusted gross margin of 44.5% to 45% and operating margin of around 19%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

However, Ciena continues to face supply constraints as demand remains ahead of available component supply. On the last earnings call, management indicated that the industry-wide supply-demand imbalance persists, requiring continued investments with suppliers to secure manufacturing capacity and ensure supply availability. These constraints could limit Ciena’s ability to fully convert strong customer demand into revenue.

Higher operating expenses and reliance on continued customer spending also pose concerns. Ciena raised its operating expense guidance to support supply-security initiatives and higher variable compensation, which could pressure profitability despite benefits from engineering cost reductions, pricing optimization and disciplined working capital management. In addition, growth remains dependent on sustained networking investments by hyperscalers and service providers as AI workloads expand. While hyperscalers have increased their 2026 capital expenditure plans and service providers are resuming optical infrastructure investments, any slowdown in spending could affect demand, while supply availability remains critical to converting the company’s strong backlog into revenue.

The Case for COHRCoherent is benefiting from strong demand across AI data centers and communications, supporting robust growth in fiscal 2026. Full-year revenue reached a record $7.12 billion, up 23% year over year and 28% on a pro forma basis, while fourth-quarter revenue increased 34% year over year to a record $2.05 billion. The company’s performance was driven by strength in AI data center and communications demand, while non-GAAP EPS grew 59% for the full year.

Strong customer demand and expanding opportunities across the data center portfolio are further supporting Coherent’s growth prospects. Datacenter & Communications revenue increased 59% year over year in the fourth quarter, while data center revenue climbed 66%. Demand for 800G and 1.6T transceivers remains strong, with 1.6T adoption expected to accelerate through calendar 2026 and 2027. The company also expects OCS, CPO and multi-rail systems to increasingly contribute to growth as production capacity expands.

Expanding production capacity and improving profitability also strengthen Coherent’s outlook. The company is on track to double its internal indium phosphide output year over year by the end of the current quarter, with 6-inch production delivering higher yields than its 3-inch lines. Gross margin increased to 40.2% in the fourth quarter, with further improvement expected from capacity expansion, pricing optimization and cost efficiencies. Coherent expects fiscal 2027 first-quarter revenue of $2.2-$2.4 billion and is targeting more than $3 billion in quarterly revenue by the end of fiscal 2027.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

However, capacity constraints remain a key challenge for Coherent. On the last earnings call, management identified indium phosphide production as the primary constraint on the company’s transceiver business, while assembly and testing capacity remains available. Although Coherent is rapidly expanding its 6-inch indium phosphide production, the pace of this ramp remains important to its ability to meet strong customer demand and support further revenue growth.

Higher operating expenses are another concern as Coherent continues investing in its product portfolio and capacity expansion. Fourth-quarter non-GAAP operating expenses increased to $377 million from $348 million in the prior quarter and $307 million a year earlier, while full-year operating expenses rose to $1.35 billion from $1.17 billion, primarily due to increased product investments. Although operating expenses declined as a percentage of revenue and management expects further operating leverage, continued investment remains a factor as the company ramps new products and expands capacity.

CIEN Shares vs. COHROver the past three months, CIEN shares have declined 31.9% while Coherent stock has plunged 23.9%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Valuation for CIEN & COHRIn terms of Price/Book, CIEN shares are trading at 19.55X, higher than COHR’s 5X.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

How Do Zacks Estimates Compare for CIEN & COHR?Analysts have not revised their earnings estimates for CIEN’s bottom line for the current year.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

For COHR, there have been upward revisions for the current year.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

CIEN or COHR: Which Stock to Bet on?CIEN and COHR both currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), but COHR appears to be the better pick. Although both companies are benefiting from strong AI-driven demand and face capacity-related challenges, Coherent’s upward analyst revision for earnings estimates and comparatively lower valuation give it an edge over Ciena.

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

18.8.2026 22:02

Trhy v zámoří ke konci obchodní seance se začaly „uklidňovat“ přičemž je mírně uklidnil vývoj ceny ropy. Ta se nakonec posunula do mírně kladných čísel (WTI +0,41 %), a to díky komentářům prezidenta Trumpa ohledně vývoje v Hormuzu. Přesto indexy skončily v červených číslech a obzvláště čipovému sektoru se dnes nedařilo díky stálé obavě o kapitálových nákladech na AI infrastrukturu.

