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Side-by-side financial comparison of IPG PHOTONICS CORP (IPGP) and KADANT INC (KAI). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
IPG PHOTONICS CORP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($274.5M vs $271.6M, roughly 1.0× KADANT INC). KADANT INC runs the higher net margin — 10.2% vs 4.8%, a 5.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, IPG PHOTONICS CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (17.1% vs -0.0%). KADANT INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($44.1M vs $10.9M). Over the past eight quarters, KADANT INC's revenue compounded faster (6.7% CAGR vs 4.4%).
IPG Photonics Corporation is a manufacturer of fiber lasers. IPG Photonics developed and commercialized optical fiber lasers, which are used in a variety of applications including materials processing, medical applications and telecommunications. IPG has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Germany, Russia and Italy.
Kadant Inc. is a company that was established in 1991, as a partly privately owned subsidiary of Thermo Electron, and partly publicly traded company, and was fully spun out and renamed Kadant in 2001. The company supports papermaking, paper recycling, wood processing, material handling, and other processing industries. Kadant is a multi-national corporation with operations in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.
IPGP vs KAI — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q3 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $274.5M | $271.6M |
| Net Profit | $13.3M | $27.7M |
| Gross Margin | 36.1% | 45.2% |
| Operating Margin | 1.2% | 15.7% |
| Net Margin | 4.8% | 10.2% |
| Revenue YoY | 17.1% | -0.0% |
| Net Profit YoY | 69.8% | -12.2% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.30 | $2.35 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q4 25 | $274.5M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $250.8M | $271.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $250.7M | $255.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $227.8M | $239.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $234.3M | $258.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $233.1M | $271.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $257.6M | $274.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $252.0M | $249.0M |
| Q4 25 | $13.3M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $7.5M | $27.7M | ||
| Q2 25 | $6.6M | $26.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $3.8M | $24.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $7.8M | $24.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-233.6M | $31.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $20.2M | $31.3M | ||
| Q1 24 | $24.1M | $24.7M |
| Q4 25 | 36.1% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 39.5% | 45.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | 37.3% | 45.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | 39.4% | 46.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 38.6% | 43.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 23.2% | 44.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | 37.3% | 44.4% | ||
| Q1 24 | 38.7% | 44.6% |
| Q4 25 | 1.2% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.1% | 15.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.0% | 15.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.8% | 14.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 6.0% | 14.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | -108.7% | 18.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 4.7% | 17.6% | ||
| Q1 24 | 7.6% | 14.8% |
| Q4 25 | 4.8% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.0% | 10.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.6% | 10.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.6% | 10.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 3.3% | 9.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | -100.2% | 11.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 7.8% | 11.4% | ||
| Q1 24 | 9.6% | 9.9% |
| Q4 25 | $0.30 | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.18 | $2.35 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.16 | $2.22 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.09 | $2.04 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.27 | $2.04 | ||
| Q3 24 | $-5.33 | $2.68 | ||
| Q2 24 | $0.45 | $2.66 | ||
| Q1 24 | $0.52 | $2.10 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $839.3M | $124.5M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | $254.6M |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $2.1B | $949.8M |
| Total Assets | $2.4B | $1.5B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | 0.27× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $839.3M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $870.4M | $124.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $899.6M | $95.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $926.9M | $91.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $930.2M | $94.7M | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.0B | $88.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.1B | $73.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.1B | $81.4M |
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | — | $254.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | — | $245.7M | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $273.5M | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $285.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $323.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $342.0M | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $306.8M |
| Q4 25 | $2.1B | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.1B | $949.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.1B | $926.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.1B | $876.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.0B | $847.1M | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.1B | $851.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.3B | $807.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $2.3B | $782.7M |
| Q4 25 | $2.4B | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.4B | $1.5B | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.4B | $1.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.3B | $1.4B | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.3B | $1.4B | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.4B | $1.5B | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.5B | $1.5B | ||
| Q1 24 | $2.6B | $1.4B |
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 0.27× | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 0.27× | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 0.31× | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 0.34× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 0.38× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 0.42× | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 0.39× |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $28.8M | $47.3M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $10.9M | $44.1M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 4.0% | 16.2% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 6.5% | 1.2% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | 2.17× | 1.70× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $-3.5M | $145.9M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $28.8M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $35.3M | $47.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $-2.2M | $40.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $13.4M | $22.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $73.8M | $51.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $66.1M | $52.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $53.5M | $28.1M | ||
| Q1 24 | $54.6M | $22.8M |
| Q4 25 | $10.9M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $14.6M | $44.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $-17.6M | $36.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-11.4M | $19.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $50.6M | $46.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $43.0M | $48.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $29.2M | $23.1M | ||
| Q1 24 | $26.5M | $16.6M |
| Q4 25 | 4.0% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.8% | 16.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | -7.0% | 14.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | -5.0% | 7.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 21.6% | 17.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | 18.4% | 17.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 11.3% | 8.4% | ||
| Q1 24 | 10.5% | 6.7% |
| Q4 25 | 6.5% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 8.3% | 1.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | 6.1% | 1.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 10.9% | 1.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | 9.9% | 2.2% | ||
| Q3 24 | 9.9% | 1.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 9.4% | 1.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | 11.1% | 2.5% |
| Q4 25 | 2.17× | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 4.73× | 1.70× | ||
| Q2 25 | -0.34× | 1.55× | ||
| Q1 25 | 3.58× | 0.95× | ||
| Q4 24 | 9.44× | 2.16× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 1.66× | ||
| Q2 24 | 2.65× | 0.90× | ||
| Q1 24 | 2.27× | 0.92× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
IPGP
| Materials Processing | $232.8M | 85% |
| Laser And Non Laser Systems | $38.8M | 14% |
| Transferred Over Time | $5.3M | 2% |
KAI
| Flow Control | $94.8M | 35% |
| Capital | $83.2M | 31% |
| Material Handling Systems | $70.3M | 26% |
| Transferred Over Time | $17.1M | 6% |
| Other | $6.1M | 2% |
