IPGP vs LASR vs MMM Stock Comparison

Ipg Photonics, Nlight and 3M Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (ITW) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
IPGP Ipg Photonics Corp
$75.53 -2.2% 1M -13.2% 1Y
Market cap
$3.21B
P/E
116.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.07B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
1 win
LASR Nlight, Inc.
$38.50 -2.7% 1M +18.1% 1Y
Market cap
$2.22B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$310.70M
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
3 wins
MMM 3M Co
$172.82 +2.0% 1M +3.6% 1Y
Market cap
$89.30B
P/E
25.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.25B
Div. yield
1.78%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

3M leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (3M 6, Nlight 3, Ipg Photonics 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIPGPLASRMMMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.21B $2.22B $89.30B MMM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 116.4x -175.8x 25.4x MMM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 71.9x 72.6x 19.5x MMM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +13.0% +43.2% +1.7% LASR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.6% -4.0% 14.0% MMM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — -3.8% 22.0% MMM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — 1.6x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% — 1.78% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -13.2% +18.1% +3.6% LASR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -13.8%/yr +6.5%/yr +3.0%/yr LASR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 72.0% 87.2% 25.6% MMM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 46/100 50/100 IPGP

Percentile Scorecard

IPGPLASRMMM

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

AxisIPGPLASRMMM
Valuation 40 #122 of 203 11 #180 of 203 38 #126 of 203
Growth 32 #129 of 188 97 #6 of 188 59 #77 of 188
Profitability 32 #126 of 184 25 #138 of 184 87 #24 of 184
Financial Health 96 #9 of 217 89 #25 of 217 19 #177 of 217
Shareholder Returns 94 #10 of 153 7 #143 of 153 47 #82 of 153
Overall 59 46 50
  • IPGP ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • LASR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MMM ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIPGPLASRMMMSPY
1 month -2.2%-2.7%+2.0% +0.9%
3 months -5.8%-34.8%-2.9% +5.9%
6 months -33.3%-40.7%+20.1% +8.5%
Year to date +5.5%+2.6%+7.9% +13.3%
1 year -13.2%+18.1%+3.6% +12.4%
3 years -14.3%+365.5%+136.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year -5.0%+67.0%+33.2% +23.5%
5 years -52.5%+36.9%+15.7% +68.2%
5 years, per year -13.8%+6.5%+3.0% +11.0%
10 years -22.1%—+24.7% +263.4%
10 years, per year -2.5%—+2.2% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureIPGPLASRMMMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 72.0%87.2%25.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 77.7%89.0%24.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.153.190.69 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.180.210.14 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -72.0%-80.5%-53.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -50.9%-54.7%-6.0% -0.9%
52-week high $153.91$84.95$183.81 $779.14
52-week low $69.41$28.60$141.20 $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.

MultipleIPGPLASRMMM
P/E now vs peer median 116.4xmedian 25.4x -175.8xmedian 25.4x 25.4xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 3.0xmedian 1.9x 7.1xmedian 1.9x 3.5xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 31.2xmedian 14.3x -606.7xmedian 14.3x 16.1xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 154.5xmedian 21.8x 53.1xmedian 21.8x 33.4xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 2.2x 5.0xmedian 2.2x 21.4xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -3.43median 1.41 -4.15median 1.41 0.71median 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 monthsIPGPLASRMMM
Revenue $1.07B $310.70M $25.25B
Gross profit $410.10M $97.95M $9.98B
Operating income $7.97M -$16.99M $4.74B
Net income $27.56M -$12.48M $3.58B
Free cash flow $20.80M $41.83M $2.68B
R&D $123.44M $50.56M $1.21B
EPS (diluted) $0.64 $-0.22 $6.77
Cash & equivalents $399.23M $295.76M $4.84B
Total debt – $60.00M $15.00B
Shares (diluted) 42.91M 56.98M 522.60M
Enterprise value -$181.36M $1.31B $71.72B

