DLB vs LWLG vs VLN Stock Comparison

Dolby Laboratories, Lightwave Logic and Valens Semiconductor Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DLB Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
$61.68 +6.0% 1M -7.3% 1Y
Market cap
$5.81B
P/E
25.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.35B
Div. yield
2.33%
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
5 wins
LWLG Lightwave Logic, Inc.
$4.71 -5.8% 1M -3.1% 1Y
Market cap
$726.12M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
1 win

Head to Head

7 decided of 12

Dolby Laboratories leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Dolby Laboratories 5, Valens Semiconductor 1, Lightwave Logic 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDLBLWLGVLNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.81B $726.12M $173.12M DLB
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.7x — -5.3x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.7x — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.6% — +7.7% VLN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.7% — -45.2% DLB
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — -34.5% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — 3.1x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.33% — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -7.3% -3.1% -4.5% LWLG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.9%/yr -15.1%/yr -28.8%/yr DLB
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.2% 118.6% 102.8% DLB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 — 44/100 DLB

Percentile Scorecard

DLBLWLGVLN

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

AxisDLBLWLGVLN
Valuation 89 #11 of 94 – 33 #63 of 94
Growth 25 #69 of 92 – 15 #78 of 92
Profitability 71 #27 of 90 – 17 #75 of 90
Financial Health 60 #40 of 99 – 75 #26 of 99
Shareholder Returns 86 #11 of 73 4 #66 of 69 78 #17 of 73
Overall 66 – 44
  • DLB ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • LWLG ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • VLN ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodDLBLWLGVLNSPY
1 month +6.0%-5.8%-6.7% +0.9%
3 months +17.4%-11.8%+12.8% +5.9%
6 months -2.5%-59.9%+11.3% +8.5%
Year to date -4.0%+45.4%+18.3% +13.3%
1 year -7.3%-3.1%-4.5% +12.4%
3 years -21.6%-1.5%-20.4% +88.1%
3 years, per year -7.8%-0.5%-7.3% +23.5%
5 years -30.2%-55.9%-81.7% +68.2%
5 years, per year -6.9%-15.1%-28.8% +11.0%
10 years +29.7%+698.3%— +263.4%
10 years, per year +2.6%+23.1%— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureDLBLWLGVLNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.2%118.6%102.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.5%113.7%93.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.543.704.15 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.24-0.03-0.04 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.6%-95.8%-90.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.7%-74.1%-52.4% -0.9%
52-week high $69.09$18.22$3.53 $779.14
52-week low $48.50$2.97$1.11 $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.

MultipleDLBLWLGVLN
P/E now vs peer median 25.7xmedian 46.0x —median 22.0x -5.3xmedian 46.0x
P/S now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 7.9x —median 1.4x 2.4xmedian 7.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.5xmedian 28.3x —median 12.4x -3.3xmedian 28.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.8xmedian 41.4x —median 15.5x -11.7xmedian 41.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 4.6x —median 1.7x 1.8xmedian 4.6x
PEG now vs peer median 12.34median 2.30 —median 1.84 0.49median 2.30

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 monthsDLBLWLGVLN
Revenue $1.35B – $71.70M
Gross profit $1.19B – $44.29M
Operating income $239.10M – -$34.09M
Net income $228.00M – -$32.43M
Free cash flow $392.67M – -$14.77M
R&D $265.94M – $42.24M
EPS (diluted) $2.39 – $-0.31
Cash & equivalents $669.39M – $42.56M
Total debt – – $343.00K
Shares (diluted) 94.52M 153.48M 103.14M
Enterprise value $3.21B $726.12M -$182.57M

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
MetricDLBLWLGVLN
P/E 25.7x – -5.3x
P/FCF 14.8x – -11.7x
P/Operating cash flow 13.3x – -12.4x
P/S 4.3x – 2.4x
P/B 2.2x – 1.8x
P/Tangible book 2.6x – 1.8x
EV/EBITDA 15.5x – -3.3x
EV/EBIT 21.5x – -2.6x
EV/Revenue 3.8x – 1.3x
EV/FCF 13.1x – -6.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.8x – -6.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 12.34 – 0.49

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDLBLWLGVLN
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.6% – 7.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.7% – -8.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -0.5% – 9.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 1.5% – -11.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) -15.1% – 9.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -1.0% – -10.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -14.2% – 2.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.3% – -12.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -12.3% – 0.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 2.1% – -10.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -6.0% – -168.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.5% – 7.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -10.4% – -103.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.3% – 5.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDLBLWLGVLN
Gross margin 87.6% – 61.8%
EBITDA margin 24.5% – -37.9%
Operating margin 17.7% – -47.5%
Pretax margin 20.4% – -45.1%
Net margin 16.7% – -45.2%
FCF margin 29.0% – -20.6%
Operating cash flow margin 32.3% – -19.4%
Return on equity 8.7% – -33.8%
Return on assets 7.1% – -26.4%
Return on invested capital – – -34.5%
Return on capital employed 8.6% – -32.3%
Asset turnover 0.4x – 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x – 0.4x
Stock comp / revenue 9.6% – 20.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDLBLWLGVLN
Debt / assets – – 0.1%
Debt / equity – – 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 3.1x
Debt / FCF – – 0.0x
Liabilities / assets 17.9% – 22.1%
Equity / assets 82.1% – 77.9%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 3.2x – 5.2x
Quick ratio 3.1x – 4.4x
Cash ratio 1.6x – 4.0x
Altman Z-score 8.36 – 1.35

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDLBLWLGVLN
Dividend yield 2.3% – –
Net buyback yield 3.5% -7.9% 0.9%
Shareholder yield 5.9% -7.9% 0.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) 58.9% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 34.2% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 8.6% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 9.6% – –

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.

ConsensusDLBLWLGVLN
Forward P/E 13.7xFY2026 – –
EPS, next fiscal year $4.49FY2026 – $-0.13FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.9%FY2026 – –
EPS growth, the year after +4.7% – –
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.50BFY2026 – $84.56MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.1%FY2026 – +19.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -7.7% – +7.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDLBLWLGVLN
Held by institutions 100.0% 37.8% 38.6%
Institutions holding 389 173 54
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.8% +39.6% +14.8%
Institutions buying 195 122 38
Institutions selling 148 30 7
Buyers to sellers 1.32 4.07 5.43

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.

DLBLWLGVLN
DLB 1.00 -0.08 0.10
LWLG -0.08 1.00 0.35
VLN 0.10 0.35 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DLB, LWLG and VLN?

Dolby Laboratories (DLB) is the largest by market capitalisation: Dolby Laboratories (DLB) $5.81B, Lightwave Logic (LWLG) $726.12M, Valens Semiconductor (VLN) $173.12M.

Which company is growing faster?

Valens Semiconductor (VLN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Dolby Laboratories (DLB) +0.6%, Valens Semiconductor (VLN) +7.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Dolby Laboratories (DLB) has the highest net margin (Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 16.7%, Valens Semiconductor (VLN) -45.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lightwave Logic (LWLG) returned the most: Dolby Laboratories (DLB) -7.3%, Lightwave Logic (LWLG) -3.1%, Valens Semiconductor (VLN) -4.5%. Over five years, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) compounded fastest (Dolby Laboratories (DLB) -6.9%/yr, Lightwave Logic (LWLG) -15.1%/yr, Valens Semiconductor (VLN) -28.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 2.33%. Lightwave Logic (LWLG) and Valens Semiconductor (VLN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) has been the steadiest (Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 30.2%, Lightwave Logic (LWLG) 118.6%, Valens Semiconductor (VLN) 102.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DLB, LWLG and VLN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 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.