Syntec Optics Turns Third-Quarter Operating Profit

The Tip Desk · November 14, 2026 · 2 min read

Net sales were $8.5 million in the three months ended September 30, 2026, and the company reported net income of $246,574 after a year-earlier loss of $1.4 million.

Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX), a vertically integrated maker of polymer and glass optics, reported net income of $246,574 for the three months ended September 30, 2026, reversing a net loss of $1.4 million a year earlier. The company said the turnaround was primarily due to improved gross profit and higher revenue.

Net sales rose 23% to $8.5 million from $6.9 million in the year-ago quarter. That followed a 26% year-over-year increase to $8.3 million in the three months ended June 30, 2026. Sequential sales also ticked higher from the second quarter.

The company said the third-quarter sales increase was primarily due to Defense Tech and Space Tech, including approximately $1.0 million of tooling revenue for Defense Tech as it made progress toward commercialization of several new product arrays.

Gross profit rose 127% to $1.9 million, from $0.9 million a year earlier, lifting the gross margin to 23% of net sales from 12%. Cost of goods sold increased only $0.5 million, to $6.6 million, which the company said was lower than the sales increase because the quarter’s mix contained a high percentage of highly profitable tooling revenue.

Income from operations swung to a $212,155 profit from an operating loss of $1.2 million a year earlier. General and administrative expenses fell $0.3 million, to $1.7 million, which the company attributed primarily to reduced accounting fees and the timing of certain expense recognition.

Total other expense improved to $34,419 of income from $210,530 of expense a year earlier. The company said the improvement was primarily due to debt reductions and higher interest earned on a larger cash balance.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, sales increased from $20.6 million in 2025 to $23.3 million. The company said sales increased significantly in Defense Tech and Space Tech, declined in AI Data Center as a result of product-line transition timing with a major customer’s business line, and fell in Life Sciences because of a first-quarter shipping hold to one customer that normalized in the second quarter. Sales in the others including Scientific Instruments category dropped slightly.

For the nine-month period, the company reported a net loss of $0.4 million versus a loss of $1.4 million in the same period in 2025, attributing the year-to-date improvement to improved revenue and a reduction in general and administrative expenses. Nine-month gross profit was $5.0 million, up from $4.8 million, helped by third-quarter tooling revenue and offset by higher aluminum material costs.

The company said AI/Data Center sales are expected to rebound with new product launches in early 2027.