Earnings

nLIGHT Cuts Third-Quarter Outlook After Supply-Chain Delay

The Tip Desk · August 7, 2026 · 3 min read

The laser maker guided third-quarter revenue to $63 million to $73 million, excluding about $17 million of product sales it now expects to ship later.

nLIGHT, Inc. (LASR), a provider of high-power lasers for directed energy, optical sensing and advanced manufacturing, guided third-quarter 2026 revenue to $63 million to $73 million, a midpoint of $68 million, after supply-chain challenges excluded about $17 million of product revenue it would have expected to ship in the quarter.

That range sat below the $75 million to $81 million outlook the company had given for the second quarter, whose midpoint was $78 million. Guided Products revenue is about $43 million and Advanced Development about $25 million, versus a second-quarter guide of about $58 million of Products and about $20 million of Advanced Development. Overall gross-margin guidance is 24% to 30%, with Products at 34% to 40% and Advanced Development at about 8%. Adjusted EBITDA is expected at $1 million to $7 million.

The second-quarter print itself was a record. Revenue reached $82.6 million, up 33.8% from $61.7 million a year earlier, after 55.2% year-over-year growth in the first quarter of 2026. Products revenue was a record $59.4 million, up 45% from $40.8 million a year earlier.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Scott Keeney said total revenue, gross margin and Adjusted EBITDA were at or above the company’s expectations, and that the results were driven by continued strength in key defense and advanced manufacturing markets. He said the pipeline of new directed-energy opportunities continues to expand, citing the Department of War’s Joint Laser Weapon Systems contract as the latest example, and that laser sensing and advanced manufacturing opportunities also continue to grow.

Aerospace and Defense revenue was $57.3 million in the three months ended June 30, 2026. Industrial revenue was $12.0 million and Microfabrication $13.3 million.

GAAP gross margin was 31.1%, compared with 29.9% a year earlier. Products gross margin was 41.2% and Development gross margin 5.6%. Adjusted EBITDA was $10.7 million, compared with $5.6 million a year earlier. GAAP results swung to a $1.3 million net loss, or $0.02 a share, from $0.6 million of net income in the first quarter of 2026. Non-GAAP net income was $9.6 million, or $0.17 a share.

Cash and cash equivalents were $295.8 million as of June 30, 2026, compared with $98.7 million at year-end 2025. Marketable securities were $34.7 million. Inventory was $48.2 million. Deferred revenues were $10.7 million. The company repaid a $20 million line of credit that had been outstanding at year-end.

For the six months ended June 30, 2026, revenue was $162.8 million, Products $117.6 million and Development $45.2 million. Aerospace and Defense was $112.4 million, Industrial $24.1 million and Microfabrication $26.3 million. Cash provided by operating activities was $30.4 million. Proceeds from a public offering, net of underwriting discounts, were $192.2 million.

The company has not reconciled its outlook for Adjusted EBITDA because unrealized and realized foreign-exchange gains and losses cannot be reasonably calculated or predicted.

The third-quarter guide is the quarter’s defining turn. After a first quarter in which year-over-year growth was 55.2% and a second quarter that still set a revenue record, nLIGHT is now pointing to a lower revenue band and a much narrower Adjusted EBITDA range, with the $17 million of delayed product sales as the stated reason. Products mix in the outlook is about $43 million against Advanced Development of about $25 million, a shift from the second-quarter guide that had Products at about $58 million. Gross-margin guidance of 24% to 30% sits below the 29% to 33% range given for the second quarter.

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