Proti proudu šly akcie Apple, které končí v kladných číslech (+1,45 %) Podobně tak i defenzivní sektor, kde kupříkladu Mastercard přidal +2,15 %.

V záporném teritoriu končí také cenné kovy, kdy zlato odepsalo - 1,65 % a stříbro výrazných -3,88 %. Mírně v kladných hodnotách končí kryptoměny, kde Bitcoin přidává +0,4 %. 

Index Dow Jones -0,22 % na 53343,64 b.
S&P 500 -0,69 % na 7691,92 b.
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Index S&P 500 -0,69 % na 7691,92 b. Nejsilnější sektory S&P Změna Nejslabší sektory S&P Změna Energie +1,8 % Informační technologie -1,9 % Zdravotní péče +1,6 % Průmysl -1,5 % Nezbytná spotřeba +1,1 % Základní materiály -0,9 % Nejsilnější akcie S&P Změna Nejslabší akcie S&P Změna Targa Resources Corp (TRGP) +7,1 % Coherent Corp (COHR) -13 % Insulet Corp (PODD) +6,0 % Lumentum Holdings (LITE) -9,9 % Ulta Beauty (ULTA) +4,8 % Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) -9,2 % Intuit (INTU) +4,4 % Sandisk Corp (SNDK) -9,0 % Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) +4,1 % Ciena Corp (CIEN) -8,9 %
Jan Pazourek, Fio banka, a.s.

SAXONBURG, Pa., Aug. 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Coherent Corp. (NYSE: COHR), a global leader in photonics, today announced that it has begun sampling of its 300mm high thermal conductivity silicon carbide (SiC) substrates to leading AI semiconductor partners. The milestone advances Coherent’s scalable materials platform for the growing thermal management requirements of artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) systems.

As AI processors move toward higher power densities, effective heat removal is becoming a primary constraint on system performance, reliability, and datacenter efficiency. Customer sampling moves Coherent’s 300mm SiC platform from internal development to customer evaluation across the AI semiconductor ecosystem.

Silicon carbide combines high thermal conductivity, mechanical strength, and thermal stability for next-generation heat spreaders and related packaging solutions. Coherent’s vertically integrated capabilities in SiC crystal growth, wafering, polishing, and characterization provide control across the production process and support progression toward future high-volume manufacturing. The high thermal conductivity substrates are engineered to improve heat spreading by up to 25% more than current solutions while maintaining compatibility with existing semiconductor manufacturing platforms.

“AI performance is increasingly constrained by the industry’s ability to remove heat from next-generation processors,” said Craig Mullaney, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Coherent. “Advanced SiC thermal management materials can play an important role in addressing that challenge. By combining decades of silicon carbide expertise with a scalable 300mm manufacturing platform, Coherent is helping build the materials foundation for future AI infrastructure.”

This milestone marks the next step in Coherent’s roadmap to expand its 300mm SiC platform for AI and high-performance computing. By combining customer engagement, vertically integrated materials expertise, and a scalable manufacturing strategy, Coherent is positioning its SiC capabilities to support successive generations of AI infrastructure.

For more information, please visit: https://www.coherent.com/news/press-releases/Coherent-expands-silicon-carbide-platform-with-300mm-capability-to-support-growing-demand-of-ai-and-datacenters.

About Coherent 

Coherent is the global photonics leader. We harness photons to drive innovation. Industry leaders in the datacenter, communications, and industrial markets rely on Coherent’s world-leading technology to fuel their own innovation and growth.

Founded in 1971 and operating in more than 20 countries, Coherent brings the industry’s broadest, deepest technology stack; unmatched supply chain resilience; and global scale to help its customers solve their toughest technology challenges. For more information, visit us at coherent.com.

Media Contact:
[email protected] 

An image accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3c1bdb4c-c9ee-4556-ac7d-7022f3f1fce3

Coherent 300mm high thermal conductivity SiC substrates 300mm high thermal conductivity silicon carbide (SiC) substrates

Andrew Graham believes Coherent (COHR) remains a buy after earnings despite what the selling action indicates. He says the company will deliver on surging AI demand as the AI buildout continues to ramp and explains how Coherent's business model will sustain over the coming years.

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AI clusters have a wiring problem. Copper cables cannot move enough data between GPU racks, so the industry is switching to light. That shift is why Coherent (NYSE:COHR | COHR Price Prediction) and Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) just posted the kind of quarters optical suppliers rarely see. Coherent reported Q4 FY2026 on August 12, 2026, and Lumentum reported a day earlier. Both beat. Their paths diverged.

