KN vs LITE vs OUST Stock Comparison

Knowles, Lumentum Holdings and Ouster Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KN Knowles Corp
$32.20 -12.4% 1M +34.1% 1Y
Market cap
$2.79B
P/E
41.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$635.00M
Div. yield
–
Electronic Components Technology
5 wins
LITE Lumentum Holdings Inc.
$756.17 -19.3% 1M +348.8% 1Y
Market cap
$61.05B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.01B
Div. yield
–
Electronic Components Technology
5 wins
OUST Ouster, Inc.
$29.69 -24.6% 1M -10.0% 1Y
Market cap
$1.96B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$204.91M
Div. yield
–
Electronic Components Technology

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Lumentum Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Lumentum Holdings 5, Knowles 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKNLITEOUSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.79B $61.05B $1.96B LITE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.4x -8.8x -36.7x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.7x 35.7x — KN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.8% +83.2% +62.8% LITE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.6% -230.2% -26.0% KN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.6% 8.1% — KN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.6x -1.4x — LITE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +34.1% +348.8% -10.0% LITE
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.2%/yr +55.2%/yr -14.6%/yr LITE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.1% 98.7% 102.4% KN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 47/100 43/100 KN

Percentile Scorecard

KNLITEOUST

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

AxisKNLITEOUST
Valuation 46 #61 of 112 11 #100 of 112 9 #102 of 112
Growth 68 #36 of 109 81 #22 of 109 82 #20 of 109
Profitability 67 #35 of 105 40 #63 of 105 14 #91 of 105
Financial Health 59 #49 of 117 57 #51 of 117 88 #15 of 117
Shareholder Returns 68 #27 of 82 46 #45 of 82 22 #64 of 82
Overall 61 47 43
  • KN ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • LITE ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • OUST ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKNLITEOUSTSPY
1 month -12.4%-19.3%-24.6% -1.0%
3 months -14.4%-0.9%-12.8% +2.9%
6 months +5.2%-14.2%+5.2% +6.4%
Year to date +50.3%+105.2%+37.2% +11.4%
1 year +34.1%+348.8%-10.0% +13.1%
3 years +139.2%+1,861.0%+642.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year +33.8%+169.9%+95.2% +21.5%
5 years +62.8%+799.7%-54.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year +10.2%+55.2%-14.6% +10.9%
10 years +117.1%+1,771.7%— +255.2%
10 years, per year +8.1%+34.0%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureKNLITEOUSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.1%98.7%102.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.6%100.3%100.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.853.174.60 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.833.53-0.10 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.6%-66.5%-95.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -24.8%-33.3%-52.5% -2.5%
52-week high $42.80$1,133.40$62.52 $779.14
52-week low $20.67$168.50$16.63 $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.

MultipleKNLITEOUST
P/E now vs peer median 40.9xmedian 31.3x -8.1xmedian 31.3x -36.7xmedian 31.3x
P/S now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 2.6x 22.2xmedian 2.6x 9.9xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.5xmedian 19.6x 82.8xmedian 19.6x -33.7xmedian 19.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 168.7xmedian 28.3x 223.2xmedian 28.3x -24.7xmedian 28.3x
P/B now vs peer median 3.5xmedian 2.9x 14.4xmedian 2.9x 5.5xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 1.24median 1.15 0.03median 1.15 -0.65median 1.15

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 monthsKNLITEOUST
Revenue $635.00M $3.01B $204.91M
Gross profit $284.10M $1.26B $101.63M
Operating income $92.20M $524.80M -$62.60M
Net income $67.50M -$6.94B -$53.33M
Free cash flow $16.30M $300.10M -$82.47M
R&D $42.80M $356.50M $68.46M
EPS (diluted) $0.77 $-92.99 $-0.81
Cash & equivalents $49.60M $2.04B $91.76M
Total debt $352.00M $1.64B –
Shares (diluted) 87.90M 74.60M 65.99M
Enterprise value $2.56B $52.86B $1.07B

