nLIGHT, Inc. LASR

Competitive advantage analysis · technology

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
38/100
Developing

Ranked against 65 peers in Semiconductors

About nLIGHT, Inc.

nLIGHT, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor and fiber lasers for industrial, microfabrication, and aerospace and defense applications. The company operates through two segments, Laser Products and Advanced Development. It offers semiconductor lasers with various ranges of power levels, wavelengths, and output fiber sizes; and programmable and serviceable fiber lasers for use in industrial, aerospace, and defense applications. The … Full LASR analysis →

Key strengths

  • Strong Liquidity Buffer Liquidity position is strong (score 0.61), providing operational cushion.
  • Operating Leverage in Effect Operating leverage is evident (score 0.65), with margins expanding over time.

Key risks

  • ROIC Below WACC or Peers ROIC at 23.4th percentile suggests inefficient capital deployment.
  • Elevated Debt Risk Debt serviceability is weak (score 0.21), raising refinancing risk.

The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.

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Pricing Power

Developing
33
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Signals, strengths and risks for Pricing Power

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Signals, strengths and risks for Cost Advantage

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Signals, strengths and risks for Customer Stickiness

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Signals, strengths and risks for Capital Efficiency

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Signals, strengths and risks for Resilience

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Signals, strengths and risks for Scale & Market Position

Where LASR ranks in Semiconductors

nLIGHT, Inc. ranks #43 of 66 scored companies in Semiconductors by moat score — the top 65%. The widest moat in the group is NVE Corporation (NVEC) at 86/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
39 Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. VSH 41/100 Developing
40 Impinj, Inc. PI 41/100 Developing
41 Alpha and Omega Semiconductor L AOSL 40/100 Developing
42 Intel Corporation INTC 38/100 Developing
43 nLIGHT, Inc. LASR 38/100 Developing
44 SiTime Corporation SITM 38/100 Developing
45 Nano Labs Ltd NA 38/100 Developing
46 SkyWater Technology, Inc. SKYT 38/100 Developing
47 Silicon Laboratories, Inc. SLAB 38/100 Developing

See every General Corporate company ranked by moat score →

How LASR scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 33 · 20% of the moat score

Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.

Cost Advantage

Score 36 · 15% of the moat score

A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.

Customer Stickiness

Score 48 · 15% of the moat score

Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.

Capital Efficiency

Score 35 · 18% of the moat score

Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.

Resilience

Score 37 · 17% of the moat score

Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.

Scale & Market Position

Score 42 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding LASR's moat

What is nLIGHT, Inc.'s moat score?

nLIGHT, Inc. (LASR) scores 38 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as developing. It ranks #43 of 66 scored companies in Semiconductors, the top 65%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 65 companies in Semiconductors. Its strongest defense is Customer Stickiness (48/100) and its weakest is Pricing Power (33/100).

How does nLIGHT, Inc. compare with other Semiconductors companies?

nLIGHT, Inc. ranks #43 of 66 scored companies in Semiconductors by moat score. The widest moat in Semiconductors is NVE Corporation (NVEC) at 86/100. The companies ranked closest are Intel Corporation (INTC) at 38 just above it and SiTime Corporation (SITM) at 38 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 65 companies in Semiconductors. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is nLIGHT, Inc. scored with the Corporate Default template?

Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.

Which competitive defenses are measured for nLIGHT, Inc.?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and LASR scores: Pricing Power (33), Cost Advantage (36), Customer Stickiness (48), Capital Efficiency (35), Resilience (37), Scale & Market Position (42). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.

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