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Side-by-side financial comparison of NLIGHT, INC. (LASR) and Smart Sand, Inc. (SND). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Smart Sand, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($86.0M vs $80.2M, roughly 1.1× NLIGHT, INC.). Smart Sand, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 1.4% vs 0.8%, a 0.6% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, NLIGHT, INC. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (55.2% vs -5.8%). Over the past eight quarters, NLIGHT, INC.'s revenue compounded faster (26.0% CAGR vs 1.8%).

nLight Inc. is a global developer and manufacturer of high-performance semiconductor lasers, fiber lasers, and related optical components. Its products serve key segments including industrial precision manufacturing, aerospace and defense, medical equipment, and advanced research, with customers across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

Sand 9 is a fabless Micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sand 9 developed a piezoelectric MEMS resonator to serve as an alternative for quartz timing devices in applications such as smart phones, low-power wireless devices, and communications infrastructure equipment.

LASR vs SND — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
SND
SND
1.1× larger
SND
$86.0M
$80.2M
LASR
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
LASR
LASR
+61.0% gap
LASR
55.2%
-5.8%
SND
Higher net margin
SND
SND
0.6% more per $
SND
1.4%
0.8%
LASR
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
LASR
LASR
Annualised
LASR
26.0%
1.8%
SND

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Revenue
$80.2M
$86.0M
Net Profit
$645.0K
$1.2M
Gross Margin
33.1%
13.0%
Operating Margin
66.0%
-3.1%
Net Margin
0.8%
1.4%
Revenue YoY
55.2%
-5.8%
Net Profit YoY
-68.5%
EPS (diluted)
$0.01
$0.03

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.

Revenue
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Q1 26
$80.2M
Q4 25
$81.2M
$86.0M
Q3 25
$66.7M
$92.8M
Q2 25
$61.7M
$85.8M
Q1 25
$51.7M
$65.6M
Q4 24
$47.4M
$91.4M
Q3 24
$56.1M
$63.2M
Q2 24
$50.5M
$73.8M
Net Profit
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Q1 26
$645.0K
Q4 25
$-4.9M
$1.2M
Q3 25
$-6.9M
$3.0M
Q2 25
$-3.6M
$21.4M
Q1 25
$-8.1M
$-24.2M
Q4 24
$-25.0M
$3.7M
Q3 24
$-10.3M
$-98.0K
Q2 24
$-11.7M
$-430.0K
Gross Margin
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Q1 26
33.1%
Q4 25
30.7%
13.0%
Q3 25
31.1%
16.1%
Q2 25
29.9%
10.4%
Q1 25
26.7%
4.2%
Q4 24
2.4%
14.7%
Q3 24
22.4%
10.3%
Q2 24
23.5%
17.7%
Operating Margin
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Q1 26
66.0%
Q4 25
-6.7%
-3.1%
Q3 25
-10.9%
5.8%
Q2 25
-6.9%
-0.1%
Q1 25
-18.6%
-10.8%
Q4 24
-55.8%
3.9%
Q3 24
-21.0%
-7.8%
Q2 24
-25.1%
4.8%
Net Margin
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Q1 26
0.8%
Q4 25
-6.0%
1.4%
Q3 25
-10.3%
3.2%
Q2 25
-5.8%
24.9%
Q1 25
-15.7%
-37.0%
Q4 24
-52.7%
4.1%
Q3 24
-18.4%
-0.2%
Q2 24
-23.2%
-0.6%
EPS (diluted)
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Q1 26
$0.01
Q4 25
$-0.10
$0.03
Q3 25
$-0.14
$0.08
Q2 25
$-0.07
$0.54
Q1 25
$-0.16
$-0.62
Q4 24
$-0.52
$0.10
Q3 24
$-0.21
$0.00
Q2 24
$-0.25
$-0.01

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$298.2M
$22.6M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$15.0M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$429.2M
$239.7M
Total Assets
$515.7M
$340.0M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.06×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Q1 26
$298.2M
Q4 25
$98.7M
$22.6M
Q3 25
$81.1M
$5.1M
Q2 25
$78.8M
$4.3M
Q1 25
$82.2M
$5.1M
Q4 24
$65.8M
$1.6M
Q3 24
$41.5M
$7.2M
Q2 24
$49.4M
$6.3M
Total Debt
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Q1 26
Q4 25
$15.0M
Q3 25
$14.3M
Q2 25
$23.5M
Q1 25
$13.7M
Q4 24
$14.7M
Q3 24
$15.7M
Q2 24
$17.1M
Stockholders' Equity
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Q1 26
$429.2M
Q4 25
$226.7M
$239.7M
Q3 25
$218.5M
$239.9M
Q2 25
$216.0M
$240.5M
Q1 25
$212.8M
$219.9M
Q4 24
$216.4M
$243.8M
Q3 24
$235.3M
$243.6M
Q2 24
$239.5M
$242.9M
Total Assets
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Q1 26
$515.7M
Q4 25
$315.2M
$340.0M
Q3 25
$298.7M
$343.1M
Q2 25
$295.3M
$345.8M
Q1 25
$290.0M
$326.9M
Q4 24
$270.2M
$341.5M
Q3 24
$291.3M
$335.8M
Q2 24
$294.3M
$341.8M
Debt / Equity
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.06×
Q3 25
0.06×
Q2 25
0.10×
Q1 25
0.06×
Q4 24
0.06×
Q3 24
0.06×
Q2 24
0.07×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$22.4M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$20.4M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
23.7%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.3%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
18.99×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$32.5M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Q1 26
Q4 25
$17.5M
$22.4M
Q3 25
$5.2M
$18.2M
Q2 25
$-1.4M
$-5.1M
Q1 25
$-20.0K
$8.7M
Q4 24
$-3.9M
$1.0M
Q3 24
$-5.6M
$5.8M
Q2 24
$-4.2M
$14.9M
Free Cash Flow
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Q1 26
Q4 25
$15.9M
$20.4M
Q3 25
$2.4M
$14.8M
Q2 25
$-3.8M
$-7.8M
Q1 25
$-2.3M
$5.2M
Q4 24
$-6.5M
$-840.0K
Q3 24
$-7.2M
$3.7M
Q2 24
$-6.4M
$13.5M
FCF Margin
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Q1 26
Q4 25
19.6%
23.7%
Q3 25
3.7%
15.9%
Q2 25
-6.1%
-9.1%
Q1 25
-4.5%
7.9%
Q4 24
-13.7%
-0.9%
Q3 24
-12.9%
5.8%
Q2 24
-12.6%
18.3%
Capex Intensity
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Q1 26
Q4 25
2.0%
2.3%
Q3 25
4.2%
3.6%
Q2 25
3.9%
3.1%
Q1 25
4.4%
5.4%
Q4 24
5.5%
2.1%
Q3 24
2.9%
3.4%
Q2 24
4.2%
1.8%
Cash Conversion
LASR
LASR
SND
SND
Q1 26
Q4 25
18.99×
Q3 25
6.05×
Q2 25
-0.24×
Q1 25
Q4 24
0.28×
Q3 24
Q2 24

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

LASR
LASR

Products$58.2M73%
Development$22.0M27%

SND
SND

Sand$85.1M99%
Smart Systems Segment$980.0K1%

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