Photronics Inc
🔔 Watch stock
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
Why this colour
Yellow, because material operating questions are open without a substance risk being present. In favor of yellow: the far larger mainstream part of the chip business lost $80.1 million between fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2025 while high-end gained only $43.9 million; gross margin fell from 35.4 to 33.2 percent through the first nine months of fiscal 2026; and customer concentration is rising (two customers 29 percent, five customers 50 percent in fiscal 2025) — pronounced concentration without immediate existential danger. Clearly against red: there is no going-concern indication, equity attributable to shareholders is $1,280.7 million, debt totals $3.9 million, operating cash flow was $247.8 million in fiscal 2025, and the company was profitable in each of the past five years. Against green stands the structure: a third of the profit and three quarters of the cash do not economically belong to shareholders alone. Price arguments play no part in this rating — the fact that the stock looks inexpensive at a price-to-earnings ratio of roughly 10 changes nothing about the quality question. Before buying, we would wait for two figures in the next report: mainstream chip photomask revenue and gross margin. The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
Photronics is a solid company with an indispensable product: no photomask, no chip, and the company has counted itself among the world's leading manufacturers since 1969. The balance sheet is effectively debt-free, the business was profitable in each of the past five fiscal years, and earnings per share rose from $0.89 to $2.28. Two things qualify that picture without overturning it: roughly 30 percent of group net income and 74.8 percent of the cash belong to joint ventures in which Photronics holds only 50.01 percent — and the large mainstream business is shrinking faster than the high-end business is growing. Anyone valuing this stock has to strip both out themselves. Not investment advice.
Balance sheet substance
On August 2, 2026, total assets of $1,990.7 million stood against just $3.889 million of current and $4 thousand of long-term debt, with $672.8 million of cash and short-term investments. Interest expense across fiscal 2025 came to $0.1 million. Equity attributable to shareholders was $1,280.7 million.
Earnings power
Five consecutive profitable fiscal years: group net income of $78.8 million (2021), $179.2 million (2022), $199.6 million (2023), $183.8 million (2024) and $190.2 million (2025). Diluted earnings per share rose without interruption from $0.89 to $2.28 and reached $1.76 through the first nine months of fiscal 2026, against $1.23 a year earlier. Operating cash flow in fiscal 2025 was $247.8 million.
Who owns the profit
Of $147.3 million in group net income through the first nine months of fiscal 2026, $44.0 million went to noncontrolling interests — roughly 30 percent. In fiscal 2023 it was $74.1 million of $199.6 million. The same holds on the asset side: $503.5 million of $672.8 million in cash sat inside the joint ventures on August 2, 2026, in which Photronics holds 50.01 percent.
Business trajectory
Group revenue declined two years running, from $892.1 million (2023) through $866.9 million (2024) to $849.3 million (2025), because mainstream IC photomask revenue fell $80.1 million between fiscal 2023 and 2025 while high-end gained only $43.9 million. Through the first nine months of fiscal 2026 revenue of $651.1 million was back 2.8 percent above the prior-year period — but gross margin slipped from 35.4 to 33.2 percent.
Dependencies
The two largest customers accounted for 29 percent of fiscal 2025 revenue (2024 and 2023: 27 percent each), the five largest for 50 percent. Regionally, roughly 78 percent of revenue is earned in East Asia, 59 percent in Taiwan and China alone (fiscal 2025). On top of that sits the put right held by partner Dai Nippon Printing over a net investment last sized at roughly $177.1 million (May 3, 2026) that appears on no debt line.
Capital allocation and leadership
In fiscal 2025 Photronics repurchased 5.0 million shares for $97.4 million; through the first nine months of fiscal 2026 it bought back none, with $27.6 million of authorization still open. Capital spending rose instead from $130.9 million to $188.1 million (up 43.7 percent), and $211.3 million of capital commitments were outstanding as of May 3, 2026. In parallel, the chief technology officer stepped down effective December 29, 2025 with no successor announced, and the chief financial officer was appointed President on January 12, 2026.
Worth Noting
Photronics reached our research list through the Reddit hype scanner (as of September 9, 2026) after a twelve-month range of $20.05 to $56.00. We reviewed the Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (filed December 17, 2025), the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended May 3, 2026 (filed June 11, 2026) and every filing since: the beneficial ownership reports SCHEDULE 13G/A filed July 14, 2026 and SCHEDULE 13G filed July 31 and August 14, 2026 (institutional holders, no impact on the figures) and the third quarter earnings release (Form 8-K filed August 26, 2026, Item 2.02, Exhibit 99.1). The third-quarter Form 10-Q was not yet on file as of September 9, 2026; quarterly figures therefore come from the company’s unaudited earnings release rather than a reviewed interim statement.
Risk of confusion: Dai Nippon Printing, the partner in the Chinese joint venture, is also named as a competitor outside Taiwan and China in the annual report. Two earnings lines must be kept apart — net income (group) and net income attributable to Photronics, Inc. shareholders; only the second belongs to shareholders. Photronics is unrelated to Photronix or similarly named companies; the SEC lists no former names for CIK 0000810136.
