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IPGP
IPG Photonics Corporation · Technology - Laser Systems
$118.01
+4.13% this month
VERSUS
⟷
COMPARE
COHR
Coherent Corp. · Technology - Compound Semiconductors & Photonics
$389.57
+10.16% this month
Scoreboard verdict
Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin
IPGP
1
COHR
3
Comparison scoreboard
COHR LEADS 3/5AI Score
IPGP 35.1
COHR ✓73.6
1Y Return
IPGP +76.82%
COHR ✓+373.41%
Fwd P/E
IPGP 51.05
COHR ✓47.09
Target Up.
IPGP ✓+10.58%
COHR -0.15%
Op. Margin
IPGP N/A
COHR 13.57%
Metrics last refreshed: 6/20/2026
Quick take
IPGP vs COHR Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
IPGP (IPG Photonics) and COHR (Coherent) are both photonics companies but with different business models and market exposures — IPG Photonics is a highly focused fiber laser company dominant in industrial metal processing with historically high margins facing Chinese competition, while Coherent is a diversified compound semiconductor and photonics company with AI data center optical transceiver growth, SiC for EVs, and a complex integration following multiple acquisitions.
IPGP vs COHR is focused fiber laser market leader defending margins (IPG Photonics' dominant industrial fiber laser position under pressure from Chinese competition while expanding into adjacent laser applications) versus diversified compound semiconductor and photonics company with AI and EV exposure (Coherent's multi-market photonics portfolio spanning AI networking transceivers, SiC for EVs, and industrial lasers with post-merger integration as the key operational challenge) — focused defender versus diversified complex grower.
Live analysis · updated 6/20/2026
COHR holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. COHR leads on both 1-year return (+373.41%) and forward P/E (47.09x vs 51.05x for IPGP), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for IPGP (+10.58%) than for COHR (-0.15%).
Normalized 1Y performance
IPGP
COHR
Recent returns
IPGP
COHR
Analyst price targets & sentiment
IPGP · 7 analysts
Price target range
analyst low$92.50
analyst high$160.00
analyst mean$130.50
current price$118.01
+10.6% upside to analyst mean
COHR · 21 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Buy (1.6/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$230.00
analyst high$461.96
analyst mean$384.45
current price$389.57
-0.1% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
IPGP may suit investors who:
- →Want a specialized fiber laser technology company with decades of manufacturing and process expertise — IPG's vertically integrated fiber laser production creates genuine technological IP in a competitive but specialized market
- →Value IPG's historically high gross margins and technological differentiation as creating durable profitability if competitive pressure from Chinese manufacturers is manageable at the high-power precision end of the market
- →See IPG's expansion into EV battery processing, medical, and defense laser applications as growth opportunities that diversify beyond the mature industrial metal cutting market
COHR may suit investors who:
- →Want AI data center networking exposure through optical transceivers — Coherent's datacom transceiver products are benefiting from hyperscaler AI infrastructure buildout requiring massive optical networking bandwidth
- →Value Coherent's SiC semiconductor business as providing exposure to the EV power conversion semiconductor market alongside the AI networking transceiver growth story
- →Accept post-merger integration complexity and elevated debt as the price of diversified compound semiconductor and photonics exposure across multiple high-growth technology markets
Performance & AI score
| Metric | IPGP | COHR |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 35.1 | 73.6 |
| AI rank | #1627 | #27 |
| Latest close | $118.01 | $389.57 |
| 1M return | +4.13% | +10.16% |
| 6M return | +57.83% | +128.57% |
| 1Y return | +76.82% | +373.41% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | IPGP | COHR |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $17.68K (+76.8%) started 2025-06-18 | $47.34K (+373.4%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $5.8K (-42.0%) started 2021-06-18 | $57.75K (+477.5%) started 2021-06-18 |
| 10Y ago | $13.8K (+38.0%) started 2016-06-20 | $194.59K (+1845.9%) started 2016-06-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | IPGP | COHR |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $5.01B | $75.33B |
| Trailing P/E | 173.54 | 181.62 |
| Forward P/E | 51.05 | 47.09 |
| Price/Sales | 4.81 | 12.17 |
| EV/Revenue | 3.93 | 11.61 |
| Analyst target | $130.50 | $384.45 |
| Target upside | +10.58% | -0.15% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | IPGP | COHR |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 16.60% | 20.50% |
| Earnings growth | -57.50% | 27548.00% |
| EPS growth | -57.50% | +27548.00% |
| FCF margin | +0.06% | -2.99% |
| Operating margin | N/A | 13.57% |
| Profit margin | 2.78% | 7.10% |
| ROIC proxy | 1.39% | 4.72% |
| Return on equity | 1.39% | 4.72% |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | N/A |
| Beta | 0.95 | 2.05 |
| Debt/equity | 0.77 | 31.09 |
| Current ratio | 5.80 | 3.05 |
| Quick ratio | 4.09 | 1.71 |
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
IPGP max drawdown40.98%
COHR max drawdown26.52%
IPGP max wkly drop19.15%
COHR max wkly drop24.71%
5Y risk snapshot
IPGP max drawdown77.23%
COHR max drawdown62.87%
IPGP max wkly drop23.80%
COHR max wkly drop30.16%
10Y risk snapshot
IPGP max drawdown81.13%
COHR max drawdown72.22%
IPGP max wkly drop30.99%
