# Photronics, Inc. (PLAB)

> Source: Nexqual · https://nexqual.com/PLAB · data as of 2026-10-22 20:00 UTC · cite as "Nexqual, Photronics, Inc. (PLAB), nexqual.com/PLAB" · informational, not investment advice.

**Price:** USD 27.9 (-3.56% on the day) · last close of Oct 22, 2026; US market pre market, not a live price. Prev close 28.93 · day 27.38–28.35 · 52w 20.05–56 · market cap $1.65B · NMS

## Key facts
- Last four reported quarters (through Aug 2, 2026): revenue $867M, net income $165M (19.0% margin), free cash flow $110M (SEC filings).
- Valuation: P/E 10.0x (avg 10.1x at the last 3 fiscal year-ends), EV/EBITDA 3.6x, net cash $673M.
- Insider open-market sales, last ~7 months: 19 Form 4 filings, $14.8M; 19 not under a Rule 10b5-1 plan ($14.8M); 0 by opportunistic insiders, 0 by routine insiders (three-year test, Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski 2012).
- Analysts: Buy (mean 2.00 on a 1–5 scale) (3 analysts), mean target USD 41.33 (range 39–44).
- Total return with dividends: 1Y +16.5% vs S&P 500 +14.9%; 5Y +127.6% vs S&P 500 +80.3%.
- Next earnings: 2026-08-26, EPS estimate USD 0.48, revenue estimate $217M.

## Financials (SEC 10-K; TTM = last four 10-Q/10-K quarters)
| USD | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | TTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $664M | $825M | $892M | $867M | $849M | $867M |
| Gross profit | $167M | $294M | $336M | $316M | $300M | — |
| Operating income | $94.6M | $212M | $253M | $222M | $208M | $195M |
| Net income | $55.4M | $119M | $125M | $131M | $136M | $165M |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.89 | $1.94 | $2.03 | $2.09 | $2.28 | — |
| Free cash flow | $41.7M | $163M | $171M | $131M | $59.7M | $110M |
| Gross margin | 25.2% | 35.7% | 37.7% | 36.4% | 35.3% | — |
| Operating margin | 14.2% | 25.7% | 28.4% | 25.6% | 24.5% | 22.5% |
| Net margin | 8.4% | 14.4% | 14.1% | 15.1% | 16.1% | 19.0% |
| Revenue growth | +8.9% | +24.2% | +8.2% | -2.8% | -2.0% | — |
| Cash + short-term investments | $277M | $359M | $512M | $641M | $588M | — |
| Total debt | $112M | $42.3M | $18.0M | $25K | $13K | — |
Fiscal years end Oct. EPS is split-adjusted.

## Valuation (price ÷ last four quarters, through Aug 2, 2026)
P/E 10.0x · P/S 1.9x · EV/EBITDA 3.6x · EV/Sales 1.1x · P/FCF 14.9x · P/B 1.3x · FCF yield 6.71% · Earnings yield 10.03% · Buyback yield (TTM) 0.00% · Net cash $673M · EV $973M
P/E at fiscal year-ends: Oct 2025 10.5x, Oct 2024 10.9x, Oct 2023 9.0x.

## Insider sales (SEC Form 4, open-market, last ~7 months)
0 of 19 under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan (scheduled in advance). Unplanned sales were timed by the insider.
| Trade date | Insider | Role | Shares | Value | % of holdings sold | 10b5-1 plan | Insider type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-29 | Lee Kang Jyh | Director | 10,000 | $308K | 2.9% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023) |
| 2026-09-25 | Park Han Kyung | SVP & GM of FPD Ops | 9,500 | $289K | 12.6% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023) |
| 2026-09-24 | Lee Kang Jyh | Director | 7,500 | $221K | 2.1% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023) |
| 2026-09-22 | Lee Kang Jyh | Director | 10,000 | $297K | 2.7% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023) |
| 2026-04-17 | Zhang Rui | VP, CAO & Corporate Controller | 4,556 | $213K | 14.4% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023–2025) |
| 2026-04-16 | Lee Kang Jyh | Director | 20,000 | $919K | 5.3% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023) |
| 2026-04-15 | Lee Kang Jyh | Director | 10,000 | $451K | 2.6% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023) |
| 2026-04-14 | Wang Hsueh-Chun | SVP/COO IC & US/EU Mnstrm Ops | 19,250 | $872K | 14.5% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023–2025) |
| 2026-04-14 | Macricostas Constantine S | Director | 50,000 | $2.3M | 10.8% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023 or 2024) |
| 2026-04-13 | Lee Kang Jyh | Director | 5,000 | $225K | 1.3% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023) |
| 2026-04-13 | Rivera Eric | President, CFO | 1,000 | $45K | 0.7% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023–2025) |
| 2026-04-09 | Wang Hsueh-Chun | SVP/COO IC & US/EU Mnstrm Ops | 11,875 | $525K | 8.2% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023–2025) |
| 2026-04-09 | Rivera Eric | President, CFO | 41,517 | $1.8M | 23.4% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023–2025) |
| 2026-04-09 | Lee Kang Jyh | Director | 5,000 | $220K | 1.3% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023) |
| 2026-04-08 | Macricostas George | CEO | 121,194 | $5.2M | 26.6% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023–2025) |
| 2026-04-08 | Zhang Rui | VP, CAO & Corporate Controller | 1,752 | $76K | 5.2% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023–2025) |
| 2026-04-08 | Wang Hsueh-Chun | SVP/COO IC & US/EU Mnstrm Ops | 10,000 | $427K | 6.5% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023–2025) |
| 2026-04-08 | Lee Kang Jyh | Director | 5,000 | $216K | 1.3% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023) |
| 2026-04-06 | Lee Kang Jyh | Director | 5,000 | $203K | 1.3% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023) |
% of holdings sold = shares sold ÷ (shares sold + all holdings the insider reported on that Form 4, direct and through trusts).
Insider type follows Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski (Journal of Finance, 2012). An insider who traded the stock in the same calendar month in each of the past three years is a routine trader; one who traded in each of those years without such a pattern is an opportunistic trader. In their study, trades by opportunistic insiders predicted future returns and trades by routine insiders did not. Counts open-market purchases and sales only (SEC Form 4 codes P and S) by that insider in that company. Not investment advice.