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
MetricIPGPLASRMMM
P/E 116.4x -175.8x 25.4x
P/FCF 154.5x 53.1x 33.4x
P/Operating cash flow 33.3x 41.8x 24.6x
P/S 3.0x 7.1x 3.5x
P/B 1.5x 5.0x 21.4x
P/Tangible book 1.5x 5.0x 42.2x
EV/EBITDA 31.2x -606.7x 16.1x
EV/EBIT 293.8x -111.2x 20.9x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 6.1x 3.9x
EV/FCF 112.6x 45.2x 37.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.3x 35.5x 27.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.43 -4.15 0.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIPGPLASRMMM
Revenue growth (1Y) 13.0% 43.2% 1.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -7.9% 11.5% 10.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 25.1% 113.2% -1.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -6.8% 29.0% 17.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 103.4% 67.4% -3.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -62.6% 33.0% 33.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 112.8% 73.4% 4.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -36.2% 37.9% 35.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 112.7% 76.9% 7.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -34.0% 42.3% 35.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -36.2% 587.2% 42.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -24.2% 119.1% -18.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -67.8% 311.1% 68.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -43.0% 65.8% -18.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIPGPLASRMMM
Gross margin 38.4% 31.5% 39.5%
EBITDA margin 7.0% -1.0% 24.4%
Operating margin 0.7% -5.5% 18.8%
Pretax margin 3.7% -3.8% 17.5%
Net margin 2.6% -4.0% 14.0%
FCF margin 1.9% 13.5% 10.6%
Operating cash flow margin 9.0% 17.1% 14.4%
Return on equity 1.3% -2.9% 101.3%
Return on assets 1.1% -2.4% 9.8%
Return on invested capital – -3.8% 22.0%
Return on capital employed 0.4% -3.7% 18.7%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.6x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.5x -4.3x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 3.9% 13.8% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIPGPLASRMMM
Debt / assets – – 37.9%
Debt / equity – – 3.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 1.6x
Debt / FCF – – 5.6x
Liabilities / assets 12.3% 15.0% 89.5%
Equity / assets 87.7% 85.0% 10.5%
Interest coverage – -14.7x –
Current ratio 6.2x 8.2x 1.4x
Quick ratio 4.4x 6.9x 0.8x
Cash ratio 3.6x 6.0x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 9.08 17.60 4.10

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIPGPLASRMMM
Dividend yield – – 1.8%
Net buyback yield 4.1% -8.8% 3.1%
Shareholder yield 4.1% -8.8% 4.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 44.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 59.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 3.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – -21.4%

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.

ConsensusIPGPLASRMMM
Forward P/E 71.9xFY2026 72.6xFY2026 19.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.05FY2026 $0.53FY2026 $8.88FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +43.8%FY2026 +120.8%FY2026 +10.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +109.5% +13.2% +16.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.18BFY2026 $313.28MFY2026 $23.87BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.1%FY2026 +19.9%FY2026 -1.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.7% +17.9% +17.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIPGPLASRMMM
Held by institutions 71.5% 89.4% 74.5%
Institutions holding 356 357 2,210
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.7% +5.4% +0.8%
Institutions buying 214 220 916
Institutions selling 96 112 837
Buyers to sellers 2.23 1.96 1.09

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.

IPGPLASRMMM
IPGP 1.00 0.39 0.19
LASR 0.39 1.00 0.11
MMM 0.19 0.11 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IPGP, LASR and MMM?

3M (MMM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ipg Photonics (IPGP) $3.21B, Nlight (LASR) $2.22B, 3M (MMM) $89.30B.

Which stock is cheaper, IPGP, LASR and MMM?

3M (MMM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 116.4x, Nlight (LASR) -175.8x, 3M (MMM) 25.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, 3M (MMM) is cheapest (Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 71.9x, Nlight (LASR) 72.6x, 3M (MMM) 19.5x). 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: Ipg Photonics (IPGP) +13.0%, Nlight (LASR) +43.2%, 3M (MMM) +1.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

3M (MMM) has the highest net margin (Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 2.6%, Nlight (LASR) -4.0%, 3M (MMM) 14.0%). On return on invested capital, 3M (MMM) leads (Nlight (LASR) -3.8%, 3M (MMM) 22.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nlight (LASR) returned the most: Ipg Photonics (IPGP) -13.2%, Nlight (LASR) +18.1%, 3M (MMM) +3.6%. Over five years, Nlight (LASR) compounded fastest (Ipg Photonics (IPGP) -13.8%/yr, Nlight (LASR) +6.5%/yr, 3M (MMM) +3.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 0.00%, 3M (MMM) 1.78%. Ipg Photonics (IPGP) and Nlight (LASR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, 3M (MMM) has been the steadiest (Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 72.0%, Nlight (LASR) 87.2%, 3M (MMM) 25.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, 3M (MMM) leads on 6. 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.