KN vs COHR vs LITE Stock Comparison

Knowles, Coherent and Lumentum Holdings Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KN Knowles Corp
$32.65 -13.0% 1M +36.0% 1Y
Market cap
$2.93B
P/E
40.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$666.10M
Div. yield
–
Electronic Components Technology
4 wins
COHR Coherent Corp.
$221.71 -25.0% 1M +71.4% 1Y
Market cap
$41.88B
P/E
52.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.12B
Div. yield
0.00%
Electronic Components Technology
1 win
LITE Lumentum Holdings Inc.
$818.10 -13.1% 1M +356.3% 1Y
Market cap
$64.61B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.01B
Div. yield
–
Electronic Components Technology
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Lumentum Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Lumentum Holdings 6, Knowles 4, Coherent 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKNCOHRLITELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.93B $41.88B $64.61B LITE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 40.8x 52.0x -9.3x KN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.8x 24.7x 38.5x KN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +16.1% +22.5% +83.2% LITE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 11.3% -230.2% COHR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — -23.3% 8.1% LITE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.4x -1.4x LITE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +36.0% +71.4% +356.3% LITE
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.5%/yr +30.8%/yr +59.0%/yr LITE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.2% 89.0% 98.8% KN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 39/100 47/100 KN

Percentile Scorecard

KNCOHRLITE

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

AxisKNCOHRLITE
Valuation 45 #62 of 111 20 #89 of 111 9 #101 of 111
Growth 70 #33 of 108 57 #47 of 108 80 #22 of 108
Profitability 49 #54 of 104 29 #74 of 104 40 #63 of 104
Financial Health – 42 #67 of 115 56 #51 of 115
Shareholder Returns – 45 #45 of 81 48 #43 of 81
Overall 54 39 47
  • KN ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • COHR ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • LITE ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKNCOHRLITESPY
1 month -13.0%-25.0%-13.1% -0.8%
3 months -12.6%-18.3%+14.9% +3.5%
6 months +4.7%-31.0%-4.8% +7.0%
Year to date +52.4%+20.1%+122.0% +12.2%
1 year +36.0%+71.4%+356.3% +13.0%
3 years +151.0%+660.6%+2,168.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +35.9%+96.8%+183.3% +23.1%
5 years +64.5%+283.0%+913.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year +10.5%+30.8%+59.0% +11.0%
10 years +119.4%+731.9%+1,912.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year +8.2%+23.6%+35.0% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureKNCOHRLITESPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.2%89.0%98.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.9%94.0%100.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.893.483.15 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.880.803.61 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.6%-62.9%-66.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -23.7%-48.1%-27.8% -1.8%
52-week high $42.80$426.89$1,133.40 $779.14
52-week low $20.67$128.70$188.36 $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.

MultipleKNCOHRLITE
P/E now vs peer median 39.0xmedian 32.0x 48.8xmedian 32.0x -8.8xmedian 32.0x
P/S now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 2.8x 6.1xmedian 2.8x 24.0xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 19.4x -14.5xmedian 19.4x 89.7xmedian 19.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 195.6xmedian 29.0x -42.4xmedian 29.0x 241.5xmedian 29.0x
P/B now vs peer median 3.5xmedian 2.9x 3.9xmedian 2.9x 15.6xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 1.15median 1.13 0.97median 1.13 0.03median 1.13

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 monthsKNCOHRLITE
Revenue $666.10M $7.12B $3.01B
Gross profit $295.50M $2.67B $1.26B
Operating income $97.10M -$3.60B $524.80M
Net income $71.70M $800.94M -$6.94B
Free cash flow – -$1.02B $300.10M
R&D $43.90M $722.95M $356.50M
EPS (diluted) $0.82 $4.12 $-92.99
Cash & equivalents $46.60M $1.16B $2.04B
Total debt – $3.22B $1.64B
Shares (diluted) 87.90M 195.39M 74.60M
Enterprise value $2.93B $35.75B $56.43B

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
MetricKNCOHRLITE
P/E 39.0x 48.8x -8.8x
P/FCF 195.6x -42.4x 241.5x
P/Operating cash flow 27.6x 546.0x 96.5x
P/S 4.2x 6.1x 24.0x
P/B 3.5x 3.9x 15.6x
P/Tangible book 4.2x 5.2x 16.8x
EV/EBITDA – -14.5x 89.7x
EV/EBIT – -12.4x 136.0x
EV/Revenue 4.2x 6.3x 23.7x
EV/FCF – -43.6x 237.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.6x 561.6x 95.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.15 0.97 0.03