Valuation figures are dated and evergreen: closing price of $29.36 on September 8, 2026, market capitalization of roughly $1.73 billion based on 58,963,698 shares (as of June 4, 2026). Cross-check against the published market value of roughly $1.73 billion: a deviation of less than one percent. Balance sheet and earnings figures carry the reporting dates August 2, 2026, May 3, 2026 or October 31, 2025. Analyses are evergreen; daily prices are not a buy argument.
The split of the cash into freely available at group level ($169.3 million) and economically attributable (roughly $421 million) is our own derivation from the reported figures of $672.8 million and $503.5 million together with the 50.01 percent ownership stake — the company itself publishes no such breakdown.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of September 9, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at PLAB since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 20.30 $ to 55.00 $ · Last price: 28.50 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
This stock currently pays no dividend.
Quality & Screener
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Semiconductor Equipment & Materials
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photronics Inc PLAB | 1.7 | 9.8 | 2.8 | 33.7 | 20.1 | -2.0 | 21.8 |
| Lam Research Corp LRCX | 371.4 | 47.0 | 41.9 | 50.5 | 35.0 | 23.7 | 122.2 |
| Applied Materials Inc AMAT | 331.4 | 36.5 | 31.3 | 49.4 | 31.9 | 4.4 | 135.6 |
| KLA Corporation KLAC | 220.8 | 46.0 | 37.8 | 61.3 | 41.2 | 23.9 | 71.6 |
| Teradyne Inc TER | 57.6 | 59.4 | 34.3 | 59.2 | 37.6 | 13.1 | 209.5 |
| Qnity Electronics, Inc Q | 24.5 | 47.5 | 20.3 | 46.2 | 22.8 | 9.7 | 20.8 |
| Entegris Inc ENTG | 22.4 | 69.9 | 25.9 | 45.6 | 18.0 | -1.4 | 41.1 |
| Onto Innovation Inc ONTO | 13.7 | 109.7 | 49.6 | 55.5 | 16.8 | 1.8 | 115.5 |
| Amkor Technology Inc AMKR | 11.9 | 23.7 | 8.5 | 15.5 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 81.4 |
| Median of companies shown | 24.5 | 47.0 | 31.3 | 49.4 | 22.8 | 6.2 | 81.4 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 483 | 52 | 46 | 0.61 | 122 | 710 | 988 |
| 2017 | 451 | 32 | 13 | 0.19 | 97 | 745 | 1,021 |
| 2018 | 535 | 66 | 42 | 0.56 | 131 | 760 | 1,110 |
| 2019 | 551 | 52 | 40 | 0.59 | 72 | 770 | 1,119 |
| 2020 | 610 | 64 | 34 | 0.52 | 143 | 805 | 1,188 |
| 2021 | 664 | 95 | 55 | 0.89 | 151 | 824 | 1,294 |
| 2022 | 825 | 212 | 119 | 1.94 | 275 | 832 | 1,316 |
| 2023 | 892 | 253 | 125 | 2.03 | 302 | 975 | 1,526 |
| 2024 | 867 | 222 | 131 | 2.09 | 261 | 1,121 | 1,712 |
| 2025 | 849 | 208 | 136 | 2.28 | 248 | 1,174 | 1,805 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
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· Total · per year
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The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025: Q1 | 0.68 | 62.70 | 212 | -1.90 | 20.20 | 79 | 43 |
| 2025: Q2 | 0.15 | -75.00 | 211 | -2.80 | 4.20 | 32 | -29 |
| 2025: Q3 | 0.38 | -31.40 | 210 | -0.30 | 10.90 | 50 | 25 |
| 2025: Q4 | 1.07 | 96.40 | 216 | -3.10 | 28.60 | 88 | 20 |
| 2026: Q1 | 0.74 | 7.50 | 225 | 6.10 | 19.10 | 97 | 50 |
| 2026: Q2 | 0.54 | 269.30 | 210 | -0.50 | 15.00 | 47 | 1 |
| 2026: Q3 | 0.49 | 28.90 | 216 | 2.70 | 13.40 | 76 | 39 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 8 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Growth
Quality & Balance Sheet
Momentum & Trend
- Gary Antonacci: Dual Momentum (Stock Adaptation)
- Oliver Kell: Strength on Down Day
- Stan Weinstein: Stage 1
Research
Value & GARP
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/31/2026 | 2.01 | 2.01 – 2.01 | 868 | 0.0% | 3 |
| 10/31/2027 | 2.08 | 1.98 – 2.14 | 892 | 3.3% | 3 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Instead of guessing what the stock is worth, we turn the question around: what free cash flow growth has to happen for today’s market value to add up? The assumptions behind it can be moved.
