Coherent Crashes 20% on Weak Forecast

Coherent Corp (COHR:US) offered weaker-than-expected guidance to send its shares about 32% lower on Wednesday.

For this quarter, the company guided to a range between $1 billion and $1.1 billion, below the Bloomberg consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. The company also anticipates an adjusted EPS in the range of $0.05 to $0.20, while the estimate stood at $0.45.

Coherent envisions its revenue for FY 2024 within the bracket of $4.5 billion to $4.7 billion, again missing the estimated $4.88 billion figure.

In the most recent quarter, the company reported an adjusted EPS of $0.41, down from $0.98 year-over-year, and just above the estimated $0.37. Revenue for the quarter reached $1.21 billion, reflecting a 36% increase from the previous year, and surpassing the estimated $1.15 billion.

“We delivered solid revenue and EPS, respectively above and toward the high end of our guidance range, validating our diversification strategy in the face of continuing post-pandemic inventory digestion and macroeconomic weakness,” the company said in a shareholder letter.

“Macroeconomic headwinds and uncertainty continue to affect nearly all our end markets and restrain our near-term growth and visibility. The notable exception is Datacom, which enjoyed a strong increase in demand.”

Representatives Ro Khanna and Bob Gibbs were trading COHR shares in recent years.

Coherent stock was up about 35% year-to-date through Tuesday's close.