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKNCOHRLITE
Revenue growth (1Y) 16.1% 22.5% 83.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 25.5% 11.3% 19.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 20.8% 30.6% 173.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.2% 18.1% 30.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 62.1% 1.9% 391.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -33.2% 2.6% 87.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 71.9% 1,623% -26,876%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 33.7% 72.0% -274.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 70.8% 891.4% -25,088%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 34.0% 50.4% -264.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -15.4% -87.5% 494.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.5% -49.9% 61.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -630.9% 386.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -92.8% 80.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKNCOHRLITE
Gross margin – 37.5% 41.7%
EBITDA margin – -43.3% 26.4%
Operating margin – -50.6% 17.4%
Pretax margin – 11.9% -238.0%
Net margin – 11.3% -230.2%
FCF margin – -14.4% 10.0%
Operating cash flow margin 15.2% 1.1% 24.9%
Return on equity – 7.1% -182.1%
Return on assets – 4.4% -96.8%
Return on invested capital – -23.3% 8.1%
Return on capital employed – -24.1% 11.2%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.4x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 0.1x -0.1x
Stock comp / revenue 4.4% 2.6% 5.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKNCOHRLITE
Debt / assets – 17.6% 22.4%
Debt / equity – 0.3x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.4x -1.4x
Debt / FCF – -3.1x 5.5x
Liabilities / assets – 38.6% 36.5%
Equity / assets 74.2% 61.4% 63.5%
Interest coverage – -18.9x 24.1x
Current ratio 2.9x 2.4x 1.7x
Quick ratio – 1.2x 1.1x
Cash ratio – 0.7x 1.1x
Altman Z-score – 3.80 15.76

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKNCOHRLITE
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – -4.7% 0.0%
Shareholder yield – -4.7% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 1.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – -1.1% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 0.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -25.4% –

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.

ConsensusKNCOHRLITE
Forward P/E 22.8xFY2026 24.7xFY2027 38.5xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $1.43FY2026 $8.96FY2027 $21.25FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +28.8%FY2026 +59.7%FY2027 +145.1%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +21.0% +61.0% +61.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $712.60MFY2026 $11.19BFY2027 $6.52BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +20.1%FY2026 +57.1%FY2027 +116.6%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +12.1% +37.5% +62.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKNCOHRLITE
Held by institutions 100.0% 86.7% 92.8%
Institutions holding 340 1,309 1,316
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% -3.1% +6.6%
Institutions buying 198 840 903
Institutions selling 93 359 318
Buyers to sellers 2.13 2.34 2.84

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.

KNCOHRLITE
KN 1.00 0.66 0.56
COHR 0.66 1.00 0.81
LITE 0.56 0.81 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KN, COHR and LITE?

Lumentum Holdings (LITE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Knowles (KN) $2.93B, Coherent (COHR) $41.88B, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) $64.61B.

Which stock is cheaper, KN, COHR and LITE?

Knowles (KN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Knowles (KN) 40.8x, Coherent (COHR) 52.0x, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) -9.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Knowles (KN) is cheapest (Knowles (KN) 22.8x, Coherent (COHR) 24.7x, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) 38.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Lumentum Holdings (LITE) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Knowles (KN) +16.1%, Coherent (COHR) +22.5%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) +83.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Coherent (COHR) has the highest net margin (Coherent (COHR) 11.3%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) -230.2%). On return on invested capital, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) leads (Coherent (COHR) -23.3%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) 8.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lumentum Holdings (LITE) returned the most: Knowles (KN) +36.0%, Coherent (COHR) +71.4%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) +356.3%. Over five years, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) compounded fastest (Knowles (KN) +10.5%/yr, Coherent (COHR) +30.8%/yr, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) +59.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Knowles (KN) 0.00%, Coherent (COHR) 0.00%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) 0.00%. Knowles (KN) and Lumentum Holdings (LITE) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Knowles (KN) has been the steadiest (Knowles (KN) 41.2%, Coherent (COHR) 89.0%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) 98.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KN, COHR and LITE?

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