LPL vs LITE vs REFR Stock Comparison

LG Display, Lumentum Holdings and Research Frontiers Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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LPL LG Display Co., Ltd.
$2.68 -10.1% 1M -45.9% 1Y
Market cap
$2.76B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$17.53B
Div. yield
–
Electronic Components Technology
3 wins
LITE Lumentum Holdings Inc.
$818.10 -13.1% 1M +356.3% 1Y
Market cap
$65.67B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.01B
Div. yield
–
Electronic Components Technology
5 wins
REFR Research Frontiers Inc
$0.45 -43.0% 1M -77.5% 1Y
Market cap
$14.64M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$654.23K
Div. yield
–
Electronic Components Technology

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

Lumentum Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Lumentum Holdings 5, LG Display 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLPLLITEREFRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.76B $65.67B $14.64M LITE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -5.9x -9.5x -6.5x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 38.5x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -6.9% +83.2% -46.5% LITE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -2.7% -230.2% -343.9% LPL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.3% 8.1% — LITE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -1.4x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -45.9% +356.3% -77.5% LITE
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -19.3%/yr +59.0%/yr -27.9%/yr LITE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 61.7% 98.8% 95.9% LPL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 47/100 18/100 LPL

Percentile Scorecard

LPLLITEREFR

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

AxisLPLLITEREFR
Valuation 94 #8 of 111 9 #101 of 111 5 #106 of 111
Growth 73 #30 of 108 80 #22 of 108 10 #97 of 108
Profitability 36 #67 of 104 40 #63 of 104 5 #99 of 104
Financial Health 8 #106 of 115 56 #51 of 115 52 #56 of 115
Shareholder Returns – 48 #43 of 81 19 #66 of 81
Overall 53 47 18
  • LPL ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • LITE ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • REFR ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLPLLITEREFRSPY
1 month -10.1%-13.1%-43.0% -0.8%
3 months -14.4%+14.9%-2.2% +3.5%
6 months -35.9%-4.8%-52.6% +7.0%
Year to date -36.3%+122.0%-65.6% +12.2%
1 year -45.9%+356.3%-77.5% +13.0%
3 years -39.4%+2,168.1%-58.3% +86.3%
3 years, per year -15.4%+183.3%-25.3% +23.1%
5 years -65.7%+913.8%-80.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year -19.3%+59.0%-27.9% +11.0%
10 years -79.4%+1,912.5%-79.7% +258.0%
10 years, per year -14.6%+35.0%-14.8% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureLPLLITEREFRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 61.7%98.8%95.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 68.1%100.3%92.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.333.151.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.743.61-0.81 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -76.0%-66.5%-86.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -53.5%-27.8%-80.9% -1.8%
52-week high $5.76$1,133.40$2.36 $779.14
52-week low $2.59$188.36$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.

MultipleLPLLITEREFR
P/E now vs peer median -5.8xmedian 32.0x -8.8xmedian 32.0x -7.0xmedian 32.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.2xmedian 2.8x 24.0xmedian 2.8x 24.0xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 19.4x 89.7xmedian 19.4x -6.4xmedian 19.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 29.0x 241.5xmedian 29.0x -10.0xmedian 29.0x
P/B now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 2.9x 15.6xmedian 2.9x 14.0xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median -0.12median 1.13 0.03median 1.13 -4.98median 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 monthsLPLLITEREFR
Revenue $17.53B $3.01B $654.23K
Gross profit $2.54B $1.26B –
Operating income $456.43M $524.80M -$2.28M
Net income -$915.07M -$6.94B -$2.25M
Free cash flow $1.37B $300.10M -$1.56M
R&D $957.27M $356.50M $551.00K
EPS (diluted) $-0.58 $-92.99 $-0.06
Cash & equivalents $941.29M $2.04B $1.10M
Total debt $37.49B $1.64B –
Shares (diluted) 797.61M 74.60M 34.87M
Enterprise value -$1.72B $57.48B $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
MetricLPLLITEREFR
P/E -5.8x -8.8x -7.0x
P/FCF 2.0x 241.5x -10.0x
P/Operating cash flow 1.3x 96.5x -10.1x
P/S 0.2x 24.0x 24.0x
P/B 0.5x 15.6x 14.0x
P/Tangible book 0.7x 16.8x 14.0x
EV/EBITDA – 89.7x -6.4x
EV/EBIT 22.7x 136.0x -6.4x
EV/Revenue 0.6x 23.7x 22.3x
EV/FCF 7.6x 237.9x -9.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 4.8x 95.0x -9.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.12 0.03 -4.98

