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Side-by-side financial comparison of NL INDUSTRIES INC (NL) and Ouster, Inc. (OUST). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Ouster, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($48.6M vs $37.7M, roughly 1.3× NL INDUSTRIES INC). Ouster, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 8.2% vs -82.2%, a 90.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Ouster, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (48.9% vs -1.9%). Over the past eight quarters, Ouster, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (34.2% CAGR vs -0.4%).

NL Industries, formerly known as the National Lead Company, is a lead smelting company currently based in Houston, Texas. National Lead was one of the 12 original stocks included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the time of its creation on May 26, 1896.

Ouster, Inc. is an American lidar technology company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It builds high-resolution, digital 3D lidar sensors for use in autonomous vehicles, industrial, robotics, drones, mapping, defense, and security systems.

NL vs OUST — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
OUST
OUST
1.3× larger
OUST
$48.6M
$37.7M
NL
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
OUST
OUST
+50.7% gap
OUST
48.9%
-1.9%
NL
Higher net margin
OUST
OUST
90.4% more per $
OUST
8.2%
-82.2%
NL
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
OUST
OUST
Annualised
OUST
34.2%
-0.4%
NL

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
NL
NL
OUST
OUST
Revenue
$37.7M
$48.6M
Net Profit
$-31.0M
$4.0M
Gross Margin
32.1%
42.9%
Operating Margin
7.6%
17.6%
Net Margin
-82.2%
8.2%
Revenue YoY
-1.9%
48.9%
Net Profit YoY
-287.2%
EPS (diluted)
$-0.63
$0.06

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
NL
NL
OUST
OUST
Q1 26
$48.6M
Q4 25
$37.7M
$62.2M
Q3 25
$40.0M
$39.5M
Q2 25
$40.4M
$35.0M
Q1 25
$40.3M
$32.6M
Q4 24
$38.4M
$30.1M
Q3 24
$33.7M
$28.1M
Q2 24
$35.9M
$27.0M
Net Profit
NL
NL
OUST
OUST
Q1 26
$4.0M
Q4 25
$-31.0M
Q3 25
$-7.9M
$-21.7M
Q2 25
$355.0K
$-20.6M
Q1 25
$667.0K
$-22.0M
Q4 24
$16.5M
Q3 24
$36.0M
$-25.6M
Q2 24
$7.8M
$-23.9M
Gross Margin
NL
NL
OUST
OUST
Q1 26
42.9%
Q4 25
32.1%
60.2%
Q3 25
27.6%
42.1%
Q2 25
31.9%
45.2%
Q1 25
30.2%
41.3%
Q4 24
28.8%
43.8%
Q3 24
28.1%
38.3%
Q2 24
31.1%
33.7%
Operating Margin
NL
NL
OUST
OUST
Q1 26
17.6%
Q4 25
7.6%
1.5%
Q3 25
4.6%
-61.4%
Q2 25
6.9%
-76.5%
Q1 25
7.8%
-73.0%
Q4 24
87.7%
-85.1%
Q3 24
6.0%
-98.0%
Q2 24
2.2%
-93.6%
Net Margin
NL
NL
OUST
OUST
Q1 26
8.2%
Q4 25
-82.2%
Q3 25
-19.7%
-55.0%
Q2 25
0.9%
-58.8%
Q1 25
1.7%
-67.5%
Q4 24
43.1%
Q3 24
107.0%
-91.1%
Q2 24
21.8%
-88.4%
EPS (diluted)
NL
NL
OUST
OUST
Q1 26
$0.06
Q4 25
$-0.63
$0.10
Q3 25
$-0.16
$-0.37
Q2 25
$0.01
$-0.38
Q1 25
$0.01
$-0.42
Q4 24
$0.34
$-0.46
Q3 24
$0.74
$-0.54
Q2 24
$0.16
$-0.53

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
NL
NL
OUST
OUST
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$110.6M
$173.1M
Total DebtLower is stronger
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$358.8M
$275.6M
Total Assets
$464.2M
$381.5M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
NL
NL
OUST
OUST
Q1 26
$173.1M
Q4 25
$110.6M
$208.6M
Q3 25
$101.9M
$244.5M
Q2 25
$111.5M
$226.5M
Q1 25
$110.0M
$168.2M
Q4 24
$163.2M
$172.0M
Q3 24
$146.0M
$151.4M
Q2 24
$179.4M
$184.2M
Stockholders' Equity
NL
NL
OUST
OUST
Q1 26
$275.6M
Q4 25
$358.8M
$261.7M
Q3 25
$375.4M
$247.4M
Q2 25
$397.6M
$221.0M
Q1 25
$397.6M
$167.9M
Q4 24
$396.9M
$180.9M
Q3 24
$386.0M
$171.7M
Q2 24
$373.1M
$170.6M
Total Assets
NL
NL
OUST
OUST
Q1 26
$381.5M
Q4 25
$464.2M
$349.5M
Q3 25
$500.2M
$353.8M
Q2 25
$523.7M
$321.8M
Q1 25
$520.0M
$268.6M
Q4 24
$578.3M
$276.1M
Q3 24
$585.6M
$255.2M
Q2 24
$580.0M
$309.9M

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
NL
NL
OUST
OUST
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-4.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-4.7M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-12.6%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.6%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-40.1M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
NL
NL
OUST
OUST
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-4.2M
$-15.4M
Q3 25
$7.9M
$-18.3M
Q2 25
$7.3M
$-1.3M
Q1 25
$-47.5M
$-4.9M
Q4 24
$9.0M
$-2.6M
Q3 24
$-5.7M
$-3.8M
Q2 24
$15.5M
$-21.6M
Free Cash Flow
NL
NL
OUST
OUST
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-4.7M
$-37.2M
Q3 25
$7.0M
$-20.0M
Q2 25
$5.9M
$-2.2M
Q1 25
$-48.3M
$-5.4M
Q4 24
$8.7M
$-4.0M
Q3 24
$-6.1M
$-4.3M
Q2 24
$15.1M
$-22.0M
FCF Margin
NL
NL
OUST
OUST
Q1 26
Q4 25
-12.6%
-59.8%
Q3 25
17.4%
-50.7%
Q2 25
14.7%
-6.3%
Q1 25
-119.9%
-16.6%
Q4 24
22.8%
-13.3%
Q3 24
-18.3%
-15.4%
Q2 24
42.1%
-81.5%
Capex Intensity
NL
NL
OUST
OUST
Q1 26
Q4 25
1.6%
35.0%
Q3 25
2.5%
4.3%
Q2 25
3.3%
2.5%
Q1 25
2.0%
1.7%
Q4 24
0.6%
4.8%
Q3 24
1.4%
2.0%
Q2 24
1.2%
1.3%
Cash Conversion
NL
NL
OUST
OUST
Q1 26
Q4 25
Q3 25
Q2 25
20.53×
Q1 25
-71.18×
Q4 24
0.54×
Q3 24
-0.16×
Q2 24
1.98×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

NL
NL

Security Products$29.5M78%
Marine Components$8.2M22%

OUST
OUST

Product revenue$48.2M99%
Royalties$347.0K1%

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