AXTI vs SMTK vs PLAB Stock Comparison

Axt, SmartKem and Photronics Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AXTI Axt Inc
$56.27 -28.7% 1M +828.5% 1Y
Market cap
$3.56B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$116.56M
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Materials Technology
3 wins
SMTK SmartKem, Inc.
$0.46 -74.7% 1M -77.8% 1Y
Market cap
$206.09K
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$662.00K
Div. yield
–
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
1 win
PLAB Photronics Inc
$27.87 -8.3% 1M +16.5% 1Y
Market cap
$1.68B
P/E
10.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$866.82M
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Materials Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Photronics leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Photronics 5, Axt 3, SmartKem 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAXTISMTKPLABLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.56B $206.09K $1.68B AXTI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -2,358x 0.0x 10.2x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 67.8x — 14.6x PLAB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +35.4% +582.5% +1.2% SMTK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -1.3% -4,313.4% 19.0% PLAB
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 0.0% — 9.8% PLAB
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — -2.4x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +828.5% -77.8% +16.5% AXTI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +45.7%/yr — +17.6%/yr AXTI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 150.8% 427.7% 84.1% PLAB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 45/100 66/100 PLAB

Percentile Scorecard

AXTISMTKPLAB

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

AxisAXTISMTKPLAB
Valuation 21 #75 of 95 44 #53 of 94 98 #3 of 95
Growth 89 #11 of 93 80 #19 of 92 44 #53 of 93
Profitability 22 #71 of 91 7 #83 of 89 70 #28 of 91
Financial Health 76 #25 of 101 90 #11 of 97 86 #15 of 101
Shareholder Returns – 3 #68 of 70 32 #51 of 75
Overall 52 45 66
  • AXTI ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • SMTK ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • PLAB ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAXTISMTKPLABSPY
1 month -28.7%-74.7%-8.3% -0.8%
3 months +17.5%+130.0%-6.4% +3.5%
6 months -19.8%+76.9%-45.8% +7.0%
Year to date +244.2%-57.0%-12.9% +12.2%
1 year +828.5%-77.8%+16.5% +13.0%
3 years +2,618.4%—+49.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +200.9%—+14.4% +23.1%
5 years +555.8%—+125.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year +45.7%—+17.6% +11.0%
10 years +882.0%—+180.1% +258.0%
10 years, per year +25.7%—+10.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAXTISMTKPLABSPY
Volatility, 1Y 150.8%427.7%84.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 142.2%208.6%88.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 4.202.002.87 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 5.49-0.180.20 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -88.1%-99.0%-50.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -60.0%-89.6%-49.3% -1.8%
52-week high $140.83$4.41$54.96 $779.14
52-week low $6.19$0.09$20.28 $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.

MultipleAXTISMTKPLAB
P/E now vs peer median -2,280xmedian 42.1x 0.0xmedian 21.6x 9.8xmedian 42.1x
P/S now vs peer median 31.7xmedian 7.1x 0.4xmedian 1.4x 1.9xmedian 7.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 27.5x 0.4xmedian 12.4x 3.5xmedian 27.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 37.2x 0.0xmedian 15.8x 14.7xmedian 37.2x
P/B now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 4.2x 0.0xmedian 1.6x 0.9xmedian 4.2x
PEG now vs peer median -258.73median 2.23 0.00median 1.66 0.71median 2.23

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 monthsAXTISMTKPLAB
Revenue $116.56M $662.00K $866.82M
Gross profit $33.85M $415.00K $291.73M
Operating income -$1.28M -$9.30M $194.65M
Net income -$156.00K -$28.60M $225.93M
Free cash flow – -$5.03M $110.48M
R&D $9.58M $4.71M $12.30M
EPS (diluted) $-0.02 $-60.73 $2.81
Cash & equivalents $412.17M $3.70M $549.51M
Total debt $278.80M – $3.89M
Shares (diluted) 63.47M 470.21K 58.72M
Enterprise value $2.81B -$12.37M -$856.70M

