Lumentum Holdings Inc. vs Nokia Corporation, two Communication Equipment stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Lumentum carries 1.1 turns of debt against equity and a 1.14 current ratio, a balance sheet already working hard, while Nokia holds no debt at all; the caution and the courage are distributed opposite to the multiples. The market pays 147.1 times Lumentum's earnings for AI-datacenter photonics momentum and 99.7 times Nokia's for a margin-repair story, two triple-digit multiples reached from different directions: one on compressed earnings climbing, one on collapsed earnings hoping. The operating gap is real, 21.6% against 4.5%. Free cash favors Nokia today, 3.2% against 0.15%. Two European-rooted networking names priced for futures their trailing years cannot justify; only one currently shows the future arriving.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | LITE | NOK |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $814.63 | $13.00 |
| Market cap | $78.4B | $70.4B |
| Sector | Communication Equipment | Communication Equipment |
| Stage | Growth | Mature |
| P/E | 147.1 | 99.7 |
| P/B | 26.36 | 3.08 |
| P/S | 31.49 | 3.26 |
| EV/EBITDA | 222.8 | 29.6 |
| Revenue growth | +67.5% | -2.4% |
| Gross margin | 44.2% | 43.5% |
| Operating margin | 21.6% | 4.5% |
| Net margin | 17.7% | 3.3% |
| Return on equity | 14.8% | 3.1% |
| Return on assets | 6.3% | 1.8% |
| Return on invested capital | 3.0% | 2.9% |
| FCF yield | 0.1% | 3.2% |
| Debt / equity | 1.10 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 1.14 | 1.58 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 6.40 | 3.21 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 5 / 9 |
Each week boothcheck ranks the stocks whose prices are betting on the most. Read the most stretched bets archive →
boothcheck is also on Android. Get the app on Google Play →
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.