COHR

AI datacenter spending has turned optical networking into one of 2026's hottest trades, but the three biggest U.S. optics stocks have performed so differently that picking the wrong one meant leaving triple-digit gains on the table.

Coherent's AI optics demand and margins are surging, but heavy capex, weak cash conversion and crowded product ramps keep execution risk elevated.

Coherent's AI-optics growth and rising estimates support upside, but premium valuation, heavy capex and weak cash flow raise execution risk.

Coherent's stock just absorbed a brutal pullback while its forward earnings estimates climbed higher, a rare split that forces a direct question about whether the optical AI infrastructure trade still has legs at this price.

Coherent just handed back a third of its value in three months without a single crack in its operating story, and Wall Street is responding by piling on price target upgrades instead of downgrades.

COHR's datacenter sales surged 59% year over year to $1.62B in fiscal Q4, driving 34% revenue growth as AI infrastructure demand reshapes its mix.

Coherent stands out over AppLovin with faster expected growth, stronger estimate momentum and a lower valuation, despite APP's superior margins and cash flow.

Coherent (COHR) shares have started gaining and might continue moving higher in the near term, as indicated by solid earnings estimate revisions.

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SAXONBURG, Pa., Aug. 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Coherent Corp. (NYSE: COHR) (“Coherent,” “We,” or the “Company”), a global leader in photonics, announced today that it will unveil Coherent PhotonLink ™ at the 2026 European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC), Europe's largest and most prestigious event for optical communications, fiber optics, and photonics.