Today’s market value implies roughly 4.0% growth in free cash flow per year over ten years (assumptions: discount rate 10.0%, terminal growth 2.5%).
| Free cash flow (last twelve months) | $110.4M |
|---|---|
| Market cap | $1.68B |
| Free cash flow in year ten | $163.2M |
| Terminal value as a share of market value | 51.2% |
For comparison: over the past five years free cash flow shrank by 3.7% per year.
It shows which assumption is built into today’s price, not whether that assumption will hold. Every assumption can be changed with the sliders; the figures move with them.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
Photronics beschreibt im Geschäftsbericht (10-K) für das Geschäftsjahr 2025 ein eigenes Technologieprogramm für „AI grade photomasks“ und nennt Künstliche Intelligenz ausdrücklich als bedienten Endmarkt seiner IC-Photomasken; die Photomaske ist die physische Vorstufe, ohne die kein KI-Chip belichtet werden kann. Einen eigenen KI-Umsatzausweis gibt es nicht — der Anteil lässt sich deshalb nicht beziffern; belegbar ist die Produktzuordnung, nicht ihre Größe.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„In addition, we note the role AI is playing in driving the technology roadmap for IC devices and our technology program covers multiple initiatives to deliver AI grade photomasks in IC and advanced packaging applications."
Darüber hinaus stellen wir fest, welche Rolle KI dabei spielt, den Technologiefahrplan für IC-Bauelemente voranzutreiben, und unser Technologieprogramm umfasst mehrere Vorhaben, um Photomasken in KI-Güte für Anwendungen in integrierten Schaltkreisen und in der fortgeschrittenen Gehäusetechnik zu liefern.
10-K · 2025-12-17 · View SEC filing
„End markets served with IC photomasks include devices used for artificial intelligence, cloud computing, microprocessors, memory, telecommunications, internet connected devices, automotive, industrial and other applications."
Zu den mit IC-Photomasken bedienten Endmärkten gehören Bauelemente für Künstliche Intelligenz, Cloud-Computing, Mikroprozessoren, Speicher, Telekommunikation, internetverbundene Geräte, Automobil, Industrie und weitere Anwendungen.
10-K · 2025-12-17 · View SEC filing
„The global semiconductor and FPD industries are driven by end markets which have broad application in the global economy including but not limited to consumer-driven applications, data centers that support AI implementation, electric vehicles and national security."
Die weltweite Halbleiter- und Flachbildschirm-Industrie wird von Endmärkten getrieben, die breit in der Weltwirtschaft anwendbar sind, darunter unter anderem konsumgetriebene Anwendungen, Rechenzentren zur Unterstützung des KI-Einsatzes, Elektrofahrzeuge und nationale Sicherheit.
10-Q · 2026-06-11 · View SEC filing
Filings Reviewed: 10-K 2025-12-17 · 10-Q 2026-06-11 · 10-Q 2026-03-11 · 10-Q 2025-09-09 · 10-Q 2025-06-11 · 10-K 2024-12-19
Rated on September 9, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years 1.0%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year 4.3%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year -0.7%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 5.0%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 35.3%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 0.0%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 582 m net cash
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 419 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 12.7%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 3.2%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
5/10The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 6.5%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 2.5%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% 16.6%
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% -4.5%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT -2.8x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 10
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 39.3%
- Return on equity > 15% 11.6%
- ROCE > 15% 12.7%
- Expected return > 10% -1.1%
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
The company
About the Company
Photronics, Inc. befasst sich gemeinsam mit ihren Tochtergesellschaften mit Herstellung und Verkauf von Photomaskenprodukten und -dienstleistungen in den USA, Taiwan, China, Korea, Europa und international.
- CEO Insider Trades (12 Mo.)
- selling own stock
- Employees
- 1,908
- Headquarters
- Brookfield, CT
- Address
- 15 Secor Road, 06804 Brookfield, United States
- Phone
- 203 775 9000
- Website
- photronics.com
- IPO Date
- 03/10/1987
- ISIN
- US7194051022
- Stock Split
- 2:1 on 12/02/1997
- Stock Split
- 3:2 on 03/21/1995
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| George C. Macricostas | CEO & Executive Chairman | 1970 |
| Eric Rivera | CFO & President | 1977 |
| H. K. Park | Senior VP & GM of FPD Operations | 1970 |
| David Wang | Senior VP & COO of IC Operations | 1965 |
| Rui Zhang | Chief Accounting Officer & Corporate Controller | – |
| Todd Alesio | Senior VP, Chief Administrative Officer & Head of Global Human Resources | 1978 |
| Ted J. Moreau Jr. | Vice President of Investor Relations | – |
| Christopher J. Lutzo | VP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | 1968 |
| Jeff Catlin | Senior Vice President-Global Sales | – |
| Christopher Dayton | Senior Vice President of Finance | – |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Filings
Company Filings (8-K)
An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- 08/26/2026 PHOTRONICS INC (PLAB): Results of Operations and Financial Condition; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
Data as of: September 17, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.