ERICSSON LM TELEPHONE CO vs Lumentum Holdings Inc., two Communication Equipment stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Economically these occupy different links of the same chain: Ericsson assembles cellular networks end to end, Lumentum makes the photonic components that AI datacenters are suddenly desperate for. The market has decided the component maker owns the future, 147.1 times earnings against 13.5, an elevenfold gap between two businesses whose operating margins sit within six points of each other, 21.6% and 16.3%. Lumentum carries 1.1 turns of debt to equity and yields almost nothing in free cash, 0.2%; Ericsson is debt-free and yields 7.9%. Every conventional metric favors the cheap one. The expensive one has the AI order book, and the market is not pretending otherwise.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | ERIC | LITE |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $10.96 | $814.63 |
| Market cap | $36.5B | $78.4B |
| Sector | Communication Equipment | Communication Equipment |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| P/E | 13.5 | 147.1 |
| P/B | 3.48 | 26.36 |
| P/S | 1.62 | 31.49 |
| EV/EBITDA | 7.1 | 222.8 |
| Revenue growth | +0.9% | +67.5% |
| Gross margin | 47.6% | 44.2% |
| Operating margin | 16.3% | 21.6% |
| Net margin | 12.1% | 17.7% |
| Return on equity | 26.0% | 14.8% |
| Return on assets | 10.3% | 6.3% |
| Return on invested capital | 26.3% | 3.0% |
| FCF yield | 7.9% | 0.1% |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 1.10 |
| Current ratio | 1.29 | 1.14 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.77 | 6.40 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.