Coherent Corp (COHR) stock analysis
Coherent Corp (COHR) clears 3 of this site's 8 mechanical value filters, 3 of 8 Buffett-style checks and 1 of 5 Lynch-style checks. At $207.82 it trades 969.0% above this site's neutral DCF value (a margin of safety of -969.0%). Its earnings quality rates Mixed and it returns −0.4% to shareholders net of dilution. Figures are as of October 23, 2026, from SEC filings and market data refreshed weekly; this is educational analysis, not investment advice.
Data as of October 23, 2026. Refreshed weekly from SEC filings and market data.
What does Coherent do?
Coherent Corp. makes lasers, optical components and engineered materials used in data center networking, industrial equipment and electronics.
Brands and businesses it owns
- Coherent
- II-VI
What stands out about Coherent?
- The share price implies more than 40% yearly growth. At $207.82, free cash flow per share would have to grow faster than 40% a year, fading to 2.5% by year 10, for this site's DCF to match the price. Change the assumptions.
- Misses 2 of the 8 value filters. It fails Trailing P/E < 25 (58.11) and PEG Ratio < 1.5 (5.96); the other 3 pass and 3 were not evaluated. See every filter.
- Weakest against peers: free-cash-flow yield. At 0.5% (peer median 3.4%) it ranks 19th of 19 among electrical equipment stocks this site tracks. See the ranking.
- Earnings quality: Mixed · 1 flag, 1 watch. Beneish M-score −1.99 (grey zone), mostly from very fast sales growth · accruals 4.4% of assets · 180% of profit arrived as cash · stock comp 2.6% of revenue · share count +13.5% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Jun 2026). See the Earnings Quality Screener.
- Short interest is elevated. 5.9% of the float is sold short, 1.7 days to cover, above this site's 5% flag. See the figures.
How has Coherent's share price moved?
The interactive price chart needs JavaScript.
Is Coherent undervalued? The value diligence check
Every value-investing signal this site computes for this stock, gathered in one place: the same real numbers from the tools below, not a new score.
- Margin of safety (DCF) -969.0%
- P/E vs. its own history 58.1x · near the cheap end Real range: 25.3x–281.8x over 3 years (net income per diluted share from each fiscal year's 10-K, paired with the real closing price at that fiscal year-end).
- Wall St. analyst rating Buy · 4.06/5 31 analysts this month: 8 strong buy, 17 buy, 6 hold, 0 sell, 0 strong sell (Finnhub). Up from 4.00 last month.
- Earnings quality (is the profit real?) Mixed · 1 flag, 1 watch Beneish M-score −1.99 (grey zone), mostly from very fast sales growth · accruals 4.4% of assets · 180% of profit arrived as cash · stock comp 2.6% of revenue · share count +13.5% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Jun 2026) - see the Earnings Quality Screener for how each check is scored.
- Shareholder yield (cash back to owners) −0.4% net Latest fiscal year (2026): dividends 0.0% + buybacks 0.0% − stock comp 0.4%, as a share of today's market cap. Stock comp outruns what comes back in cash. Over 14 years its split-adjusted share count rose 203%. See Shareholder Yield Leaders.
- Capital needed to grow (See's test) $48.85 per $1 of new profit · Capital-hungry · but only 3% return on capital Operating profit $134M → $346M, capital needed $1.2B → $12B, 2017–2026 (3-year averages); return on capital now 3% before tax. Buffett's See's Candies needed $0.42 per $1 of new profit, FlightSafety $3.20, a typical grower about $5. See Capital-Light Compounders.
- PEG (growth at a reasonable price) 5.96† · Well above fair P/E 58.1× ÷ 9.7% a year of growth behind it (5-year EPS growth: Finnhub reported no PEG, so this one is estimated). 419th lowest of 447 stocks with a usable PEG. Lynch's fair value is a PEG of 1; a very high PEG usually means almost no growth, a very low one a profit spike. See PEG Ratio Ranking.
- Compounder lenses (4) 0 of 4 · misses capital-light, real profit, cash back, price Capital-light growth: not cleared (only 3% return on capital); Profit is real: not cleared (1 earnings-quality flag); Cash to owners: not cleared (−0.3% a year net); Fair price (PEG): not cleared (PEG 5.96, over 1.5). See Compounders at a Fair Price, which also lets you move the PEG bar.
