Coherent Corp. (COHR)
Coherent is a high-tech manufacturer that builds the complex lasers, optics, and materials essential for powering modern AI data centres and telecommunications.
Is Coherent Corp. a good stock for a UK beginner?
The honest version: There's no rating here and nothing for sale. In its favour: Strong position in the rapidly growing AI hardware market. Worth weighing: Very high valuation metrics suggest high expectations are already baked in.
Is this normal for this company?
Each figure against the range this same company has produced recently. Neither end of a range is the good end.
Share price divided by the earnings actually reported over the four most recent quarters. The range is the same calculation at each of this company's last few results, so roughly the past year.
Profit as a share of sales, from the company's own quarterly statements. The range covers the 5 quarters we hold, and the figure shown is its most recent one.
How these ranges are built
Every number here is the company's own reported figure, not a comparison with other companies. The ranges come from this company's own results and its share price. Where it reports in a different currency from the one its shares trade in, the price-to-earnings range is left out rather than mixing the two.
What does Coherent Corp. do?
Coherent sits at the heart of the AI boom, creating the specialised hardware that allows data to travel at lightning speed across global networks. Its earnings come from selling these high-precision components to tech giants and industrial firms upgrading their infrastructure. The question is whether they can keep up with the massive demand for AI-related hardware while managing the costs of their complex manufacturing processes.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on growth and momentum, and weakest on income.
- !Pays no dividend - the whole return rides on the share price
- ✓Growing - revenue up about 20% over the year
- !High P/E of 156 - big growth is already priced in
- ✓Low debt - a sturdier balance sheet
- Growth screens high
- Momentum screens high
- Value screens low
- Income screens low
Does Coherent Corp. pay a dividend?
No - Coherent Corp. doesn't currently pay a dividend, so the whole return would rest on the share price. Plenty of growing companies reinvest their profits instead of paying them out - neither approach is better or worse, they're just different.
Does Coherent Corp. have more cash or more debt?
It holds about $2.42B in cash against about $3.43B of debt - so it has net debt of about $1.00B. Debt is not automatically a problem - it funds growth - but it has to be serviced and repaid, which matters more when profits wobble.
From the latest reported balance sheet. Cash and debt levels change, and some borrowing is normal - this is context, not a judgment.
What do Coherent Corp.'s numbers mean?
How has it performed?
Growth of £1,000, the worst fall, and year by year
Over about 2 years to 2026-09-10. This is the share price only; any dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.
How much has Coherent Corp. actually fallen?
Over the last 2 years of daily prices, Coherent Corp. fell as much as −55% from a high to a later low. Falls like this are normal when you own a share.
Past falls are not a forecast - it can fall further, or recover.
How has it done year by year?
Calendar-year total return - the share price with dividends reinvested - from adjusted closing prices. The current year is only part-complete. Past returns are not a guide to the future.
A closer look at the numbers
Ownership, earnings history, where the money goes, and the outlook range
Does the share price tell you if it's cheap or expensive?
Who owns Coherent Corp.?
About 90% of Coherent Corp., or about 90 in every 100 shares, is held by big institutions such as pension and index funds, and company insiders hold about 5%. The rest, roughly 5%, is held by the public and smaller investors.
What this does and doesn't tell you
This is a recent snapshot of the share register, and it moves. We don't read anything into who owns what - a high institutional share is common for any large listed company and is not a signal about it.
Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.
Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.
How much money does Coherent Corp. make?
Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.
Where does each £100 of Coherent Corp.'s sales go?
A rough split of the latest full-year figures: of every £100 of sales, about £63 covers making the product or service, £30 goes on running costs, tax and interest, and about £7 is left as profit. Margins vary a lot by industry, and one-off items can distort a single year.
When does Coherent Corp. report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?
Coherent Corp. is next scheduled to report on about 2026-11-04 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.
‘Beat’ and ‘missed’ are against what analysts expected, not whether the business is doing well.
| Reported | Expected EPS: The earnings per share analysts expected for the quarter - the average of their forecasts. 'Beating' or 'missing' is measured against this number. | Actual EPS | vs expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-12 | $1.62 | $1.74 | Beat +8% |
| 2026-05-06 | $1.39 | $1.41 | Beat +1% |
| 2026-02-04 | $1.21 | $1.29 | Beat +7% |
| 2025-11-05 | $1.04 | $1.16 | Beat +11% |
| 2025-08-13 | $0.92 | $1.00 | Beat +9% |
| 2025-05-07 | $0.86 | $0.91 | Beat +6% |
Across the last 6 quarters here, Coherent Corp. came in ahead of what analysts expected 6 times. One quarter is noise, not a trend.
See who else reports over the next two weeks →
Where these figures come from
Each quarter a company reports its results against a consensus of analyst forecasts. The figures here are reported versus expected earnings per share from published results; the expectation is that analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates and can move.
What are the scenarios for Coherent Corp.?
An illustrative range for the year ahead — not a prediction or a price target.
What are the pros, cons and common questions?
The case each way, and the questions people ask
Coherent becomes an indispensable supplier for the global AI ecosystem.
New technologies render their current product line obsolete.
What are the pros and cons of Coherent Corp.?
A balance check, not a score or verdict.
- Strong position in the rapidly growing AI hardware market
- Impressive double-digit revenue growth: How fast the company's sales grew versus a year ago.
- Essential technology that is difficult for competitors to replicate
- Very high valuation metrics suggest high expectations are already baked in
- Low net profit margins indicate high costs of doing business
- No dividend payments for those looking for regular income
- High share price volatility makes it a bumpy ride for investors
- Heavy reliance on the cyclical: A business whose sales and profits rise and fall with the wider economy - booming in good times, sinking in downturns. Miners, carmakers and banks are classic examples. nature of the tech and telecommunications sectors
- Potential for rapid technological shifts to disrupt their product relevance
The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.
- A sustained drop in global spending on AI data centre infrastructure
- A significant decline in profit margins over several consecutive quarters
Common questions about Coherent Corp.
Does Coherent Corp. pay a dividend?
No - Coherent Corp. does not currently pay a dividend, so the return would rest on the share price. Many growing companies reinvest profits instead of paying them out.
When does Coherent Corp. report earnings next?
Coherent Corp. is next scheduled to report results on about 2026-11-04. Report dates are estimates and can move; this is a diary note for when to look, not a forecast of the outcome.
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This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-02 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.