## Analysts
Consensus Buy (mean 2.00 on a 1–5 scale), 3 analysts; mean target USD 41.33 (low 39, high 44).
Rating changes, last 120 days:
| Date | Firm | Action | Rating | Price target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-02 | Freedom Broker | Initiated | Buy | $41 |

## Total return (dividends reinvested)
|  | 1Y (from 2025-10-23) | 5Y (from 2021-10-18) |
|---|---|---|
| Total return | +16.5% | +127.6% |
| S&P 500 (SPY) | +14.9% | +80.3% |
| Per year | +16.6% | +17.8% |
| Volatility (annualized) | 83.7% | 57.7% |
| Max drawdown | -50.6% (May 2026→Sep 2026) | -50.0% (Feb 2024→May 2025) |

## Peers (Semiconductor Equipment & Materials)
ICHR (Ichor Holdings) USD 37.86 -12.64% · AEHR (Aehr Test Systems) USD 55.65 -12.88% · UCTT (Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc.) USD 44.46 -14.86% · COHU (Cohu, Inc.) USD 46.26 -16.33% · VECO (Veeco Instruments Inc.) USD 41.15 -11.81% · AMBA (Ambarella, Inc.) USD 63.12 -4.36%

## More
Full page: https://nexqual.com/PLAB · Free keyless MCP server with the same data and citations: https://mcp.nexqual.com/mcp · Guide for agents: https://nexqual.com/agents · https://nexqual.com/llms.txt

## Revenue by product line (quarter ended 2026-08-02)

| Line | Revenue | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integrated Circuits | $154.7M | 71.6% | +4.6% |
| — Mainstream Integrated Circuits (part of Integrated Circuits) | $86.2M | 39.9% | -8.5% |
| — High End Integrated Circuits (part of Integrated Circuits) | $68.5M | 31.7% | +27.7% |
| Flat Panel Displays | $61.4M | 28.4% | -1.9% |
| — High End Flat Panel Displays (part of Flat Panel Displays) | $52.3M | 24.2% | -2.2% |
| — Mainstream Flat Panel Displays (part of Flat Panel Displays) | $9.1M | 4.2% | -0.2% |
| Total revenue | $216.0M | 100% | — |

## Revenue by region (quarter ended 2026-08-02)

| Line | Revenue | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taiwan | $68.5M | 31.7% | +0.1% |
| China | $53.0M | 24.5% | +4.7% |
| South Korea | $43.3M | 20.0% | -1.0% |
| United States | $40.1M | 18.6% | +6.3% |
| Europe | $10.2M | 4.7% | +12.9% |
| Other | $905,000 | 0.4% | +9.4% |
| Total revenue | $216.0M | 100% | — |

## Customer concentration

Period ended 2025-10-31: 16%, 13%, 8% of revenue from unnamed direct customers (10-K, filed 2025-12-17).

## Company outlook (8-K filed 2026-08-26)

- "For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, Photronics expects: • Revenue to be between $207 million and $227 million, • Operating margin to be between 19% and 24%, and • Non-GAAP diluted EPS attributable to Photronics, Inc. shareholders to be between $0.40 and $0.56 per share."

Analysts expect $216.9M for the current quarter, -0.0% vs the guidance midpoint $217.0M. Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/810136/000081013626000006/plabQ32026EarningsEx99-1PR.htm

## Analyst estimates and revisions

| Period | EPS est. | 90d ago | Change | Revenue est. | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current quarter (ends 2026-10-31) | $0.48 | $0.42 | +13.5% | $216.9M | 3 |
| Next quarter (ends 2027-01-31) | $0.53 | $0.55 | -3.6% | $228.6M | 2 |
| Current fiscal year (ends 2026-10-31) | $2.01 | $1.84 | +8.9% | $868.0M | 3 |
| Next fiscal year (ends 2027-10-31) | $2.08 | $2.02 | +2.6% | $892.4M | 3 |