LASR vs ROK vs RBC Stock Comparison

Nlight, Rockwell Automation and RBC Bearings Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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LASR Nlight, Inc.
$29.34 -26.7% 1M -6.9% 1Y
Market cap
$2.17B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$310.70M
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
1 win
ROK Rockwell Automation, Inc
$381.52 -15.4% 1M +5.2% 1Y
Market cap
$41.72B
P/E
34.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.97B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
5 wins
RBC RBC Bearings INC
$465.03 -9.6% 1M +7.8% 1Y
Market cap
$15.02B
P/E
42.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.02B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Rockwell Automation leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Rockwell Automation 5, RBC Bearings 5, Nlight 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLASRROKRBCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.17B $41.72B $15.02B ROK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -174.3x 34.7x 42.4x ROK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 55.4x 30.5x 32.9x ROK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +43.2% +11.3% +17.4% LASR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -4.0% 13.4% 17.5% RBC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -3.8% 21.0% 9.1% ROK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.3x 1.0x RBC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.9% +5.2% +7.8% RBC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -0.2%/yr +2.4%/yr +14.4%/yr RBC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 88.4% 35.1% 29.7% RBC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 55/100 54/100 ROK

Percentile Scorecard

LASRROKRBC

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

AxisLASRROKRBC
Valuation 16 #171 of 204 20 #163 of 204 15 #174 of 204
Growth 97 #6 of 191 49 #98 of 191 87 #26 of 191
Profitability 23 #145 of 189 95 #11 of 189 77 #45 of 189
Financial Health 90 #23 of 221 35 #145 of 221 73 #61 of 221
Shareholder Returns 5 #151 of 159 79 #34 of 159 17 #132 of 159
Overall 46 55 54
  • LASR ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • ROK ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • RBC ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLASRROKRBCSPY
1 month -26.7%-15.4%-9.6% -5.9%
3 months -61.1%-13.6%-17.9% -4.6%
6 months -55.7%-14.9%-24.0% +0.2%
Year to date -21.8%-1.9%+3.7% +7.5%
1 year -6.9%+5.2%+7.8% +8.2%
3 years +215.5%+47.6%+112.1% +68.3%
3 years, per year +46.7%+13.9%+28.5% +19.0%
5 years -1.1%+12.5%+95.8% +56.5%
5 years, per year -0.2%+2.4%+14.4% +9.4%
10 years —+224.5%+561.3% +251.5%
10 years, per year —+12.5%+20.8% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureLASRROKRBCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 88.4%35.1%29.7% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 91.7%39.3%31.8% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.971.621.07 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.080.150.26 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -77.7%-45.6%-35.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -65.5%-22.9%-28.3% -5.9%
52-week high $84.95$495.08$648.89 $779.14
52-week low $28.60$348.51$423.39 $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.

MultipleLASRROKRBC
P/E now vs peer median -134.0xmedian 23.4x 35.3xmedian 23.4x 41.4xmedian 23.4x
P/S now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 1.7x 4.7xmedian 1.7x 7.5xmedian 1.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -437.1xmedian 13.4x 21.6xmedian 13.4x 25.1xmedian 13.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 40.4xmedian 21.9x 28.2xmedian 21.9x 38.2xmedian 21.9x
P/B now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 2.1x 12.1xmedian 2.1x 4.3xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median -3.17median 1.02 -8.04median 1.02 1.62median 1.02

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 monthsLASRROKRBC
Revenue $310.70M $8.97B $2.02B
Gross profit $97.95M $4.41B $921.20M
Operating income -$16.99M $1.77B $494.50M
Net income -$12.48M $1.20B $354.40M
Free cash flow $41.83M $1.50B $399.20M
R&D $50.56M $716.00M –
EPS (diluted) $-0.22 $10.76 $11.17
Cash & equivalents $295.76M $479.00M $89.30M
Total debt – $3.26B $710.50M
Shares (diluted) 56.98M 111.60M 31.71M
Enterprise value $1.26B $39.90B $14.64B

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
MetricLASRROKRBC
P/E -134.0x 35.3x 41.4x
P/FCF 40.4x 28.2x 38.2x
P/Operating cash flow 31.8x 24.5x 31.4x
P/S 5.4x 4.7x 7.5x
P/B 3.8x 12.1x 4.3x
P/Tangible book 3.8x 15.2x 6.9x
EV/EBITDA -437.1x 21.6x 25.1x
EV/EBIT -80.1x 25.5x 32.1x
EV/Revenue 4.4x 5.0x 7.8x
EV/FCF 32.5x 30.0x 39.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.6x 26.1x 32.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.17 -8.04 1.62

