Photronics (PLAB) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $2.22B
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Average Volume (3M): 1.04M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 16.3
• Beta (1Y): 1.43
• Revenue Growth: -2.04%
• EPS Growth: 8.84%
• Country: US
• Employees: 1,900
• Sector: Technology
• Sector Strength: 88
• Industry: Semiconductors
• EPS (TTM): 0.60
• Shares Outstanding: 59,064,640
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 818,160
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 1,042,400
• PEG Ratio: 1.30
• Price to Book (P/B): 1.21
• Price to Sales (P/S): 1.68
• P/FCF Ratio: 23.88
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 0.79
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 2.06
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 5.84
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 5.85
• 1Y Price Target: $43.50
• Price Target Upside: 14.47% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 2
• EPS Forecast (FY): N/A
• Revenue Forecast (FY): N/A

• Rating: 74 Outperform
• Price Target: $43.00 ▲(13.16% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/03/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/03/26

The score is driven primarily by strong financial resilience (very low debt and solid profitability) and a constructive technical uptrend. These are tempered by recent revenue and free-cash-flow weakening, plus only neutral valuation support (P/E ~15.8 with no dividend). Earnings-call guidance was broadly supportive, while corporate events were incremental rather than transformative.

Positive Factors

Balance Sheet Strength

Photronics' minimal leverage provides durable financial flexibility through semiconductor cycles, enabling funding of capex for advanced-node capacity, cushioning downturns and preserving optionality for strategic investments or M&A without stressing cash flows or forcing dilutive financing.

Sustained Profitability & Margins

Consistently healthy gross and operating margins reflect pricing power and cost discipline from specialized photomask manufacturing. Durable margins support internal funding of technology investments and steady returns on capital, even if topline growth moderates.

Structural Exposure to Advanced Nodes

A rising mix of high-end IC work tied to AI and hyperscale data center demand aligns Photronics with long-term structural semiconductor trends. Combined with planned US/Korea capacity expansions, this supports sustainable higher-margin revenue and deeper customer qualifications.

Negative Factors

Revenue & Free Cash Flow Weakness

Recent revenue declines and a sharp drop in free cash flow reduce financial headroom for reinvestment or shareholder returns. If FCF conversion remains depressed, the company may need to prioritize capex and working-capital needs over discretionary investments, slowing growth execution.

China & Mainstream IC Exposure

Exposure to mainstream IC demand in China and local competitive pressure creates a structural revenue risk. Geopolitical fragmentation can limit addressable markets and weigh on pricing and share in a large region, complicating long-term growth diversification efforts.

CTO Transition Risk

Loss of a long-tenured CTO risks disruption to R&D leadership, customer qualifications and technical roadmaps critical in photomask competitiveness. While an advisory role is possible, executing advanced-node product development and sustaining technological edge could face near-term uncertainty.

Photronics Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Photronics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of photomask products and services in the United States, Taiwan, Korea, Europe, China, and internationally. The company offers photomasks that are used in the manufacture of integrated circuits and flat panel displays (FPDs); and to transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers, FDP substrates, and other types of electrical and optical components. It sells its products to semiconductor and FPD manufacturers, designers, and foundries, as well as to other high-performance electronics manufacturers through its sales personnel and customer service representatives. The company was formerly known as Photronic Labs, Inc. and changed its name to Photronics, Inc. in 1990. Photronics, Inc. was incorporated in 1969 and is based in Brookfield, Connecticut.

How the Company Makes Money

Photronics generates revenue primarily through the sale of photomasks to semiconductor and display manufacturers. The company's revenue model is based on the production and delivery of high-precision photomasks that are tailored to specific customer needs. Key revenue streams include sales from standard photomask products, custom photomasks designed for advanced technology nodes, and the provision of related services such as engineering support and design assistance. Significant partnerships with leading semiconductor companies allow Photronics to secure long-term contracts and leverage economies of scale, contributing to its overall earnings. Additionally, as technology continues to advance with the push for smaller and more efficient chips, Photronics benefits from increased demand for its high-end photomask solutions, aligning with industry trends towards miniaturization and enhanced performance.

Photronics Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Strong overall fundamentals supported by very low leverage and healthy margins. Offsetting this, revenue declined in 2024–2025 and free cash flow weakened materially in 2024–2025, signaling softer near-term momentum and lower cash conversion.

Income Statement

Profitability remains solid with consistently healthy gross and operating margins (gross margin ~35% in 2025 vs ~22% in 2020) and a net margin holding in the mid-teens in 2023–2025. However, growth has clearly slowed: revenue declined in 2024 and 2025 after strong expansion in 2021–2023, and margins have modestly compressed from the 2023 peak (operating margin down from ~30% in 2023 to ~26% in 2025). Overall, strong profitability but a weakening top-line trajectory is the key offset.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet is a standout: leverage is extremely low (debt-to-equity ~0.8% in 2025, down from ~13.6% in 2021), providing significant financial flexibility and lower risk in a cyclical semiconductor environment. Equity has grown materially over time, and returns on equity are steady around ~11–13% in 2023–2025 (below the 2022 spike), indicating good—though not exceptional—capital efficiency. The main weakness is that profitability on equity has moderated versus 2022, but overall balance-sheet risk is minimal.

