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Side-by-side financial comparison of NL INDUSTRIES INC (NL) and PDF SOLUTIONS INC (PDFS). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

PDF SOLUTIONS INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($62.4M vs $37.7M, roughly 1.7× NL INDUSTRIES INC). PDF SOLUTIONS INC runs the higher net margin — -0.1% vs -82.2%, a 82.1% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, PDF SOLUTIONS INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (24.6% vs -1.9%). PDF SOLUTIONS INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($7.5M vs $-4.7M). Over the past eight quarters, PDF SOLUTIONS INC's revenue compounded faster (22.9% 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.

PDF Solutions, Inc. is an American multinational software and engineering services company based in Santa Clara, California. The company is listed in the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol PDFS.

NL vs PDFS — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
PDFS
PDFS
1.7× larger
PDFS
$62.4M
$37.7M
NL
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
PDFS
PDFS
+26.5% gap
PDFS
24.6%
-1.9%
NL
Higher net margin
PDFS
PDFS
82.1% more per $
PDFS
-0.1%
-82.2%
NL
More free cash flow
PDFS
PDFS
$12.3M more FCF
PDFS
$7.5M
$-4.7M
NL
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
PDFS
PDFS
Annualised
PDFS
22.9%
-0.4%
NL

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
NL
NL
PDFS
PDFS
Revenue
$37.7M
$62.4M
Net Profit
$-31.0M
$-48.0K
Gross Margin
32.1%
72.9%
Operating Margin
7.6%
5.5%
Net Margin
-82.2%
-0.1%
Revenue YoY
-1.9%
24.6%
Net Profit YoY
-287.2%
-108.9%
EPS (diluted)
$-0.63
$0.00

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
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$37.7M
$62.4M
Q3 25
$40.0M
$57.1M
Q2 25
$40.4M
$51.7M
Q1 25
$40.3M
$47.8M
Q4 24
$38.4M
$50.1M
Q3 24
$33.7M
$46.4M
Q2 24
$35.9M
$41.7M
Q1 24
$38.0M
$41.3M
Net Profit
NL
NL
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$-31.0M
$-48.0K
Q3 25
$-7.9M
$1.3M
Q2 25
$355.0K
$1.1M
Q1 25
$667.0K
$-3.0M
Q4 24
$16.5M
$539.0K
Q3 24
$36.0M
$2.2M
Q2 24
$7.8M
$1.7M
Q1 24
$6.8M
$-393.0K
Gross Margin
NL
NL
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
32.1%
72.9%
Q3 25
27.6%
72.3%
Q2 25
31.9%
71.2%
Q1 25
30.2%
72.9%
Q4 24
28.8%
68.3%
Q3 24
28.1%
73.1%
Q2 24
31.1%
70.6%
Q1 24
25.5%
67.3%
Operating Margin
NL
NL
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
7.6%
5.5%
Q3 25
4.6%
8.5%
Q2 25
6.9%
2.2%
Q1 25
7.8%
-7.4%
Q4 24
87.7%
1.0%
Q3 24
6.0%
4.6%
Q2 24
2.2%
0.6%
Q1 24
3.6%
-4.7%
Net Margin
NL
NL
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
-82.2%
-0.1%
Q3 25
-19.7%
2.3%
Q2 25
0.9%
2.2%
Q1 25
1.7%
-6.3%
Q4 24
43.1%
1.1%
Q3 24
107.0%
4.8%
Q2 24
21.8%
4.1%
Q1 24
18.0%
-1.0%
EPS (diluted)
NL
NL
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$-0.63
$0.00
Q3 25
$-0.16
$0.03
Q2 25
$0.01
$0.03
Q1 25
$0.01
$-0.08
Q4 24
$0.34
$0.01
Q3 24
$0.74
$0.06
Q2 24
$0.16
$0.04
Q1 24
$0.14
$-0.01

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
NL
NL
PDFS
PDFS
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$110.6M
$42.2M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$67.0M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$358.8M
$271.0M
Total Assets
$464.2M
$418.7M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.25×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
NL
NL
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$110.6M
$42.2M
Q3 25
$101.9M
$35.9M
Q2 25
$111.5M
$40.4M
Q1 25
$110.0M
$54.1M
Q4 24
$163.2M
$114.9M
Q3 24
$146.0M
$120.2M
Q2 24
$179.4M
$117.9M
Q1 24
$167.9M
$122.9M
Total Debt
NL
NL
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$67.0M
Q3 25
$67.6M
Q2 25
$68.1M
Q1 25
$68.7M
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24
Stockholders' Equity
NL
NL
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$358.8M
$271.0M
Q3 25
$375.4M
$264.4M
Q2 25
$397.6M
$257.5M
Q1 25
$397.6M
$249.0M
Q4 24
$396.9M
$246.0M
Q3 24
$386.0M
$240.5M
Q2 24
$373.1M
$232.2M
Q1 24
$368.1M
$225.4M
Total Assets
NL
NL
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$464.2M
$418.7M
Q3 25
$500.2M
$406.4M
Q2 25
$523.7M
$391.1M
Q1 25
$520.0M
$390.0M
Q4 24
$578.3M
$315.3M
Q3 24
$585.6M
$307.4M
Q2 24
$580.0M
$298.0M
Q1 24
$568.8M
$286.8M
Debt / Equity
NL
NL
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
0.25×
Q3 25
0.26×
Q2 25
0.26×
Q1 25
0.28×
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24

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
PDFS
PDFS
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-4.2M
$17.3M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-4.7M
$7.5M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-12.6%
12.1%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.6%
15.7%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-40.1M
$-8.6M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
NL
NL
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$-4.2M
$17.3M
Q3 25
$7.9M
$3.3M
Q2 25
$7.3M
$-5.2M
Q1 25
$-47.5M
$8.6M
Q4 24
$9.0M
$1.6M
Q3 24
$-5.7M
$9.3M
Q2 24
$15.5M
$684.0K
Q1 24
$6.7M
$-1.9M
Free Cash Flow
NL
NL
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$-4.7M
$7.5M
Q3 25
$7.0M
$-2.9M
Q2 25
$5.9M
$-13.8M
Q1 25
$-48.3M
$535.0K
Q4 24
$8.7M
$-4.0M
Q3 24
$-6.1M
$5.1M
Q2 24
$15.1M
$-4.6M
Q1 24
$6.4M
$-3.9M
FCF Margin
NL
NL
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
-12.6%
12.1%
Q3 25
17.4%
-5.1%
Q2 25
14.7%
-26.6%
Q1 25
-119.9%
1.1%
Q4 24
22.8%
-8.0%
Q3 24
-18.3%
11.0%
Q2 24
42.1%
-11.1%
Q1 24
17.0%
-9.4%
Capex Intensity
NL
NL
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
1.6%
15.7%
Q3 25
2.5%
10.8%
Q2 25
3.3%
16.5%
Q1 25
2.0%
17.0%
Q4 24
0.6%
11.3%
Q3 24
1.4%
9.0%
Q2 24
1.2%
12.8%
Q1 24
0.8%
4.9%
Cash Conversion
NL
NL
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
Q3 25
2.54×
Q2 25
20.53×
-4.55×
Q1 25
-71.18×
Q4 24
0.54×
2.98×
Q3 24
-0.16×
4.20×
Q2 24
1.98×
0.40×
Q1 24
0.99×

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%

PDFS
PDFS

Volumebased$38.0M61%
Other$24.4M39%

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