One Owns the Module. The Other Owns the Laser Inside It. Coherent booked $2.045 billion in revenue, up 33.7% year over year, with the Datacenter & Communications segment producing $1.615 billion, or 79% of sales, growing 59% on a pro forma basis. Non-GAAP EPS came in at $1.74, a 7.60% beat. CEO Jim Anderson framed the setup plainly: “As AI datacenter architectures increasingly transition from copper to optical connectivity, we believe Coherent’s broad photonic technology portfolio and manufacturing scale uniquely position us to deliver accelerating growth.” Translation: own the whole module stack, from indium phosphide wafers up.

Lumentum went the other direction. Revenue hit $1.006 billion, up 109.3% year over year, non-GAAP gross margin reached 50.4%, a 1,260 basis point jump, and operating margin expanded 2,160 basis points to 36.6%. CEO Michael Hurlston said the company is “reaching our target model more than a quarter ahead of schedule.” That is the “pick and shovel” laser engine playing out in real time.

Full Stack vs. Rare Ingredient Lens Coherent Lumentum Core Bet Own module stack and InP scale Own high-margin laser engines Q4 Gross Margin 40.2% 50.4% Anchor Partner NVIDIA at Sherman, TX Hyperscaler CPO order, H1 CY2027 Next Catalyst CPO/NPO H2 2026, OCS H1 2027 OCS backlog above $400M Coherent is doubling internal InP output by year-end and doubling again by 2027, plus up to $50M in CHIPS Act funding. Vertical integration is the moat to capture massive top-line revenue at scale. Lumentum retreats up the value chain to own the rarest, most indispensable material-science bottleneck, and that shows in a P/S of 25.66 versus Coherent’s 9.74.

What I Am Watching Into FY27 Coherent guided Q1 FY27 revenue to $2.20B to $2.40B. Lumentum guided to $1.225B to $1.275B with operating margin of 39.5% to 40.5%. I want to see whether Coherent’s 205% one-year rally converts into CPO revenue on schedule, and whether Lumentum sustains margin now that the target model arrived early.

Where I Come Out on the Two If I want breadth, US manufacturing, and the NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) relationship anchoring my thesis, I lean Coherent. If I want the steepest margin ramp and the most concentrated exposure to the laser bottleneck itself, Lumentum fits better, even at a 43 forward P/E. Both look expensive after a 679% one-year run on LITE, so the next two quarters of CPO and OCS revenue will be the key checkpoints to watch before the story is proven.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

13.8.2026 19:00

Americké akcie jsou povzbuzeny daty z PPI, které snižují sázky na zvýšení úrokových sazeb. Výnosy státních dluhopisů v reakci na to klesly a kapitál se přelévá z bezpečnějších aktiv do růstových. Těží z toho především technologický sektor a sektor zdravotní péče (AbbVie +0,74 %). Daří se ale také utilitám (NextEra +0,45 %) a spotřebitelskému sektoru (Coca-Cola +0,93 %). Naopak se přízni netěší finanční sektor (Bank of America -1,15 %). Nutno k tomu podotknout, že příliv kapitálu opět do technologií je podpořen i předchozími robustními výnosy společností spojených s umělou inteligencí.

Strašákem stále ale zůstává vývoj v Hormuzském průlivu, přičemž pozitivní vyjádření z americké strany střídají vlažná vyjádření ze strany Íránského vedení. Počet proplutých tankerů se postupně snižuje a spolu s tím roste i cena ropy. Dnes je ovšem tento růst přerušen a ropa WTI odepisuje -1,57 %. I toto dnes podporuje růst akcií.

Z růstu technologií jako již obvykle dominuje čipový sekto vedený Sandiskem (+15,9 %) či Super Micro Computer (+7,17 %). Sandisk nastínil růst tržeb do roku 2030. Oproti tomu se nedaří SpaceX (-3,85 %), která konsoliduje po růstu z předchozích dní. Prozatím se ale akcie drží v krátkodobém růstovém kanálu.

Akcie společnosti Cisco Systems klesají o výrazných -8,77 %, ačkoliv kvartální výsledky byly robustní. Analytici uvedli, že laťka očekávání od zisků z AI byla příliš vysoko a predikce je „pouze“ v souladu s očekáváním. Spolu s tím jsme svědky nižších hrubých marží, což investoři poslední dobou zaceňují velice přísně.

