LITE vs OUST vs REFR Stock Comparison

Lumentum Holdings, Ouster and Research Frontiers Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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LITE Lumentum Holdings Inc.
$866.18 -8.0% 1M +346.9% 1Y
Market cap
$76.74B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.01B
Div. yield
–
Electronic Components Technology
5 wins
OUST Ouster, Inc.
$32.79 -25.0% 1M -11.6% 1Y
Market cap
$2.25B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$204.91M
Div. yield
–
Electronic Components Technology
1 win
REFR Research Frontiers Inc
$0.42 -46.8% 1M -82.2% 1Y
Market cap
$14.64M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$654.23K
Div. yield
–
Electronic Components Technology
1 win

Head to Head

7 decided of 12

Lumentum Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Lumentum Holdings 5, Ouster 1, Research Frontiers 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLITEOUSTREFRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $76.74B $2.25B $14.64M LITE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -9.3x -40.6x -6.5x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 40.8x — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +83.2% +62.8% -46.5% LITE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -230.2% -26.0% -343.9% OUST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.1% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -1.4x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +346.9% -11.6% -82.2% LITE
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +60.2%/yr -12.5%/yr -29.4%/yr LITE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 98.7% 102.5% 95.9% REFR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 43/100 18/100 LITE

Percentile Scorecard

LITEOUSTREFR

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

AxisLITEOUSTREFR
Valuation 10 #101 of 112 9 #102 of 112 4 #108 of 112
Growth 81 #22 of 109 82 #21 of 109 12 #96 of 109
Profitability 40 #63 of 104 14 #90 of 104 5 #99 of 104
Financial Health 55 #53 of 116 88 #15 of 116 51 #57 of 116
Shareholder Returns 46 #44 of 81 25 #61 of 81 19 #66 of 81
Overall 46 43 18
  • LITE ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • OUST ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • REFR ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLITEOUSTREFRSPY
1 month -8.0%-25.0%-46.8% -0.2%
3 months +32.9%-3.3%-4.5% +3.9%
6 months +9.5%+25.5%-55.3% +8.2%
Year to date +135.0%+51.5%-67.9% +12.9%
1 year +346.9%-11.6%-82.2% +12.3%
3 years +2,301.4%+765.2%-61.1% +87.4%
3 years, per year +188.7%+105.4%-27.0% +23.3%
5 years +955.0%-48.6%-82.4% +67.9%
5 years, per year +60.2%-12.5%-29.4% +10.9%
10 years +2,126.7%—-80.6% +261.1%
10 years, per year +36.4%—-15.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureLITEOUSTREFRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 98.7%102.5%95.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 100.3%100.6%92.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.164.601.16 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 3.51-0.11-0.86 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -66.5%-95.8%-86.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -23.6%-47.6%-82.2% -1.2%
52-week high $1,133.40$62.52$2.36 $779.14
52-week low $188.36$16.63$0.38 $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.

MultipleLITEOUSTREFR
P/E now vs peer median -9.3xmedian 33.2x -40.6xmedian 33.2x -6.5xmedian 33.2x
P/S now vs peer median 25.5xmedian 2.8x 11.0xmedian 2.8x 22.4xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 95.1xmedian 20.0x -37.8xmedian 20.0x -6.0xmedian 20.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 255.7xmedian 29.8x -27.2xmedian 29.8x -9.4xmedian 29.8x
P/B now vs peer median 16.5xmedian 3.0x 6.0xmedian 3.0x 13.0xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 0.04median 1.17 -0.72median 1.17 -4.65median 1.17

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 monthsLITEOUSTREFR
Revenue $3.01B $204.91M $654.23K
Gross profit $1.26B $101.63M –
Operating income $524.80M -$62.60M -$2.28M
Net income -$6.94B -$53.33M -$2.25M
Free cash flow $300.10M -$82.47M -$1.56M
R&D $356.50M $68.46M $551.00K
EPS (diluted) $-92.99 $-0.81 $-0.06
Cash & equivalents $2.04B $91.76M $1.10M
Total debt $1.64B – –
Shares (diluted) 74.60M 65.99M 34.87M
Enterprise value $68.56B $1.36B $10.45M

