Key Highlights

  • LightPath shares are trading down 3.66% at $7.25 versus a prior close of $7.52.
  • Fiscal first quarter Revenue rose 38% to $20.8 million, slightly below expectations.
  • Backlog hit a record $132.9 million, up 54% from a year ago.
  • Gross Margin was 41.4%, and adjusted EBITDA was positive for a fifth straight quarter.
  • No formal guidance was given.

LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) is trading down 3.66% at $7.25, extending a slide after Wednesday's 5.88% drop to $7.52. Fiscal first quarter revenue rose 38% to $20.8 million but came in slightly below internal expectations because of Supply chain delays in motors, external optics, electronics and detectors. Peer Ouster (NASDAQ:OUST) is trading down 4.30%.

Quarter Details

Gross margin was 41.4%, and adjusted EBITDA was $1.3 million, the fifth straight positive quarter. The net loss narrowed to $1.7 million, or $0.02 per share, from $2.9 million a year ago. New product development spending doubled to $2 million, and operating expenses of $10.8 million are seen as indicative of the go-forward spending plan.

Record Backlog

Backlog hit a record $132.9 million, up 20% from the previous quarter and 54% from a year ago, with a book-to-bill of about 2.0 times. About $110.8 million is requested for delivery within 12 months, and all orders are firm and funded. Orders include more than $19 million of follow-on counter-UAS assembly orders, an $11 million camera order and a 50,000-plus unit drone optical assembly order.

Cash Use

A $13.5 million inventory build and $8.3 million of operating cash burn offset the strong backlog.

Drone Capacity

Drone assembly capacity is just under 10,000 units a month, with plans to reach several tens of thousands a month within 12 months and potentially 100,000 a month. Capital spending is expected to keep growing in fiscal 2027, and management expects more drone orders of 30,000 to 50,000 units or more, possibly every six months. Management expects gross margins to stay in the 40% range if assemblies, modules and cameras remain above 50% of the mix.

Analyst View

Lake Street cut its target to $12 from $15, citing softer sentiment toward aerospace and defense names, and Piper Sandler held $13, both keeping Buy ratings. All five analysts covering the stock are bullish, with an average target of $13.70 and a range of $11 to $15.50.

Supply and Capacity Decide the Next Move

With no formal guidance, delivery against the Backlog is the test. Investors will watch whether supply chain delays ease so the $110.8 million due within 12 months converts, whether inventory and cash use stabilize and how quickly drone capacity scales from under 10,000 units a month.

The next large drone order is a further marker.