LUD vs OPTX vs WS Stock Comparison

Luda Technology, Syntec Optics Holdings and Worthington Steel Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
WS Worthington Steel, Inc.
$42.25 +16.7% 1M +34.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.14B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$5.30B
Div. yield
0.02%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

7 decided of 12

Worthington Steel leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Worthington Steel 5, Syntec Optics Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLUDOPTXWSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $86.19M $277.09M $2.14B WS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 155.0x -114.8x -55.9x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — — 11.1x –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +1.5% +69.1% WS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — -8.3% -0.7% WS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 0.2% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -11.7x 19.9x OPTX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -56.0% +131.8% +34.3% OPTX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — — — –
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 144.4% 136.6% 47.3% WS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 31/100 33/100 WS

Percentile Scorecard

LUDOPTXWS

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

AxisLUDOPTXWS
Valuation 18 #166 of 203 5 #193 of 203 59 #83 of 203
Growth – 7 #175 of 187 32 #127 of 187
Profitability – 18 #152 of 185 29 #131 of 185
Financial Health 40 #132 of 219 95 #12 of 219 10 #197 of 219
Shareholder Returns – – 34 #102 of 153
Overall – 31 33
  • LUD ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • OPTX ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • WS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLUDOPTXWSSPY
1 month -3.0%-11.4%+16.7% -0.8%
3 months -10.8%-8.1%+15.1% +3.5%
6 months -28.8%-30.2%+12.0% +7.0%
Year to date -39.6%+129.4%+22.0% +12.2%
1 year -56.0%+131.8%+34.3% +13.0%
3 years —-37.5%— +86.3%
3 years, per year —-14.5%— +23.1%

Risk

MeasureLUDOPTXWSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 144.4%136.6%47.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 142.1%114.0%49.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.233.571.64 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.390.960.72 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -83.8%-93.0%-51.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -67.3%-53.5%-13.2% -1.8%
52-week high $11.85$14.11$48.69 $779.14
52-week low $3.20$1.25$28.10 $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.

MultipleLUDOPTXWS
P/E now vs peer median 155.0xmedian 26.0x -106.5xmedian 26.0x -55.2xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 1.9x 9.0xmedian 1.9x 0.4xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.0x 261.7xmedian 14.0x 42.0xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -40.6xmedian 21.4x -647.6xmedian 21.4x 46.3xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 2.2x 8.7xmedian 2.2x 1.3xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 1.26 2.11median 1.26 1.70median 1.26

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 monthsLUDOPTXWS
Revenue – $29.24M $5.30B
Gross profit – $5.73M $549.30M
Operating income – -$1.35M $6.30M
Net income – -$2.41M -$56.50M
Free cash flow – -$407.99K $46.70M
EPS (diluted) – $-0.06 $-0.77
Cash & equivalents $4.77M $14.05M $248.20M
Total debt $49.69M $29.94M $2.20B
Shares (diluted) 22.24M 39.19M 50.00M
Enterprise value $40.54M $261.49M $1.63B

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
MetricLUDOPTXWS
P/E 155.0x -106.5x -55.2x
P/FCF -40.6x -647.6x 46.3x
P/Operating cash flow – 376.4x 10.7x
P/S 2.6x 9.0x 0.4x
P/B 4.0x 8.7x 1.3x
P/Tangible book 4.1x 8.7x 1.4x
EV/EBITDA – 261.7x 42.0x
EV/EBIT – -186.8x 652.7x
EV/Revenue – 8.6x 0.8x
EV/FCF – -620.0x 88.1x
EV/Operating cash flow – 360.3x 20.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 2.11 1.70

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLUDOPTXWS
Revenue growth (1Y) – 1.5% 69.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – – 15.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – -14.9% 36.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 13.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) – -43.2% -95.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -56.0% -65.2%
Net income growth (1Y) – -53.5% -144.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – -52.3% -34.5%
EPS growth (1Y) – -44.6% -132.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – -50.5% -32.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – -40.6% 18.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -37.2% -10.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -0.1% 50.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -30.1% -41.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLUDOPTXWS
Gross margin – 19.6% 10.4%
EBITDA margin – 3.3% 1.8%
Operating margin – -4.6% 0.1%
Pretax margin – -6.8% -0.2%
Net margin – -8.3% -0.7%
FCF margin – -1.4% 0.9%
Operating cash flow margin – 2.4% 3.8%
Return on equity – -12.3% -4.0%
Return on assets – -7.7% -1.4%
Return on invested capital – – 0.2%
Return on capital employed – -5.2% 0.3%
Asset turnover – 0.9x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – -0.3x -3.6x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLUDOPTXWS
Debt / assets 25.8% 7.1% 36.5%
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.1x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA – -11.7x 19.9x
Debt / FCF – -6.8x 47.0x
Liabilities / assets 54.8% 21.5% 72.8%
Equity / assets 45.2% 78.5% 27.2%
Interest coverage – – 0.5x
Current ratio 1.6x 6.0x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.0x 4.3x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.4x 2.8x 0.1x
Altman Z-score – 20.58 1.55

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLUDOPTXWS
Dividend yield – – 1.5%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield – – 1.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – -57.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 70.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 2.2%
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.

ConsensusLUDOPTXWS
Forward P/E – – 11.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – – $3.82FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – – +71.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – – +30.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year – – $10.90BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – – +217.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – – +2.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLUDOPTXWS
Held by institutions – 12.3% 56.3%
Institutions holding – 62 238
Change in shares held, QoQ – +244.7% +1.2%
Institutions buying – 51 112
Institutions selling – 8 68
Buyers to sellers – 6.38 1.65

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.

LUDOPTXWS
LUD 1.00 -0.04 0.10
OPTX -0.04 1.00 0.18
WS 0.10 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LUD, OPTX and WS?

Worthington Steel (WS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Luda Technology (LUD) $86.19M, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) $277.09M, Worthington Steel (WS) $2.14B.

Which company is growing faster?

Worthington Steel (WS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) +1.5%, Worthington Steel (WS) +69.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Worthington Steel (WS) has the highest net margin (Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) -8.3%, Worthington Steel (WS) -0.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) returned the most: Luda Technology (LUD) -56.0%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) +131.8%, Worthington Steel (WS) +34.3%. Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Luda Technology (LUD) 0.00%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) 0.00%, Worthington Steel (WS) 0.02%. Luda Technology (LUD) and Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Worthington Steel (WS) has been the steadiest (Luda Technology (LUD) 144.4%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) 136.6%, Worthington Steel (WS) 47.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LUD, OPTX and WS?

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