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
MetricKNLITEOUST
P/E 40.9x -8.1x -36.7x
P/FCF 168.7x 223.2x -24.7x
P/Operating cash flow 29.6x 89.2x -37.8x
P/S 4.3x 22.2x 9.9x
P/B 3.5x 14.4x 5.5x
P/Tangible book 4.2x 15.5x 6.0x
EV/EBITDA 21.5x 82.8x -33.7x
EV/EBIT 30.7x 125.6x -28.3x
EV/Revenue 4.5x 21.9x 8.6x
EV/FCF 173.7x 219.6x -21.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 30.4x 87.7x -32.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.24 0.03 -0.65

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKNLITEOUST
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.8% 83.2% 62.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 16.0% 19.5% 51.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 19.5% 173.1% 90.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.7% 30.2% 166.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 74.6% 391.4% 39.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -32.5% 87.0% 45.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 172.2% -26,876% 42.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 32.8% -274.9% 48.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 171.2% -25,088% 52.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.1% -264.1% 56.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -19.4% 494.9% -329.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.0% 61.1% 27.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -78.1% 386.6% -416.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.9% 80.2% 17.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKNLITEOUST
Gross margin 44.7% 41.7% 49.6%
EBITDA margin 20.7% 26.4% -25.6%
Operating margin 14.5% 17.4% -30.6%
Pretax margin 13.5% -238.0% -25.5%
Net margin 10.6% -230.2% -26.0%
FCF margin 2.6% 10.0% -40.2%
Operating cash flow margin 14.6% 24.9% -26.3%
Return on equity 8.6% -182.1% -16.5%
Return on assets 6.3% -96.8% -12.5%
Return on invested capital 8.6% 8.1% –
Return on capital employed 9.6% 11.2% -18.1%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x -0.1x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 4.5% 5.6% 18.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKNLITEOUST
Debt / assets 12.2% 22.4% –
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.4x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.6x -1.4x –
Debt / FCF 8.0x 5.5x –
Liabilities / assets 26.1% 36.5% 21.8%
Equity / assets 73.9% 63.5% 78.2%
Interest coverage – 24.1x –
Current ratio 3.2x 1.7x 4.2x
Quick ratio 1.6x 1.1x 3.5x
Cash ratio 0.5x 1.1x 3.1x
Altman Z-score 6.30 14.52 9.47

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKNLITEOUST
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 1.5% 0.0% -6.9%
Shareholder yield 1.5% 0.0% -6.9%
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.

ConsensusKNLITEOUST
Forward P/E 23.7xFY2026 35.7xFY2027 –
EPS, next fiscal year $1.36FY2026 $21.16FY2027 $-0.27FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +22.5%FY2026 +144.1%FY2027 –
EPS growth, the year after +22.8% +59.8% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $689.72MFY2026 $6.48BFY2027 $229.51MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +16.3%FY2026 +115.2%FY2027 +35.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +10.1% +61.8% +36.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKNLITEOUST
Held by institutions 100.0% 92.8% 53.9%
Institutions holding 340 1,316 330
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% +6.6% +19.0%
Institutions buying 198 903 233
Institutions selling 93 318 66
Buyers to sellers 2.13 2.84 3.53

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.

KNLITEOUST
KN 1.00 0.56 0.61
LITE 0.56 1.00 0.40
OUST 0.61 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KN, LITE and OUST?

Lumentum Holdings (LITE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Knowles (KN) $2.79B, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) $61.05B, Ouster (OUST) $1.96B.

Which company is growing faster?

Lumentum Holdings (LITE) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Knowles (KN) +12.8%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) +83.2%, Ouster (OUST) +62.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Knowles (KN) has the highest net margin (Knowles (KN) 10.6%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) -230.2%, Ouster (OUST) -26.0%). On return on invested capital, Knowles (KN) leads (Knowles (KN) 8.6%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) 8.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lumentum Holdings (LITE) returned the most: Knowles (KN) +34.1%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) +348.8%, Ouster (OUST) -10.0%. Over five years, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) compounded fastest (Knowles (KN) +10.2%/yr, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) +55.2%/yr, Ouster (OUST) -14.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Knowles (KN) has been the steadiest (Knowles (KN) 41.1%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) 98.7%, Ouster (OUST) 102.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.