nLIGHT Products Revenue Falls After Record Quarter

The Tip Desk · November 7, 2026 · 2 min read

Third-quarter revenue was $73.8 million, 10.5% above a year earlier, as year-over-year growth slowed from 33.8% in the second quarter.

nLIGHT, Inc. (LASR), a provider of high-power lasers for directed energy, optical sensing and advanced manufacturing, reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $73.8 million, up 10.5% from $66.7 million a year earlier.

That year-over-year pace slowed from 33.8% in the second quarter, when revenue reached a record $82.6 million. Products revenue was $48.0 million, down from a record $59.4 million in the prior quarter. Development revenue was $25.7 million.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Scott Keeney said solid execution enabled revenue above the high end of the company’s guidance range, record product gross margins and strong Adjusted EBITDA despite ongoing supply constraints. He said demand remains strong and that the company is investing in manufacturing capacity and supply chain to support expected growth as defense programs move from development toward fielding and production.

Gross margin was 33.1%, compared with 31.1% a year earlier. Products gross margin was 47.4%.

GAAP loss from operations was $9.2 million, or an operating margin of (12.5)%, versus a $3.6 million operating loss, or (4.4)% margin, in the second quarter. Restructuring charges were $7.5 million, versus $1.7 million a year earlier. GAAP net loss was $7.2 million, or $0.12 a share.

Adjusted EBITDA was $11.1 million, up 55.4% from $7.1 million a year earlier. Non-GAAP net income was $10.2 million, or $0.16 a share, versus $4.3 million, or $0.08 a share, a year earlier.

By end market, Defense & Space revenue was $52.5 million, versus $45.6 million a year earlier. Advanced Manufacturing revenue was $21.3 million.

Cash and cash equivalents were $279.4 million as of September 30, 2026. The company repaid a $20.0 million line of credit during the nine months ended September 30, 2026, and the line of credit balance was zero at quarter-end.

For the fourth quarter of 2026, nLIGHT expects revenue of $84 million to $90 million. The $87 million midpoint includes about $63 million of Products revenue and about $24 million of Advanced Development revenue. Due to ongoing supply-chain constraints, the company said the outlook excludes about $15 million of product revenue it would have expected to ship in the fourth quarter but now expects to deliver in the first half of 2027.

The company expects overall gross margin of 30% to 36%, Products gross margin of 40% to 46% and Advanced Development gross margin of about 8%. Adjusted EBITDA is expected at $12 million to $18 million.