COHR max wkly drop32.69%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | IPGP | COHR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +76.82% | +373.41% |
| CAGR | +76.89% | +373.92% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.12 | 2.42 | |
| Max drawdown | 40.98% | 26.52% | |
| Max daily drop | 25.74% | 19.61% | |
| Max wkly drop | 19.15% | 24.71% | |
| 5Y | Growth | -41.99% | +477.48% |
| CAGR | -10.32% | +42.01% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.09 | 0.81 | |
| Max drawdown | 77.23% | 62.87% | |
| Max daily drop | 25.74% | 29.87% | |
| Max wkly drop | 23.80% | 30.16% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +37.97% | +1845.90% |
| CAGR | +3.27% | +34.59% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.20 | 0.73 | |
| Max drawdown | 81.13% | 72.22% | |
| Max daily drop | 26.87% | 29.87% | |
| Max wkly drop | 30.99% | 32.69% |
Business comparison
| Category | IPGP | COHR |
|---|---|---|
| Company | IPG Photonics Corporation | Coherent Corp. |
| Sector | Technology - Laser Systems | Technology - Compound Semiconductors & Photonics |
| Industry | N/A | N/A |
| Core business | IPG Photonics is the world's leading developer and manufacturer of high-power fiber lasers — used primarily for metal cutting, welding, marking, and cleaning in industrial manufacturing. IPG's fiber lasers are used by automotive manufacturers for welding car bodies, metal fabricators for cutting sheet metal, and industrial companies for precision marking. IPG also makes fiber lasers for medical, scientific, and defense applications. | Coherent Corp. (formerly II-VI Incorporated after its acquisition of Coherent) is a diversified compound semiconductor and photonics company — making optical networking components (transceivers for data center interconnects), semiconductor wafers (silicon carbide for EVs, gallium arsenide for wireless), industrial lasers, consumer laser components (3D sensing, displays), and precision optics. Coherent serves telecom, data center, industrial, aerospace, and consumer electronics markets. |
| Investor focus | Investors track IPG's revenue by application (materials processing is dominant), geographic mix (China has been a large market), gross margins (historically very high for a manufacturer, due to vertical integration), and the competitive landscape from Chinese fiber laser manufacturers (Raycus, JPT) offering lower-cost alternatives in the cutting/welding market. | Investors track Coherent's AI-related datacom revenue (optical transceivers for GPU interconnects are a key growth driver), silicon carbide (SiC) ramp for EV power conversion, and the integration of II-VI and Coherent businesses following the merger, including debt reduction progress. |
IPGP strengths
- →Technological leadership in high-power fiber lasers — IPG's investment in fiber laser R&D over decades gives it performance advantages in specific high-power applications; its vertically integrated manufacturing (making its own optical fiber, pump diodes, and components) reduces costs and improves performance
- →Broadening applications for fiber lasers — beyond traditional metal cutting, IPG's lasers are expanding into EV battery manufacturing, medical tissue ablation, solar cell processing, and directed energy defense applications, potentially diversifying from mature industrial cutting markets
- →Historically high gross margins — IPG's vertical integration and proprietary laser technology supported gross margins significantly above traditional capital equipment manufacturers
COHR strengths
- →AI data center optical transceiver leadership — Coherent's optical transceivers (the components that convert between electrical and optical signals in data center networking) have significant demand from hyperscalers building AI GPU clusters requiring high-bandwidth optical interconnects
- →Silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor production for EVs — Coherent's SiC wafer production serves the growing EV power electronics market, providing exposure to electric vehicle drivetrain semiconductor demand
- →Diversified end market exposure — Coherent's compound semiconductor and photonics portfolio spans data centers, EVs, 5G wireless, industrial lasers, consumer electronics, and aerospace/defense, providing revenue across multiple technology cycles
Risks to watch — IPGP
- →Chinese competition intensification — Chinese fiber laser manufacturers (Raycus, JPT, nLIGHT) have significantly narrowed the performance gap with IPG at lower price points, capturing market share in mid-power industrial cutting applications in China and Asia
- →China revenue concentration — IPG historically derived 30-40% of revenue from China; this concentration creates volatility from China's economic cycles and risk from trade tensions or tariff escalation
- →Industrial capex cyclicality — fiber laser systems are capital equipment that manufacturers purchase when investment cycles are favorable; economic downturns cause customers to delay or cancel laser system purchases
Risks to watch — COHR
- →Merger integration complexity — the merger of II-VI and Coherent (and prior II-VI acquisition of Finisar) created a highly complex integration across multiple technologies and end markets; operational efficiency improvements are ongoing
- →Leverage from merger financing — Coherent carries significant debt from its acquisition history; debt repayment constrains capital allocation flexibility and creates risk if business conditions weaken
- →SiC competition from Wolfspeed, onsemi, STMicroelectronics — the SiC market is competitive with multiple well-funded players; Coherent must compete on wafer quality, cost, and supply chain reliability versus dedicated SiC companies
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