AME vs IPGP vs LASR Stock Comparison

Ametek, Ipg Photonics and Nlight Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AME Ametek Inc/
$248.29 -1.4% 1M +34.1% 1Y
Market cap
$57.19B
P/E
36.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.86B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
9 wins
IPGP Ipg Photonics Corp
$75.53 -2.2% 1M -13.2% 1Y
Market cap
$3.20B
P/E
116.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.07B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
LASR Nlight, Inc.
$38.50 -2.7% 1M +18.1% 1Y
Market cap
$2.19B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$310.70M
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Ametek leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Ametek 9, Nlight 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAMEIPGPLASRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $57.19B $3.20B $2.19B AME
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 36.3x 116.1x -175.6x AME
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.3x 71.9x 72.6x AME
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.7% +13.0% +43.2% LASR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 20.0% 2.6% -4.0% AME
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.8% — -3.8% AME
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.6x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +34.1% -13.2% +18.1% AME
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.4%/yr -13.8%/yr +6.5%/yr AME
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 23.9% 72.0% 87.2% AME
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 59/100 46/100 AME

Percentile Scorecard

AMEIPGPLASR

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAMEIPGPLASR
Valuation 18 #166 of 203 40 #122 of 203 11 #180 of 203
Growth 62 #73 of 188 32 #129 of 188 97 #6 of 188
Profitability 94 #12 of 184 32 #126 of 184 25 #138 of 184
Financial Health 70 #65 of 217 96 #9 of 217 89 #25 of 217
Shareholder Returns 70 #47 of 153 94 #10 of 153 7 #143 of 153
Overall 63 59 46
  • AME ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • IPGP ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • LASR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAMEIPGPLASRSPY
1 month -1.4%-2.2%-2.7% +0.9%
3 months +5.5%-5.8%-34.8% +5.9%
6 months +9.0%-33.3%-40.7% +8.5%
Year to date +20.9%+5.5%+2.6% +13.3%
1 year +34.1%-13.2%+18.1% +12.4%
3 years +78.3%-14.3%+365.5% +88.1%
3 years, per year +21.3%-5.0%+67.0% +23.5%
5 years +87.5%-52.5%+36.9% +68.2%
5 years, per year +13.4%-13.8%+6.5% +11.0%
10 years +462.6%-22.1%— +263.4%
10 years, per year +18.9%-2.5%— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureAMEIPGPLASRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 23.9%72.0%87.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.8%77.7%89.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.982.153.19 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.43-0.180.21 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -27.3%-72.0%-80.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.0%-50.9%-54.7% -0.9%
52-week high $258.54$153.91$84.95 $779.14
52-week low $184.19$69.41$28.60 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAMEIPGPLASR
P/E now vs peer median 36.1xmedian 25.4x 116.4xmedian 25.4x -175.8xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 7.2xmedian 1.9x 3.0xmedian 1.9x 7.1xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 23.8xmedian 14.3x 31.2xmedian 14.3x -606.7xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 31.2xmedian 21.8x 154.5xmedian 21.8x 53.1xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 5.1xmedian 2.2x 1.5xmedian 2.2x 5.0xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 4.15median 1.41 -3.43median 1.41 -4.15median 1.41

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAMEIPGPLASR
Revenue $7.86B $1.07B $310.70M
Gross profit $2.86B $410.10M $97.95M
Operating income $2.04B $7.97M -$16.99M
Net income $1.58B $27.56M -$12.48M
Free cash flow $1.82B $20.80M $41.83M
R&D – $123.44M $50.56M
EPS (diluted) $6.86 $0.64 $-0.22
Cash & equivalents $495.45M $399.23M $295.76M
Total debt $2.04B – $60.00M
Shares (diluted) 229.86M 42.91M 56.98M
Enterprise value $55.32B -$195.70M $1.28B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAMEIPGPLASR
P/E 36.1x 116.4x -175.8x
P/FCF 31.2x 154.5x 53.1x
P/Operating cash flow 29.0x 33.3x 41.8x
P/S 7.2x 3.0x 7.1x
P/B 5.1x 1.5x 5.0x
P/Tangible book 8.1x 1.5x 5.0x
EV/EBITDA 23.8x 31.2x -606.7x
EV/EBIT 28.7x 293.8x -111.2x
EV/Revenue 7.4x 2.2x 6.1x
EV/FCF 32.0x 112.6x 45.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 29.8x 24.3x 35.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 4.15 -3.43 -4.15

