ZBRA vs COHR vs REFR Stock Comparison

Zebra Technologies, Coherent and Research Frontiers Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ZBRA Zebra Technologies Corp
$384.70 +3.5% 1M +40.2% 1Y
Market cap
$18.20B
P/E
34.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.85B
Div. yield
–
Electronic Components Technology
5 wins
COHR Coherent Corp.
$239.62 -15.1% 1M +78.5% 1Y
Market cap
$46.93B
P/E
52.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.12B
Div. yield
–
Electronic Components Technology
6 wins
REFR Research Frontiers Inc
$0.44 -42.9% 1M -78.2% 1Y
Market cap
$15.34M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$654.23K
Div. yield
–
Electronic Components Technology

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Coherent leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Coherent 6, Zebra Technologies 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionZBRACOHRREFRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $18.20B $46.93B $15.34M COHR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.1x 52.8x -6.8x ZBRA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.0x 26.7x — ZBRA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.7% +22.5% -46.5% COHR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.2% 11.3% -343.9% COHR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.6% -23.3% — ZBRA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.4x -0.4x — COHR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +40.2% +78.5% -78.2% COHR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.4%/yr +31.7%/yr -27.9%/yr COHR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 45.5% 89.1% 94.8% ZBRA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 40/100 17/100 ZBRA

Percentile Scorecard

ZBRACOHRREFR

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

AxisZBRACOHRREFR
Valuation 69 #35 of 111 19 #90 of 111 4 #107 of 111
Growth 46 #59 of 108 58 #46 of 108 10 #97 of 108
Profitability 85 #17 of 104 30 #73 of 104 5 #99 of 104
Financial Health 18 #94 of 115 41 #68 of 115 50 #58 of 115
Shareholder Returns 94 #6 of 78 53 #37 of 78 17 #65 of 78
Overall 62 40 17
  • ZBRA ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • COHR 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

PeriodZBRACOHRREFRSPY
1 month +3.5%-15.1%-42.9% +0.9%
3 months +35.9%+7.9%+12.8% +5.9%
6 months +78.5%-21.4%-53.2% +8.5%
Year to date +58.4%+29.8%-66.4% +13.3%
1 year +40.2%+78.5%-78.2% +12.4%
3 years +85.7%+722.0%-59.3% +88.1%
3 years, per year +22.9%+101.9%-25.9% +23.5%
5 years -28.0%+296.0%-80.4% +68.2%
5 years, per year -6.4%+31.7%-27.9% +11.0%
10 years +480.5%+781.0%-79.5% +263.4%
10 years, per year +19.2%+24.3%-14.7% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureZBRACOHRREFRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 45.5%89.1%94.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.0%94.4%90.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.703.491.19 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.880.88-0.82 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.8%-62.9%-86.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.6%-43.9%-78.8% -0.9%
52-week high $391.00$426.89$2.08 $779.14
52-week low $199.30$128.70$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.

MultipleZBRACOHRREFR
P/E now vs peer median 34.1xmedian 33.5x 52.8xmedian 33.5x -6.8xmedian 33.5x
P/S now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 2.8x 6.6xmedian 2.8x 23.5xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.4xmedian 19.6x -15.6xmedian 19.6x -6.3xmedian 19.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 20.1xmedian 29.8x -45.9xmedian 29.8x -9.8xmedian 29.8x
P/B now vs peer median 5.3xmedian 2.9x 4.2xmedian 2.9x 13.7xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median -9.01median 1.10 1.05median 1.10 -4.87median 1.10

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 monthsZBRACOHRREFR
Revenue $5.85B $7.12B $654.23K
Gross profit $2.90B $2.67B –
Operating income $858.00M -$3.60B -$2.28M
Net income $539.00M $800.94M -$2.25M
Free cash flow $904.00M -$1.02B -$1.56M
R&D $622.00M $722.95M $551.00K
EPS (diluted) $11.20 $4.12 $-0.06
Cash & equivalents $157.00M $1.16B $1.10M
Total debt $2.77B $3.22B –
Shares (diluted) 48.13M 195.39M 34.87M
Enterprise value $16.75B $41.14B $11.15M