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
MetricAXTISMTKPLAB
P/E -2,280x 0.0x 9.8x
P/FCF – 0.0x 14.7x
P/Operating cash flow – 0.0x 5.3x
P/S 31.7x 0.4x 1.9x
P/B 4.0x 0.0x 0.9x
P/Tangible book 4.0x 0.0x 0.9x
EV/EBITDA – 0.4x 3.5x
EV/EBIT -2,370x 0.4x 4.9x
EV/Revenue 26.0x -5.2x 1.1x
EV/FCF – 0.7x 8.6x
EV/Operating cash flow – 0.7x 3.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -258.73 0.00 0.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAXTISMTKPLAB
Revenue growth (1Y) 35.4% 582.5% 1.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 180.5% -0.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 229.2% 510.3% -4.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.9% – -4.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 95.2% 27.1% -8.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 45.1% 1.7% -7.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 99.4% -184.1% 48.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 41.9% -46.4% 5.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 95.7% 2.6% 50.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.8% 47.1% 13.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 48.9% 35.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 8.1% 3.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 48.7% 71.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 8.1% -5.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAXTISMTKPLAB
Gross margin 29.0% 62.7% 33.7%
EBITDA margin – -1,327% 31.6%
Operating margin -1.1% -1,404% 22.5%
Pretax margin 3.0% -4,320% 29.9%
Net margin -1.3% -4,313% 19.0%
FCF margin – -760.3% 12.7%
Operating cash flow margin – -757.6% 35.6%
Return on equity 0.0% -379.1% 13.1%
Return on assets 0.0% -288.4% 11.5%
Return on invested capital 0.0% – 9.8%
Return on capital employed -0.2% -100.6% 11.0%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.1x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 0.2x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue – 183.7% 1.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAXTISMTKPLAB
Debt / assets 8.2% – 0.2%
Debt / equity 0.1x – 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – – -2.4x
Debt / FCF – – 0.0x
Liabilities / assets 16.9% 6.5% 12.4%
Equity / assets 83.1% 93.5% 87.6%
Interest coverage – – 5,407x
Current ratio 4.8x 15.3x 4.9x
Quick ratio 6.3x 5.5x 4.5x
Cash ratio 6.0x 5.5x 3.4x
Altman Z-score 12.51 -21.54 5.78

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAXTISMTKPLAB
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – -24.5% -0.1%
Shareholder yield – -24.5% -0.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusAXTISMTKPLAB
Forward P/E 67.8xFY2026 – 14.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.83FY2026 – $1.91FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – – -5.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +159.0% – +9.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $215.33MFY2026 – $908.29MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +143.8%FY2026 – +6.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +117.5% – +3.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAXTISMTKPLAB
Held by institutions 70.1% – 94.6%
Institutions holding 259 – 313
Change in shares held, QoQ +41.3% – -1.1%
Institutions buying 205 – 163
Institutions selling 47 – 115
Buyers to sellers 4.36 – 1.42

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.

AXTISMTKPLAB
AXTI 1.00 0.00 0.37
SMTK 0.00 1.00 0.03
PLAB 0.37 0.03 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AXTI, SMTK and PLAB?

Axt (AXTI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Axt (AXTI) $3.56B, SmartKem (SMTK) $206.09K, Photronics (PLAB) $1.68B.

Which company is growing faster?

SmartKem (SMTK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Axt (AXTI) +35.4%, SmartKem (SMTK) +582.5%, Photronics (PLAB) +1.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Photronics (PLAB) has the highest net margin (Axt (AXTI) -1.3%, SmartKem (SMTK) -4,313.4%, Photronics (PLAB) 19.0%). On return on invested capital, Photronics (PLAB) leads (Axt (AXTI) 0.0%, Photronics (PLAB) 9.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Axt (AXTI) returned the most: Axt (AXTI) +828.5%, SmartKem (SMTK) -77.8%, Photronics (PLAB) +16.5%. Over five years, Axt (AXTI) compounded fastest (Axt (AXTI) +45.7%/yr, Photronics (PLAB) +17.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Photronics (PLAB) has been the steadiest (Axt (AXTI) 150.8%, SmartKem (SMTK) 427.7%, Photronics (PLAB) 84.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AXTI, SMTK and PLAB?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Photronics (PLAB) leads on 5. 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.