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAMEIPGPLASR
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.7% 13.0% 43.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.0% -7.9% 11.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 13.4% 25.1% 113.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.9% -6.8% 29.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.2% 103.4% 67.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 8.2% -62.6% 33.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 9.6% 112.8% 73.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.5% -36.2% 37.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 10.4% 112.7% 76.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.7% -34.0% 42.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.1% -36.2% 587.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.0% -24.2% 119.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 8.4% -67.8% 311.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.0% -43.0% 65.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAMEIPGPLASR
Gross margin 36.4% 38.4% 31.5%
EBITDA margin 31.2% 7.0% -1.0%
Operating margin 25.9% 0.7% -5.5%
Pretax margin 24.3% 3.7% -3.8%
Net margin 20.0% 2.6% -4.0%
FCF margin 23.2% 1.9% 13.5%
Operating cash flow margin 24.9% 9.0% 17.1%
Return on equity 14.2% 1.3% -2.9%
Return on assets 9.6% 1.1% -2.4%
Return on invested capital 12.8% – -3.8%
Return on capital employed 14.8% 0.4% -3.7%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.4x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 3.5x -4.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 3.9% 13.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAMEIPGPLASR
Debt / assets 12.3% – –
Debt / equity 0.2x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.6x – –
Debt / FCF 1.1x – –
Liabilities / assets 32.1% 12.3% 15.0%
Equity / assets 67.9% 87.7% 85.0%
Interest coverage 21.1x – -14.7x
Current ratio 1.2x 6.2x 8.2x
Quick ratio 0.6x 4.4x 6.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x 3.6x 6.0x
Altman Z-score 8.41 9.08 17.60

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAMEIPGPLASR
Dividend yield 0.5% – –
Net buyback yield 0.7% 4.1% -8.8%
Shareholder yield 1.2% 4.1% -8.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) 18.9% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 16.3% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 9.4% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 11.3% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAMEIPGPLASR
Forward P/E 30.3xFY2026 71.9xFY2026 72.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.20FY2026 $1.05FY2026 $0.53FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.4%FY2026 +43.8%FY2026 +120.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +8.4% +109.5% +13.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $7.96BFY2026 $1.18BFY2026 $313.28MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.5%FY2026 +18.1%FY2026 +19.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.3% +7.7% +17.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAMEIPGPLASR
Held by institutions 89.6% 71.5% 89.4%
Institutions holding 1,195 356 357
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.3% +4.7% +5.4%
Institutions buying 615 214 220
Institutions selling 399 96 112
Buyers to sellers 1.54 2.23 1.96

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AMEIPGPLASR
AME 1.00 0.29 0.36
IPGP 0.29 1.00 0.39
LASR 0.36 0.39 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AME, IPGP and LASR?

Ametek (AME) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ametek (AME) $57.19B, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) $3.20B, Nlight (LASR) $2.19B.

Which stock is cheaper, AME, IPGP and LASR?

Ametek (AME) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ametek (AME) 36.3x, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 116.1x, Nlight (LASR) -175.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ametek (AME) is cheapest (Ametek (AME) 30.3x, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 71.9x, Nlight (LASR) 72.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nlight (LASR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ametek (AME) +12.7%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) +13.0%, Nlight (LASR) +43.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ametek (AME) has the highest net margin (Ametek (AME) 20.0%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 2.6%, Nlight (LASR) -4.0%). On return on invested capital, Ametek (AME) leads (Ametek (AME) 12.8%, Nlight (LASR) -3.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ametek (AME) returned the most: Ametek (AME) +34.1%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) -13.2%, Nlight (LASR) +18.1%. Over five years, Ametek (AME) compounded fastest (Ametek (AME) +13.4%/yr, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) -13.8%/yr, Nlight (LASR) +6.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Ametek (AME) 0.01%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 0.00%, Nlight (LASR) 0.00%. Ipg Photonics (IPGP) and Nlight (LASR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ametek (AME) has been the steadiest (Ametek (AME) 23.9%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 72.0%, Nlight (LASR) 87.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AME, IPGP and LASR?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ametek (AME) leads on 9. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.