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
MetricZBRACOHRREFR
P/E 34.1x 52.8x -6.8x
P/FCF 20.1x -45.9x -9.8x
P/Operating cash flow 18.6x 590.2x -9.8x
P/S 3.1x 6.6x 23.5x
P/B 5.3x 4.2x 13.7x
P/Tangible book 6.7x 5.6x 13.7x
EV/EBITDA 19.4x -15.6x -6.3x
EV/EBIT 24.3x -13.4x -6.3x
EV/Revenue 3.6x 6.8x 21.8x
EV/FCF 23.0x -47.1x -9.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.3x 605.7x -9.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -9.01 1.05 -4.87

Growth

14 metrics
MetricZBRACOHRREFR
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.7% 22.5% -46.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.1% 11.3% -2.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 14.9% 30.6% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 18.1% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 8.1% 1.9% -19.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -0.9% 2.6% 0.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -1.6% 1,623% -28.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -6.1% 72.0% 0.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 4.8% 891.4% -23.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -3.8% 50.4% 1.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 5.8% -87.5% -67.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 63.5% -49.9% 12.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 6.0% -630.9% -67.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 83.6% -92.8% 12.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricZBRACOHRREFR
Gross margin 49.6% 37.5% –
EBITDA margin 18.3% -43.3% -347.1%
Operating margin 14.7% -50.6% -348.1%
Pretax margin 12.1% 11.9% -348.1%
Net margin 9.2% 11.3% -343.9%
FCF margin 15.5% -14.4% -238.6%
Operating cash flow margin 16.7% 1.1% -238.6%
Return on equity 15.6% 7.1% -156.7%
Return on assets 6.4% 4.4% -82.0%
Return on invested capital 10.6% -23.3% –
Return on capital employed 19.1% -24.1% -96.2%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.4x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 0.1x 0.7x
Stock comp / revenue 3.0% 2.6% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricZBRACOHRREFR
Debt / assets 32.0% 17.6% –
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.4x -0.4x –
Debt / FCF 3.1x -3.1x –
Liabilities / assets 60.2% 38.6% 54.6%
Equity / assets 39.8% 61.4% 45.4%
Interest coverage – -18.9x –
Current ratio 0.5x 2.4x 3.5x
Quick ratio 0.3x 1.2x 3.2x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.7x 2.7x
Altman Z-score 3.75 4.10 -68.30

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricZBRACOHRREFR
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 5.0% -4.4% -9.0%
Shareholder yield 5.0% -4.4% -9.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 1.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – -1.1% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 0.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -25.4% –

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.

ConsensusZBRACOHRREFR
Forward P/E 17.0xFY2026 26.7xFY2027 –
EPS, next fiscal year $22.59FY2026 $8.96FY2027 –
EPS growth, next FY +42.6%FY2026 +59.7%FY2027 –
EPS growth, the year after -4.5% +61.0% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.35BFY2026 $11.19BFY2027 –
Revenue growth, next FY +17.7%FY2026 +57.1%FY2027 –
Revenue growth, the year after +1.2% +37.5% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersZBRACOHRREFR
Held by institutions 100.0% 86.7% 10.5%
Institutions holding 644 1,310 34
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.5% -3.1% -3.9%
Institutions buying 309 840 10
Institutions selling 242 359 8
Buyers to sellers 1.28 2.34 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.

ZBRACOHRREFR
ZBRA 1.00 0.20 0.03
COHR 0.20 1.00 0.14
REFR 0.03 0.14 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ZBRA, COHR and REFR?

Coherent (COHR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) $18.20B, Coherent (COHR) $46.93B, Research Frontiers (REFR) $15.34M.

Which stock is cheaper, ZBRA, COHR and REFR?

Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) 34.1x, Coherent (COHR) 52.8x, Research Frontiers (REFR) -6.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) is cheapest (Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) 17.0x, Coherent (COHR) 26.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Coherent (COHR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) +12.7%, Coherent (COHR) +22.5%, Research Frontiers (REFR) -46.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Coherent (COHR) has the highest net margin (Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) 9.2%, Coherent (COHR) 11.3%, Research Frontiers (REFR) -343.9%). On return on invested capital, Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) leads (Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) 10.6%, Coherent (COHR) -23.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Coherent (COHR) returned the most: Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) +40.2%, Coherent (COHR) +78.5%, Research Frontiers (REFR) -78.2%. Over five years, Coherent (COHR) compounded fastest (Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) -6.4%/yr, Coherent (COHR) +31.7%/yr, Research Frontiers (REFR) -27.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) has been the steadiest (Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) 45.5%, Coherent (COHR) 89.1%, Research Frontiers (REFR) 94.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ZBRA, COHR 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, Coherent (COHR) leads on 6. 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.