- Value trap check Clear
- Munger's Inversion Check 3 flags
- Standing vs. sector peers 2 of 7 measures above the median Compared with the 18 other electrical equipment stocks this site tracks: 2 in the top third, 4 in the bottom third.
- Dividend payout sustainability 0/6 · clean
How does Coherent compare with its peers?
2 of 7 measures sit above the median of the 18 other electrical equipment stocks tracked here, 2 in the top third and 4 in the bottom third.
- P/E ratiolower is cheaper · peer median 34.5× 58.1× ✕18th of 19
- Free-cash-flow yieldhigher is cheaper · peer median 3.4% 0.5% ✕19th of 19
- Return on equityhigher is better · peer median 20% 8% ✕19th of 19
- Net marginhigher is better · peer median 13.4% 11.3% –12th of 19
- Revenue growthhigher is better, year on year · peer median 13.0% 22.5% ✓5th of 19
- Debt / equitylower is safer · peer median 0.67 0.30 ✓4th of 19
- Dividend yieldamong dividend payers · peer median 0.73% 0.02% ✕13th of 14
Peers are the stocks this site tracks in the same sector group, not every listed competitor. The bar runs from the weakest peer (left) to the strongest (right); the tick is the middle. Measures that don't apply to a sector (cash-flow yield for banks, debt for financials) are left out.
What would Buffett & Lynch say?
Buffett's checklist is built around durable, profitable businesses bought at sensible prices, and COHR doesn't clear enough of it yet. In its favor: COHR carries a conservative amount of debt relative to equity, has grown earnings per share at a solid clip over five years, and earns many times its interest expense, so debt service isn't a worry. Where it comes up short: COHR isn't clearing the return-on-equity bar he'd want to see right now, and its five-year average return on equity falls short too, so this isn't just a one-off dip, runs thinner pretax margins than he'd like to see, is trading above what a conservative discounted-cash-flow estimate says it's worth right now, and trades rich relative to owner earnings, the real cash the business could pay out.
- ROE (TTM) > 11% ✕
- ROE (5yr avg) > 11% ✕
- Debt/Equity < 0.5 ✓
- Pretax margin > 15% ✕
- EPS growth (5yr) > 7% ✓
- Interest coverage > 5x ✓
- Trading below intrinsic value (DCF) ✕
- Price vs. owner earnings < 25x ✕
Lynch looked for growth stories that weren't overpriced for that growth, and COHR falls short of his bar. In its favor: COHR isn't leaning on debt to fund that growth. Where it comes up short: COHR doesn't clear the tighter PEG bar a fast grower needs to justify its pace, is growing earnings outside the 20-50% band he considered sustainable for a fast grower - either not fast enough to earn the label, or a pace he'd flag as unlikely to hold up, is priced above what he'd pay even for a company growing this quickly, and isn't generating enough free cash flow to justify a fast grower's richer price.
- PEG < 1 (stricter for fast growers) ✕
- EPS growth 20%-50% ✕
- Debt/Equity < 0.5 ✓
- P/E < 40 ✕
- Price/FCF < 40 ✕
Quantitative approximations of each investor's documented approach, not endorsed by either investor or their estates - commentary, not this site's actual ranking criteria. Buffett never published a numeric checklist: only 2 of his 8 checks here trace to his own documented concepts ("owner earnings," from his 1986 shareholder letter, and "price is what you pay, value is what you get," his case against fixed P/E/P/B ceilings) - the other 6 (ROE, debt, margins, growth, interest coverage) use commonly-cited thresholds that are not numbers he himself published. The 8 hard filters below (plus the Munger check and Graham margin of safety) are this site's real, mechanical screen and are computed completely independently of the checklists above.
Berkshire Hathaway's own filing
Which of the 8 value filters does Coherent pass?
- Market Cap > $25B $46.8B
- Trailing P/E < 25 58.11
- PEG Ratio < 1.5 5.96 †
- Price/Book < 8 4.29
- Price/Sales < 7 6.57
- EPS Growth YoY > -5% n/a
- vs 50-day MA (±12%) Not evaluated †
- vs 200-day MA (±12%) Not evaluated †
What is Coherent's margin of safety?
History tracking starts this week - check back in a future week to see how this has moved.
Where is Coherent in its 52-week range?
What is the short interest in Coherent?
11,041,145 shares short as of 2026-09-30 (FINRA settlement date). Reported twice a month, so this only changes roughly every two weeks, not daily.