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLASRROKRBC
Revenue growth (1Y) 43.2% 11.3% 17.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.5% 1.3% 10.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 113.2% 1.9% 20.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 29.0% 7.5% 12.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 67.4% -7.1% 28.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 33.0% 2.9% 14.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 73.4% 23.8% 36.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 37.9% -5.5% 23.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 76.9% 25.2% 36.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 42.3% -4.4% 25.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 587.2% 13.8% 34.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 119.1% 22.8% 25.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 311.1% 13.9% 31.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 65.8% 23.6% 23.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLASRROKRBC
Gross margin 31.5% 49.1% 45.5%
EBITDA margin -1.0% 23.3% 31.2%
Operating margin -5.5% 19.7% 24.4%
Pretax margin -3.8% 14.7% 22.3%
Net margin -4.0% 13.4% 17.5%
FCF margin 13.5% 16.8% 19.7%
Operating cash flow margin 17.1% 19.3% 24.0%
Return on equity -2.9% 30.9% 10.1%
Return on assets -2.4% 9.8% 6.8%
Return on invested capital -3.8% 21.0% 9.1%
Return on capital employed -3.7% 23.6% 10.3%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.8x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -4.3x 1.4x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 13.8% 1.0% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLASRROKRBC
Debt / assets – 29.4% 13.7%
Debt / equity – 0.9x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.3x 1.0x
Debt / FCF – 2.2x 1.8x
Liabilities / assets 15.0% 68.5% 31.4%
Equity / assets 85.0% 31.5% 68.6%
Interest coverage -14.7x 12.8x 4.1x
Current ratio 8.2x 1.1x 3.1x
Quick ratio 6.9x 0.7x 1.1x
Cash ratio 6.0x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 13.52 5.45 7.02

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLASRROKRBC
Dividend yield – 1.4% –
Net buyback yield -11.6% 1.7% 0.0%
Shareholder yield -11.6% 3.1% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusLASRROKRBC
Forward P/E 55.4xFY2026 30.5xFY2026 32.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.53FY2026 $12.50FY2026 $14.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +120.8%FY2026 +18.7%FY2026 +14.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.1% +12.3% +13.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $313.45MFY2026 $8.50BFY2026 $2.00BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +19.9%FY2026 +2.0%FY2026 +6.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.0% +19.2% +25.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLASRROKRBC
Held by institutions 89.4% 89.2% 95.3%
Institutions holding 359 1,545 687
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.4% +3.5% +1.5%
Institutions buying 221 809 362
Institutions selling 112 438 240
Buyers to sellers 1.97 1.85 1.51

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.

LASRROKRBC
LASR 1.00 0.37 0.43
ROK 0.37 1.00 0.51
RBC 0.43 0.51 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LASR, ROK and RBC?

Rockwell Automation (ROK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nlight (LASR) $2.17B, Rockwell Automation (ROK) $41.72B, RBC Bearings (RBC) $15.02B.

Which stock is cheaper, LASR, ROK and RBC?

Rockwell Automation (ROK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Nlight (LASR) -174.3x, Rockwell Automation (ROK) 34.7x, RBC Bearings (RBC) 42.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Rockwell Automation (ROK) is cheapest (Nlight (LASR) 55.4x, Rockwell Automation (ROK) 30.5x, RBC Bearings (RBC) 32.9x). 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: Nlight (LASR) +43.2%, Rockwell Automation (ROK) +11.3%, RBC Bearings (RBC) +17.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

RBC Bearings (RBC) has the highest net margin (Nlight (LASR) -4.0%, Rockwell Automation (ROK) 13.4%, RBC Bearings (RBC) 17.5%). On return on invested capital, Rockwell Automation (ROK) leads (Nlight (LASR) -3.8%, Rockwell Automation (ROK) 21.0%, RBC Bearings (RBC) 9.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year RBC Bearings (RBC) returned the most: Nlight (LASR) -6.9%, Rockwell Automation (ROK) +5.2%, RBC Bearings (RBC) +7.8%. Over five years, RBC Bearings (RBC) compounded fastest (Nlight (LASR) -0.2%/yr, Rockwell Automation (ROK) +2.4%/yr, RBC Bearings (RBC) +14.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, RBC Bearings (RBC) has been the steadiest (Nlight (LASR) 88.4%, Rockwell Automation (ROK) 35.1%, RBC Bearings (RBC) 29.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LASR, ROK and RBC?

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