Is Lumentum Stock Outperforming Its Rivals?
Lumentum’s stock has seen extraordinary outperformance over the past year, positioning itself as a pivotal enabler in the booming AI and data-center infrastructure. A closer look reveals robust revenue growth, yet profitability remains significantly challenged, leading to a premium valuation. While strategic partnerships, notably with NVIDIA, signal strong future demand for its optical components, execution risks, market competition from peers like Coherent, and high expectations may temper long-term upside.
- LITE’s operating margin is nearly zero, lower than most peers – trailing FFIV (25.1%), reflecting aggressive AI component investments versus FFIV’s mature security software.
- LITE’s revenue growth of 48.9% in the last 12 months is strong, outpacing peers, fueled by hyperscale AI/cloud demand for optical components.
- LITE gained 931.5% in the past year, outperforming peers, propelled by AI infrastructure demand & NVIDIA deal; its 181.1 PE reflects high growth expectations.
Here’s how Lumentum stacks up across size, valuation, and profitability versus key peers.
| LITE | CSCO | FFIV | ESE | VSAT | EXTR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market Cap ($ Bil) | 45.6 | 301.4 | 16.4 | 7.0 | 6.2 | 1.9 |
| Revenue ($ Bil) | 2.1 | 59.1 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 4.6 | 1.2 |
| PE Ratio | 181.1 | 27.2 | 23.3 | 23.0 | -18.4 | 205.5 |
| LTM Revenue Growth | 48.9% | 9.0% | 8.8% | 24.0% | 2.1% | 20.0% |
| LTM Operating Margin | 0.5% | 23.2% | 25.1% | 15.8% | -1.0% | 2.7% |
| LTM FCF Margin | -1.4% | 20.7% | 27.4% | 18.6% | 13.5% | 10.0% |
| 12M Market Return | 931.5% | 22.1% | 3.5% | 68.2% | 372.6% | -5.5% |
For more details on Lumentum, read Buy or Sell LITE Stock. Below we compare LITE’s growth, margin, and valuation with peers across years
Revenue Growth Comparison
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| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LITE | 48.9% | 21.0% | -23.1% | 3.2% |
| CSCO | 9.0% | 5.3% | -5.6% | 10.6% |
| FFIV | 8.8% | 9.7% | 0.1% | 4.4% |
| ESE | 24.0% | 19.2% | 7.4% | -0.2% |
| VSAT | 2.1% | 5.5% | 67.6% | 5.7% |
| EXTR | 20.0% | 2.0% | -14.9% | 18.0% |
Operating Margin Comparison
| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LITE | 0.5% | -11.7% | -26.6% | -5.0% |
| CSCO | 23.2% | 22.1% | 24.1% | 27.3% |
| FFIV | 25.1% | 25.6% | 23.7% | 19.1% |
| ESE | 15.8% | 15.8% | 16.1% | 14.1% |
| VSAT | -1.0% | -2.2% | -20.8% | -6.1% |
| EXTR | 2.7% | 1.6% | -2.6% | 8.5% |
PE Ratio Comparison
| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LITE | 181.1 | 982.0 | -10.3 | -27.2 |
| CSCO | 27.2 | 30.1 | 23.2 | 16.4 |
| FFIV | 23.3 | 21.3 | 26.1 | 27.1 |
| ESE | 23.0 | 16.9 | 33.7 | 32.6 |
| VSAT | -18.4 | -7.7 | -0.9 | 2.0 |
| EXTR | 205.5 | -295.1 | -25.2 | 29.3 |
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