LightPath Technologies reported results for its fiscal 2027 first quarter ended September 30, 2026, posting a 38% year‑over‑year revenue increase to $20.8 million and a record order backlog of approximately $132.9 million as of September 30, 2026. Gross profit rose to $8.6 million, bringing gross margin to 41.4%, and adjusted EBITDA was positive at $1.3 million.
LightPath Technologies: financial results and backlog
Revenue for the quarter was $20.8 million, up from $15.1 million in the same period a year earlier. Gross profit was $8.6 million (41.4% of revenue) versus $4.5 million (29.8%) in the prior year quarter. The company reported a net loss of $1.7 million, or $0.02 per basic and diluted share, compared with a net loss of $2.9 million, or $0.07 per share, in the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.27 million, or 6% of revenue, compared with $0.36 million (2% of revenue) a year earlier.
Revenue by product group for Q1 fiscal 2027 was: infrared components $4.7 million, visible components $4.6 million, assemblies and modules $10.5 million, and engineering services $0.9 million. Assemblies and modules accounted for 51% of total revenue (up from 40% a year ago). The company said assemblies and modules grew 76% year‑over‑year to $10.5 million.
Total backlog was a record approximately $132.9 million as of September 30, 2026, up 20% from $110.9 million at June 30, 2026 and up 54% from $86.0 million at September 30, 2025. Approximately $110.8 million of the backlog is requested by customers for delivery within the next twelve months.
Orders, contracts and strategic updates
LightPath said it secured more than $30 million of follow‑on counter‑unmanned aircraft system (C‑UAS) orders from July through October 2026, including more than $19 million of optical assembly orders from a leading C‑UAS and defense systems supplier (double that customer’s total for all of fiscal 2026) and an $11 million infrared camera order from a leading global technology customer. In October 2026 the company received an order from a key defense customer for over 50,000 optical assemblies for drone camera systems.
The company was awarded a funded prototype agreement under the Department of War’s Critical Low‑risk Electro‑optic Alternatives for Resilience (“CLEAR”) program to further develop BlackDiamond™ chalcogenide glass and optics as germanium alternatives for defense EO/IR systems.
LightPath completed the previously announced sale of its China subsidiary, LightPath Optical Instrumentation (Zhenjiang) Co., Ltd. (LPOIZ), as of October 30, 2026, and said it no longer has facilities or operations based in China. Management changes announced include the promotion of Michael Amorelli to VP Engineering, Imaging Systems, and the appointment of Scott Payette as Vice President of LightPath and General Manager of G5 Infrared LLC.
Operational and balance‑sheet details
Operating expenses in the quarter were $10.8 million versus $7.0 million a year earlier. The increase primarily reflected $3.7 million of higher selling, general and administrative expenses — including $1.4 million of higher non‑cash stock‑based compensation — the addition of Amorphous Materials (AML) following its January 2026 acquisition, IT investments for defense customer cybersecurity standards, and a $1.2 million increase in new product development costs. These were partially offset by a $1.1 million decrease in earnout fair value adjustments.
Cash and cash equivalents totaled $82.9 million as of September 30, 2026, down from $93.2 million at June 30, 2026. The company said the change primarily reflected a $10.1 million investment in working capital — largely advance purchases of critical materials to support customer demand and the growing backlog — and $2.5 million of capital expenditures, primarily to expand manufacturing capacity including glass fabrication. Inventories were $31.5 million at September 30, 2026, up from $18.0 million at June 30, 2026.
The company noted that the addition of AML contributed approximately $1.1 million to infrared components revenue in the quarter. On a cash‑flow basis, LightPath reported net cash used in operating activities of $8.3 million for the quarter and $2.5 million of purchases of property and equipment.
Earnings call
Management hosted an investor conference call on Tuesday, November 10, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time to discuss the quarter; dialing details and webcast information were provided in the company’s announcement.
The company reiterated forward‑looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and cautioned against placing undue reliance on them.