Poskytovatel filmů a seriálů Netflix dnes přidává +4,14 %. Je to díky zprávě do významného hedgového fondu Billa Ackrmana, který vytvořil novou pozici ve výši 3,15 mil. akcií. Fond konstatuje, že Netflix fakticky vyhrál streamovací válku a předpokládá dvouciferný růst tržeb.

  Index Dow Jones -0,07 % na 53730,95 b.
S&P 500 +0,56 % na 7791,7 b.
Nasdaq Composite +0,71 % na 26776,72 b.

Index S&P 500 +0,56 % na 7791,7 b. Nejsilnější sektory S&P Změna Nejslabší sektory S&P Změna Reality +1,2 % Základní materiály -0,6 % Komunikační služby +1,2 % Energie -0,2 % Informační technologie +1 % Průmysl -0,2 % Nejsilnější akcie S&P Změna Nejslabší akcie S&P Změna Sandisk Corp (SNDK) +15 % Tapestry (TPR) -15 % Western Digital Corp (WDC) +8,7 % Cisco Systems (CSCO) -9,0 % Micron Technology (MU) +6,5 % Coherent Corp (COHR) -4,9 % Super Micro Computer (SMCI) +6,4 % Newmont Corp (NEM) -3,3 % Ciena Corp (CIEN) +5,2 % Ulta Beauty (ULTA) -3,1 %
Jan Pazourek, Fio banka, a.s.

Coherent Corp. (COHR) is a central AI datacenter infrastructure supplier, with accelerating growth and a dominant position in optical connectivity. COHR delivered 34% revenue growth, 59% datacenter revenue growth, and guided Q1 fiscal 2027 revenue up to $2.4 billion, signaling ongoing acceleration. The NVIDIA partnership, co-packaged optics ramp, and capacity expansion underpin confidence in continued growth and margin expansion.

Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR) on Wednesday posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.

Coherent reported quarterly earnings of $1.74 per share, which beat the consensus estimate of $1.61 by 7.41%, according to Benzinga Pro data. Quarterly revenue came in at $2.05 billion, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.99 billion and was up from $1.53 billion the same period last year.

"Fiscal 2026 was an outstanding year for Coherent, with record revenue, significant margin expansion, and non-GAAP EPS growth that was more than twice the rate of revenue growth" said Jim Anderson, CEO.

Coherent expects first-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.85 to $2.05, versus the $1.77 analyst estimate, and revenue of $2.2 billion to $2.4 billion, versus the $2.14 billion analyst estimate.

Coherent shares fell 4.7% to $338.85 in pre-market trading.

These analysts made changes to their price targets on Coherent following earnings announcement.

Needham analyst Ryan Koontz maintained the stock with a Buy and raised the price target from $380 to $420.
Rosenblatt analyst Mike Genovese maintained the stock with a Buy and raised the price target from $425 to $500.
B. Riley Securities analyst Dave Kang maintained the stock with a Neutral and boosted the price target from $309 to $345.
Considering buying COHR stock? Here’s what analysts think:

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Jim Cramer has a clear message for investors chasing photonics exposure: skip speculative small caps and own companies already delivering results. During a recent Mad Money Lightning Round, Cramer passed on Poet Technologies without an opinion, directing investors instead to his preferred names in the space: Lumentum Holdings (NASDAQ:LITE | LITE Price Prediction) and Coherent (NYSE:COHR).

This past spring, Cramer pointed to both stocks as the right way to play data center optical infrastructure, noting that “both of them are getting $2 billion investment from NVIDIA, but Lumentum’s been the better performer.” The thesis is straightforward: if the AI infrastructure cycle continues, own companies with order books, margins, and backlog to prove it.

Lumentum: The Faster-Growing Engine
Lumentum’s most recent quarter makes the bull case concrete. Q2 FY2026 revenue reached $665.5 million, up 66% year-over-year, with non-GAAP EPS of $1.67 beating the $1.4085 consensus by 19%. Non-GAAP operating margin expanded 1,730 basis points year-over-year to 25%. The stock has responded accordingly: Shares are up more than 143% year to date and nearly 685% over the past year.

Two growth engines are early in their ramp. The optical circuit switch (OCS) backlog exceeds $400 million, and the company recently received an incremental multi-hundred-million-dollar co-packaged optics (CPO) order deliverable in the first half of calendar 2027. CEO Michael Hurlston captured the forward picture: “Our forward guidance calls for over 85 percent year-over-year revenue growth, yet we are only at the starting line for two substantial opportunities: optical circuit switches and co-packaged optics.”