Cash Flow

Operating cash generation is consistently strong and exceeds net income (roughly ~1.4–1.6x in 2022–2025), which supports earnings quality. The weakness is free cash flow volatility and a downshift recently: free cash flow fell meaningfully in 2024 and dropped further in 2025, with free cash flow running well below net income in 2025 (about ~24%), suggesting higher investment needs and/or working-capital pressure. Overall: strong underlying cash generation, but less efficient conversion into free cash lately.

Breakdown	Oct 2025	Oct 2024	Oct 2023	Oct 2022	Oct 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	849.29M	866.95M	892.08M	824.55M	663.76M
Gross Profit	299.83M	315.95M	336.16M	294.21M	167.04M
EBITDA	299.39M	330.55M	351.21M	321.22M	194.09M
Net Income	136.41M	130.69M	125.48M	118.79M	55.45M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	1.80B	1.71B	1.53B	1.32B	1.29B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	588.16M	640.67M	512.21M	358.50M	276.67M
Total Debt	24.00K	22.96M	26.53M	45.62M	117.21M
Total Liabilities	207.23M	231.30M	250.61M	253.74M	293.64M
Stockholders Equity	1.17B	1.12B	975.01M	831.53M	823.69M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	59.66M	130.50M	170.88M	162.85M	41.50M
Operating Cash Flow	247.80M	261.44M	302.18M	275.19M	150.77M
Investing Cash Flow	-238.90M	-156.47M	-101.55M	-147.76M	-103.49M
Financing Cash Flow	-115.26M	-7.73M	-18.49M	-38.69M	-53.90M

Photronics Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 38.00
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For PLAB, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 38 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 36.42, above the 50-day MA of 34.96, and above the 200-day MA of 24.72, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 1.19 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 58.87 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 60.50 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for PLAB.

Photronics Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
PLAB	74 Outperform	$2.22B	16.27	11.89%	―	-2.04%	8.84%
Sector *	61 Neutral	$37.18B	12.37	-10.20%	1.83%	8.50%	-7.62%
VECO	61 Neutral	$1.77B	34.97	6.12%	―	-3.90%	-41.66%
MXL	56 Neutral	$1.60B	-11.53	-28.23%	―	7.53%	22.97%
COHU	55 Neutral	$1.40B	-19.06	-9.04%	―	-4.50%	-45.79%
HIMX	55 Neutral	$1.31B	29.73	4.95%	4.48%	-3.62%	-20.33%
UCTT	53 Neutral	$2.49B	-16.07	-20.61%	―	6.65%	-4652.36%

Photronics Corporate Events

Photronics Consolidates Leadership with Key Executive Promotions

On January 12, 2026, Photronics reshaped its senior leadership team, appointing Chief Financial Officer Eric Rivera as president while he continues as principal financial officer, promoting Rui (Elie) Zhang to chief accounting officer with continued responsibilities as corporate controller, and naming Todd Alesio senior vice president and chief administrative officer while he remains head of global human resources. Announced publicly on January 13, 2026, the appointments are positioned by Chairman and CEO George Macricostas as a move to sharpen organizational clarity and reinforce accountability across key finance and administrative functions, signaling a consolidation of leadership roles designed to support the company’s execution under its existing management approach rather than a change in strategic direction.

The most recent analyst rating on (PLAB) stock is a Buy with a $45.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Photronics stock, see the PLAB Stock Forecast page.

Photronics Expands Board, Appoints Independent Finance Executive

On January 1, 2026, Photronics expanded its board of directors from eight to nine members and appointed finance executive Michelle Almeida as an independent director, a move the company announced publicly on January 7, 2026. Almeida, currently vice president of corporate finance and treasurer at Compass Datacenters, brings more than 25 years of experience in treasury and financial planning and analysis, and will receive compensation in line with other non-employee directors, though she has not yet been assigned to any board committees; the appointment underscores Photronics’ effort to deepen financial and strategic expertise at the board level as it pursues its long-term strategy, without any disclosed related-party transactions or special arrangements tied to her election.

The most recent analyst rating on (PLAB) stock is a Buy with a $45.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Photronics stock, see the PLAB Stock Forecast page.

Photronics announces CTO transition and leadership changes

On January 2, 2026, Photronics announced that Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Dr. Christopher J. Progler stepped down from his position effective December 29, 2025, concluding more than two decades of service in which he played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s technology strategy and strengthening its competitive position in integrated circuit and flat panel display photomask markets. Under the terms of his employment agreement, Progler will receive severance equal to one year of base salary, continued medical and dental coverage for 360 days, and accrued obligations, and he is considering an advisory role to support continuity on strategic priorities, as Photronics underscores its intention to maintain disciplined operational execution and long-term value creation for shareholders despite the leadership transition.

The most recent analyst rating on (PLAB) stock is a Buy with a $45.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Photronics stock, see the PLAB Stock Forecast page.