Megawatt laser weapon development drives up nLight sales

nLight, the US-based developer of high-energy fiber and semiconductor lasers, has posted sales of just under $52 million for the opening quarter of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 16 per cent driven largely by defense-related demand.

That jump, which was slightly above the company's prior expectations, plus what appears to be an easing of US-China trade tensions, has seen the firm's stock price rise in value sharply over the course of the past week.

Speaking to investors during a conference call to discuss the latest results, nLight's CEO Scott Keeney said that shipments of key components for the US Department of Defense program to develop a megawatt-scale laser weapon was a "significant driver" of sales in the three months ending March 31.

Other projects include 50 kilowatt "SHORAD" lasers to aid the US Army's short-range air defense, while the US administration's planned "Golden Dome" defense program is said to be generating further interest in the firm's products - following in the footsteps of Israel's "Iron Beam" effort that is much closer to realization.

Tariff climb-down
The firm's figures showed that aerospace and defense revenues, which includes sensor products as well as high-power lasers for directed energy weapons, rose 50 per cent year-on-year to reach $32.7 million in the latest quarter.

"We have generated revenue at nearly every level of vertical integration in the directed energy market, and we have established ourselves as one of the most comprehensive suppliers to the US government, other prime contractors, and foreign allies," said Keeney.

"In addition, further opportunities in the Golden Dome initiative have emerged and could become a significant contributor to our growth in defense in 2026 and beyond."

As far as 2025 is concerned, Keeney and his executive team expect aerospace and defense sales for the full year to increase around 25 per cent on the 2024 total.

Commenting before the apparent climb-down in US-China trade relations that emerged May 12, Keeney said that he and his nLight team had spent a significant amount of evaluating different tariff-related scenarios, telling investors:

"We do not expect a significant impact on our business in defense over the long term. Over the short term, however, there may be some margin variability in our defense products as a result of the tariffs placed on some of the important materials used to manufacture these solutions.

"While the ultimate impact of tariffs on these products is still to be determined, we do not expect them to have a significant negative effect on our demand or long-term profitability of these solutions."

Stock bounce
Regarding commercial laser products, Keeney said that nLight had now shifted its production from Shanghai, a site that was closed in late 2024, to a combination of the firm's automated production facility in Camas, Washington, and a contract manufacturer in Thailand.

"Our ability to shift manufacturing between the US and Thailand should enable us to better manage tariff-associated risk," noted the CEO.

The jump in sales reported for the latest quarter saw nLight's pre-tax loss shrink year-on-year from $13.6 million to just under $8 million, with that result and expectations of another solid rise in sales in the June quarter appearing to prompt a 15 per cent rise in the company's stock price.

That bounce was amplified by the May 12 news that sky-high US-China trade tariffs would be ramped back down amid a 90-day pause, with nLight's stock rising to around $12.50 in early Nasdaq trading the following day.

The latest bump means that nLight's stock is up more than 50 per cent in the five days since its quarterly results announcement, and now stands 20 per cent higher than it did at the start of 2025.