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLPLLITEREFR
Revenue growth (1Y) -6.9% 83.2% -46.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.0% 19.5% -2.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 18.3% 173.1% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 101.7% 30.2% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 865.5% 391.4% -19.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 29.4% 87.0% 0.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -141.3% -26,876% -28.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 36.4% -274.9% 0.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 40.6% -25,088% -23.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 49.0% -264.1% 1.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 28.4% 494.9% -67.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -6.4% 61.1% 12.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 585.0% 386.6% -67.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 33.6% 80.2% 12.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLPLLITEREFR
Gross margin 14.5% 41.7% –
EBITDA margin – 26.4% -347.1%
Operating margin 2.6% 17.4% -348.1%
Pretax margin -5.1% -238.0% -348.1%
Net margin -2.7% -230.2% -343.9%
FCF margin 7.8% 10.0% -238.6%
Operating cash flow margin 12.2% 24.9% -238.6%
Return on equity -18.1% -182.1% -156.7%
Return on assets -5.1% -96.8% -82.0%
Return on invested capital 3.3% 8.1% –
Return on capital employed 4.4% 11.2% -96.2%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.4x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -2.3x -0.1x 0.7x
Stock comp / revenue – 5.6% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLPLLITEREFR
Debt / assets 48.9% 22.4% –
Debt / equity 1.8x 0.4x –
Net debt / EBITDA – -1.4x –
Debt / FCF 6.4x 5.5x –
Liabilities / assets 72.2% 36.5% 54.6%
Equity / assets 27.8% 63.5% 45.4%
Interest coverage 0.6x 24.1x –
Current ratio 0.6x 1.7x 3.5x
Quick ratio 0.3x 1.1x 3.2x
Cash ratio 0.1x 1.1x 2.7x
Altman Z-score 0.97 15.76 -68.15

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLPLLITEREFR
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – 0.0% -8.8%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 0.0% -8.8%
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.

ConsensusLPLLITEREFR
Forward P/E – 38.5xFY2027 –
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.16FY2026 $21.25FY2027 –
EPS growth, next FY -200.0%FY2026 +145.1%FY2027 –
EPS growth, the year after – +61.4% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $19.01BFY2026 $6.52BFY2027 –
Revenue growth, next FY +6.1%FY2026 +116.6%FY2027 –
Revenue growth, the year after -4.5% +62.9% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLPLLITEREFR
Held by institutions 7.8% 92.8% 10.5%
Institutions holding 189 1,316 34
Change in shares held, QoQ +76.8% +6.6% -3.9%
Institutions buying 153 903 10
Institutions selling 22 318 8
Buyers to sellers 6.95 2.84 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.

LPLLITEREFR
LPL 1.00 0.34 0.09
LITE 0.34 1.00 0.11
REFR 0.09 0.11 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LPL, LITE and REFR?

Lumentum Holdings (LITE) is the largest by market capitalisation: LG Display (LPL) $2.76B, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) $65.67B, Research Frontiers (REFR) $14.64M.

Which company is growing faster?

Lumentum Holdings (LITE) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: LG Display (LPL) -6.9%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) +83.2%, Research Frontiers (REFR) -46.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

LG Display (LPL) has the highest net margin (LG Display (LPL) -2.7%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) -230.2%, Research Frontiers (REFR) -343.9%). On return on invested capital, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) leads (LG Display (LPL) 3.3%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) 8.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lumentum Holdings (LITE) returned the most: LG Display (LPL) -45.9%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) +356.3%, Research Frontiers (REFR) -77.5%. Over five years, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) compounded fastest (LG Display (LPL) -19.3%/yr, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) +59.0%/yr, Research Frontiers (REFR) -27.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, LG Display (LPL) has been the steadiest (LG Display (LPL) 61.7%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) 98.8%, Research Frontiers (REFR) 95.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LPL, LITE 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.