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
MetricLITEOUSTREFR
P/E -9.3x -40.6x -6.5x
P/FCF 255.7x -27.2x -9.4x
P/Operating cash flow 102.1x -41.7x -9.4x
P/S 25.5x 11.0x 22.4x
P/B 16.5x 6.0x 13.0x
P/Tangible book 17.8x 6.6x 13.0x
EV/EBITDA 95.1x -37.8x -6.0x
EV/EBIT 144.1x -31.7x -5.9x
EV/Revenue 25.1x 9.7x 20.7x
EV/FCF 252.1x -24.1x -8.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 100.7x -36.9x -8.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.04 -0.72 -4.65

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLITEOUSTREFR
Revenue growth (1Y) 83.2% 62.8% -46.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 19.5% 51.6% -2.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 173.1% 90.8% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 30.2% 166.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 391.4% 39.7% -19.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 87.0% 45.1% 0.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -26,876% 42.0% -28.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -274.9% 48.0% 0.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -25,088% 52.1% -23.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -264.1% 56.5% 1.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 494.9% -329.9% -67.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 61.1% 27.6% 12.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 386.6% -416.3% -67.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 80.2% 17.7% 12.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLITEOUSTREFR
Gross margin 41.7% 49.6% –
EBITDA margin 26.4% -25.6% -347.1%
Operating margin 17.4% -30.6% -348.1%
Pretax margin -238.0% -25.5% -348.1%
Net margin -230.2% -26.0% -343.9%
FCF margin 10.0% -40.2% -238.6%
Operating cash flow margin 24.9% -26.3% -238.6%
Return on equity -182.1% -16.5% -156.7%
Return on assets -96.8% -12.5% -82.0%
Return on invested capital 8.1% – –
Return on capital employed 11.2% -18.1% -96.2%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.1x 1.0x 0.7x
Stock comp / revenue 5.6% 18.5% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLITEOUSTREFR
Debt / assets 22.4% – –
Debt / equity 0.4x – –
Net debt / EBITDA -1.4x – –
Debt / FCF 5.5x – –
Liabilities / assets 36.5% 21.8% 54.6%
Equity / assets 63.5% 78.2% 45.4%
Interest coverage 24.1x – –
Current ratio 1.7x 4.2x 3.5x
Quick ratio 1.1x 3.5x 3.2x
Cash ratio 1.1x 3.1x 2.7x
Altman Z-score 16.72 10.70 -68.61

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLITEOUSTREFR
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 0.0% -6.2% -9.4%
Shareholder yield 0.0% -6.2% -9.4%
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.

ConsensusLITEOUSTREFR
Forward P/E 40.8xFY2027 – –
EPS, next fiscal year $21.25FY2027 $-0.27FY2026 –
EPS growth, next FY +145.1%FY2027 – –
EPS growth, the year after +61.4% – –
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.52BFY2027 $229.51MFY2026 –
Revenue growth, next FY +116.6%FY2027 +35.5%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after +62.9% +36.6% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLITEOUSTREFR
Held by institutions 92.8% 53.9% 10.5%
Institutions holding 1,316 330 34
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.6% +19.0% -3.9%
Institutions buying 903 233 10
Institutions selling 318 66 8
Buyers to sellers 2.84 3.53 1.25

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.

LITEOUSTREFR
LITE 1.00 0.41 0.11
OUST 0.41 1.00 0.12
REFR 0.11 0.12 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LITE, OUST and REFR?

Lumentum Holdings (LITE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Lumentum Holdings (LITE) $76.74B, Ouster (OUST) $2.25B, Research Frontiers (REFR) $14.64M.

Which company is growing faster?

Lumentum Holdings (LITE) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Lumentum Holdings (LITE) +83.2%, Ouster (OUST) +62.8%, Research Frontiers (REFR) -46.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ouster (OUST) has the highest net margin (Lumentum Holdings (LITE) -230.2%, Ouster (OUST) -26.0%, Research Frontiers (REFR) -343.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lumentum Holdings (LITE) returned the most: Lumentum Holdings (LITE) +346.9%, Ouster (OUST) -11.6%, Research Frontiers (REFR) -82.2%. Over five years, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) compounded fastest (Lumentum Holdings (LITE) +60.2%/yr, Ouster (OUST) -12.5%/yr, Research Frontiers (REFR) -29.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Research Frontiers (REFR) has been the steadiest (Lumentum Holdings (LITE) 98.7%, Ouster (OUST) 102.5%, Research Frontiers (REFR) 95.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.