"5 Down, 1 Up: How Global Laser Giants Are Reinventing Themselves in 2024"

March 8, 2025

The 2024 financial reports of six leading laser companies—IPG, Coherent, MKS, nLight, Bystronic, and Lumentum—reveal a stark divergence in performance, reflecting the seismic shifts reshaping the global laser industry. With only Coherent posting revenue growth (+14% YoY to RMB 38.5B) and others grappling with declines or losses, the data underscores a pivotal truth: survival now hinges on strategic agility and niche market dominance.

---

### Key Financial Highlights

1?? IPG Photonics:

- Revenue: RMB 71.25B (-24% YoY), Profit: RMB -11.84B (-159% YoY).

- Strategic Pivot: Doubling down on medical lasers (new thulium laser for urology) and compact 40kW fiber lasers (30% cost reduction).

- Core Challenge: High-power CW laser sales plunged 34%, signaling erosion in its traditional stronghold.

2?? Coherent:

- Revenue: RMB 385B (+14% YoY), Profit: RMB 930M (vs. RMB -269M loss in 2023).

- Growth Drivers: AI-driven data communications (+79% in sales), SiC expansion (backed by $1B Denso/Mitsubishi investment), and quantum fiber breakthroughs.

3?? MKS Instruments:

- Revenue: RMB 262B (-0.9% YoY), Profit: RMB 1.38B (-89% YoY).

- Focus: Femtosecond lasers for battery cutting and 150kW sensors for defense. R&D surged to RMB 500M in Q3, targeting AI chip packaging.

4?? nLIGHT:

- 6-Year Losing Streak: Cumulative losses hit RMB 1.61B, with 2024 revenue at RMB 14.4B (-5.5% YoY).

- Survival Playbook: Exiting China, shifting to defense (55% of sales) and directed-energy weapons via acquisitions.

5?? Bystronic:

- Revenue: RMB 52.43B (-28% YoY), Loss: RMB 5.47B (-263% YoY).

- Restructuring: Capacity cuts and vertical integration aim for RMB 500M annual savings by 2025.

6?? Lumentum:

- Revenue: RMB 103.4B (-1.4% YoY), Loss: RMB 3.79B.

- Bright Spots: 200G EML deployments for AI data centers and ultrafast lasers in semiconductor packaging.

### Industry-Wide Trends

- From Scale to Value: Price wars and oversupply (e.g., Chinese 10kW laser prices halved since 2020) are forcing giants to pivot.

- Niche Domination: Success hinges on AI/cloud infrastructure (Coherent, Lumentum), medical devices (IPG), and defense (nLight).

- Tech Leapfrogging: Ultrafast lasers, quantum fibers, and SiC epitaxy are becoming battlegrounds for next-gen supremacy.

---

### Strategic Lessons for Leaders

1?? Embrace Vertical Integration: Coherent’s SiC partnerships and MKS’s Asian manufacturing hubs highlight supply chain resilience as a competitive edge.

2?? Bet on Cross-Industry Synergy: IPG’s medical foray and Lumentum’s AI-driven photonics show how adjacent markets can offset core declines.

3?? Rethink Geopolitical Risks: nLight’s exit from China and Bystronic’s Americas-focused agriculture pivot underscore regional diversification.

---

### The Road Ahead

While 2024 was a year of reckoning, 2025 promises sharper forks in the road:

- Winners: Companies leveraging AI infrastructure, advanced materials (SiC, InP), and defense tech will likely outpace peers.

- Watchlists: Monitor IPG’s medical ramp-up, Coherent’s quantum initiatives, and Lumentum’s 200G EML adoption in hyperscale data centers.

Final Thought: The laser industry’s future belongs not to the biggest, but to the most adaptive—those rewriting playbooks at the intersection of light, data, and industrial transformation.

#LaserTechnology #IndustryTrends #StrategicPivot #Innovation #AI

*Data sources: industry report