Optical technologies are increasingly critical in data centers as they support energy-efficient, ultrahigh-bandwidth connections.
Nvidia will invest $2 billion in each company and secure optical networking capacity as it builds out AI infrastructure, sending Coherent and Lumentum shares higher.
AI-fueled growth, surging revenues and bold partnerships set up a showdown, but which stock among COHR and PATH has the stronger edge? Read on to find out.
Coherent trades well above industry multiples, but surging AI-driven growth, strong margins and a 4X book-to-bill suggest its premium may rest on solid ground.
COHR's vertical integration, 6-inch wafer ramp, and strategic divestitures are expected to drive margin expansion and revenue acceleration in AI data center optics. Despite near-term FCF headwinds and lower operating margins than Lumentum's, Coherent's capacity expansion and increasing profitability position it for potential outperformance post-2026. Execution risks remain around InP wafer yields, fab ramp, and packaging bottlenecks, but successful scaling could justify a significant valuation re-rating.
Coherent (COHR) might move higher on growing optimism about its earnings prospects, which is reflected by its upgrade to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Coherent (COHR) shares have started gaining and might continue moving higher in the near term, as indicated by solid earnings estimate revisions.
Coherent Corp. is rated a Strong Buy, driven by its proprietary 6-inch Indium Phosphide wafer fabrication, enabling structural gross margin expansion. COHR's Datacenter & Communications segment, now 72% of revenue and growing 34% Y/Y, benefits from vertical integration and a 4x book-to-bill ratio with backlog into 2027. Risks include execution of the 1.6T transceiver ramp, aggressive CapEx, and Springing Maturity debt covenants, but a 1.7x leverage ratio and internal cost advantages provide a margin of safety.
Coherent Corp. demonstrates robust structural demand and margin expansion, driven by secular AI and datacenter upcycles, justifying its high valuation multiples. Q2 2026 revenue grew 17.5% YoY, with datacenter & communications now over 70% of revenue and a book-to-bill ratio near 4x, indicating strong demand visibility. Capacity expansion and the shift to 6-inch wafers underpin margin gains, supporting a plausible path to 42%+ gross margins and sustained EBITDA growth.
Coherent (COHR) has transformed into a dominant GenAI hardware play, with explosive revenue and margin growth driven by datacenter transceiver demand. COHR now trades at premium multiples (24x forward EBITDA), reflecting strong visibility, pricing power, and multi-year bookings into 2027 and beyond. Networking, especially transceivers, now drives the majority of valuation, making COHR increasingly a pure GenAI trade with fewer idiosyncratic growth levers.
Coherent Must Deliver Big Optical Wins Soon (Q2 Review)
COHR posts 17.5% revenue and 35.8% EPS growth YoY in Q2 FY26, with datacenter & communications driving 72% of sales and margins expanding.