Q3 FY2026 guidance calls for revenue of $780 million to $830 million and non-GAAP operating margin of 30% to 31%. The company’s SEC filing confirms these figures directly from management.

Coherent: Scale and Diversification
Coherent operates at larger scale with a broader product portfolio for AI infrastructure. Q2 FY2026 revenue came in at $1.686 billion, up 18% year-over-year, beating estimates by 3%, with non-GAAP EPS of $1.29 beating the $1.2061 consensus by roughly 7%. The datacenter and communications segment, which now represents roughly 72% of total revenue, grew 34% year-over-year to $1.208 billion.

The company sharpened focus by completing the sale of its Aerospace and Defense business and using proceeds for $400 million in debt repayment. CEO Jim Anderson outlined the trajectory: “We expect continued strong growth in the second-half of fiscal 2026 and throughout fiscal 2027 based on strong datacenter and communications demand and our continued production capacity expansion.”

Coherent’s year-to-date performance reflects this momentum. Shares are up 84.38% year to date and nearly 242% over the past year. Q3 FY2026 guidance targets revenue of $1.70 billion to $1.84 billion, with the company recognized as an NVIDIA Ecosystem Innovation Partner for co-packaged optics.

Why Proven Beats Speculative
The photonics theme is real. Retail investors on Reddit have been asking the same question in recent weeks, with an r/stocks thread titled “Is photonics just getting started? $LITE and $COHR” drawing sustained engagement. The difference between Lumentum and Coherent versus early-stage photonics names comes down to execution. Both Lumentum and Coherent generate revenue at scale, expand margins quarter over quarter, and sit on multi-hundred-million-dollar order pipelines tied directly to hyperscaler AI infrastructure spending. Cramer’s preference for names with demonstrated financial momentum over unproven stories reflects a straightforward risk calculus the numbers support.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Cisco and Coherent both slide despite solid earnings, while StubHub plummets as higher costs offset a World Cup boost.

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Coherent (COHR.N), opens new tab beat estimates for fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday and forecast first-quarter revenue and profit above analysts' expectations, betting ​on strong demand for its data center and ‌communications products.

Shares of the company, however, slipped 4% in extended trading. They have risen nearly 93% so far this year.

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Here are ​more details:

Coherent, which makes optical transceivers and ​other photonics products that help manage traffic inside ⁠data centers, has benefited from growing investment in AI ​infrastructure.

Data center and communications, Coherent's largest segment, reported revenue ​of $1.62 billion in the fourth quarter ended June 30, up from $1.02 billion a year earlier.

However, revenue at its industrial business segment ​declined 16% in the quarter. The company also reported ​sharply lower full-year operating cash flow.

Meanwhile, overall quarterly revenue of $2.05 billion ‌surpassed ⁠analysts' average estimate of $1.99 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Adjusted profit per share came in at $1.74, beating estimates of $1.61.

"We enter fiscal 2027 with exceptional customer demand, ​expanding production ​capacity, and multiple ⁠new growth platforms beginning to ramp," CEO Jim Anderson said.

Saxonburg, Pennsylvania-based Coherent forecast ​first-quarter revenue in the range of $2.2 billion to $2.4 ​billion, above ⁠analysts' estimate of $2.14 billion.

The company expects first-quarter adjusted profit per share of $1.85 to $2.05, higher than estimates of $1.77 per ⁠share.

In ​March, Nvidia said it would invest $2 ​billion in Coherent to support research and development, manufacturing capacity and ​operations.

Reporting by Anzar Mehraj in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Q4 REVENUE OF $2.05B, INCREASED 34% Y/Y AND 42% Y/Y ON A PRO FORMA BASIS Q4 GAAP GROSS MARGIN OF 38.5%, INCREASED 277 bps Y/Y; Q4 NON-GAAP GROSS MARGIN OF 40.2%, INCREASED 215 bps Y/Y Q4 GAAP EPS OF $1.19, INCREASED $2.02 Y/Y; Q4 NON-GAAP EPS OF $1.74, INCREASED $0.74 Y/Y SAXONBURG, Pa., Aug. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Coherent Corp. (NYSE: COHR) (“Coherent,” “We,” or the “Company”), a global leader in photonics, announced financial results today for its fiscal fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2026 ended June 30, 2026.

Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR) posted its fourth-quarter results after Wednesday’s closing bell, beating Street estimates across the board. Here’s a look at the key figures from the quarter.

COHR stock is moving. Watch the price action here. Coherent reported quarterly earnings of $1.74 per share, which beat the consensus estimate of $1.61 by 7.41%, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Quarterly revenue came in at $2.05 billion, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.99 billion and was up from $1.53 billion the same period last year.

Read Next

“Fiscal 2026 was an outstanding year for Coherent, with record revenue, significant margin expansion, and non-GAAP EPS growth that was more than twice the rate of revenue growth” said Jim Anderson, CEO.

“We enter fiscal 2027 with exceptional customer demand, expanding production capacity, and multiple new growth platforms beginning to ramp,” Anderson added.

Coherent Issues Strong GuidanceCoherent expects first-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.85 to $2.05, versus the $1.77 analyst estimate, and revenue of $2.2 billion to $2.4 billion, versus the $2.14 billion analyst estimate.

COHR Stock Price Activity: According to data from Benzinga Pro, Coherent stock was down 2.12% to $348.50 in Wednesday’s extended trading session at publication time.

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Coherent stock has done well, helped by the recent investment by Nvidia and the growing revenue trajectory. COHR has jumped by 260% in the last 12 months and 380% in the last five years. This growth has brought its market capitalization to over $64 billion, mirroring the performance of Lumentum, another top player in the optics industry.

Coherent stock chart | Source: TradingViewCoherent is a top company in the technology space. While it is not a popular brand like Nvidia and AMD, its solutions are equally important in the data center industry. 

It manufactures products like transceivers, optical modules, fiber lasers, DUV lasers, and fiber-optic components. As AI clusters become bigger, the amount of laser connectivity is growing, leading to more demand for its products.

Coherent counts the biggest clients like NVIDIA, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta as its biggest clients. In a recent statement, Nvidia invested in the company and committed to continue growing its business.

The most recent earnings report showed that its revenue jumped by 27% in the third quarter to $1.8 billion. Its gross margin jumped by 105 basis points to 36%, while its earnings-per-share surged by 55%. 

READ MORE: Coherent stock jumps on report of US ban on Chinese AI components

75% of its revenue came from the data center segment, with the remaining one being in the industrial business. The role of the data center business has become more pronounced in the past few months as companies have continued boosting their spending. The biggest names in the industry plan to spend over $700 billion this year.

And Nvidia, the biggest company in the world, has come up with a partnership worth $500 billion. This deal will see top financial services provide $500 billion to companies in the AI space, with some of these funds going to a company like Coherent.

Coherent is working hard to take advantage of this opportunity. It plans to double its InP output by the end of the year and then double it to 2027. The risk of doing this is that the industry is highly cyclical, meaning that the prices of its products may drop in the coming years.

The next important catalyst for the COHR stock will be its earnings report that comes out on Wednesday. Yahoo Finance data shows that its revenue is expected to be $1.98 billion, up by 29.5% YoY. Coherent has a long track record of doing better than estimates, meaning that its real figure will be higher than expected. 

The same is true with its earnings, which are expected to jump from $1 in the same quarter last year to $1.62. If these numbers are correct, its annual revenue will hit $7 billion, up by 21% YoY, followed by $9.66 billion next year.

These numbers, together with its guidance, will help to justify its valuation. Its forward price-to-earnings ratio stands at 59.67, higher than the sector median of 23.67. 

Wall Street analysts have a bullish outlook for the company, pointing to its revenue growth. For example, Raymond James recently boosted its target from $371 to $435, while Rosenblatt Securities hiked the target to $425. 

In May, Rothschild’s Mike Harrison boosted his target from $455 to $461, while Bank of America hiked from $365 to $400. 

Options expiring on Friday this week indicate an implied volatility of 156%, higher than the historical one of 115%. The volume-based put-to-call ratio of 1.46, while the open interest has a PCR of 1.26. This means that there are more puts than calls, which, in theory, is a bearish positioning. 

The fact that the volume PCR is 1.46, it indicates that today’s activity is more put-heavy than the existing positioning, signaling more hedging or bearish speculation.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO | CSCO Price Prediction) and Coherent (NYSE:COHR) both step into the earnings spotlight after the close on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, giving investors a rare same-session read on the AI networking build-out.