What could go wrong with Coherent? Munger's inversion check
"Invert, always invert." Instead of reasons to buy, these are reasons to hesitate, not a verdict, and not everything worth knowing about a business.
- Margin of safety, even in the bull case -532%
- Short interest under 5% of float 5.9%
- Passes most of the 6 fundamental filters 4/6 passed
- Price run-up backed by value, not just momentum +89% off 52wk low
- Debt/equity stable since 2017 0.38 → 0.30
Doesn't cover circle of competence, management quality, or accounting concerns: those need judgment, not data.
How much have Coherent shareholders gained per year?
Earnings growth per share plus dividend.
An earnings-based proxy, not a stock-price total return - it doesn't capture multiple expansion/contraction or reinvested dividends. EPS from COHR's own 10-K filings; dividend yield is the current trailing yield on today's price, from the same weekly fetch as the rest of this site.
What do Coherent's 10-year financials show?
From COHR's own 10-K filings (SEC EDGAR): up to the last 10 fiscal years. Press any year's bars for the exact figures.
Frequently asked questions about Coherent
What kind of company is Coherent?
Coherent Corp. makes lasers, optical components and engineered materials used in data center networking, industrial equipment and electronics. Brands and businesses it owns include Coherent and II-VI. This site groups it with Electrical Equipment stocks.
Is Coherent trading above or below its DCF value?
At $207.82, COHR trades 969.0% above this site's neutral DCF value of $19.44 per share, a margin of safety of −969.0%. That DCF projects free cash flow for 10 years, with growth starting at 8% and fading to 2.5%, discounted at 10%; it is one set of assumptions, not a forecast. Test your own in the Intrinsic Value Calculator.
How many of this site's 8 value filters does Coherent pass?
COHR passes 3 of 8. It passes Market Cap > $25B ($46.8B), Price/Book < 8 (4.29) and Price/Sales < 7 (6.57). It misses Trailing P/E < 25 (58.11) and PEG Ratio < 1.5 (5.96). EPS Growth YoY > -5%, vs 50-day MA (±12%) and vs 200-day MA (±12%) were not evaluated, because the moving-average checks only run on stocks that clear the fundamentals first. The 8-filter list shows every stock that passes all of them.
Are Coherent's reported earnings reliable?
This site's earnings-quality check rates COHR Mixed · 1 flag, 1 watch. Beneish M-score −1.99 (grey zone), mostly from very fast sales growth · accruals 4.4% of assets · 180% of profit arrived as cash · stock comp 2.6% of revenue · share count +13.5% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Jun 2026). Concerns: the Beneish M-score (on watch) and share dilution (flagged). The five checks are the Beneish M-score (manipulation risk), accruals, cash conversion, stock-based compensation and share dilution; the Earnings Quality Screener shows how each is graded.
When does Coherent report earnings next?
Coherent's next earnings report is expected on November 4, 2026, with analysts expecting earnings of $2.00 per share. Dates come from the Finnhub earnings calendar and can move. In its last 4 quarters it beat the estimate 2 times, by an average of +2.3%.
How heavily is Coherent stock sold short?
As of September 30, 2026, 5.9% of COHR's float was sold short (11,041,145 shares, 1.7 days to cover), up 8.5% from the prior reporting period. FINRA publishes short interest twice a month, so it changes about every two weeks; this site flags anything above 5% of the float.
Where do these numbers come from?
- Financial statements: Coherent's 10-K annual report for the year ended Jun 30, 2026, filed Aug 14, 2026 (filing index). Every earlier year in the 10-year financials comes from the company's older 10-K filings, all listed on SEC EDGAR.
- Prices and market data: quotes, P/E and analyst ratings from Finnhub; daily price history and the 52-week range from Twelve Data, both refreshed weekly. Short interest comes from FINRA, reported twice a month.
- How to check a figure: click any number in the card above to see its exact source, and read the Editorial Standards for every rule behind the checks.
About this Coherent Corp analysis
This page shows every value-investing check the site runs on Coherent Corp (COHR) in one place: the 8 mechanical filters, the Buffett and Lynch checklists, a margin of safety from a disclosed DCF, earnings quality, shareholder yield and how it ranks against its sector peers. The numbers come from SEC filings and public market data, refreshed weekly, and the same rules apply to every stock on the stock list. See Editorial Standards for the sources and the rules, or run your own filters in the stock screener.