ASTS
AST SpaceMobile, Inc.
ASTS offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
PLAB
Photronics, Inc.
PLAB has the edge over ASTS overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger valuation.
ASTS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Weak | |
| Weak | |
| Unavailable |
ASTS's revenue is currently healthy, but its profitability and cash flow are weak. There isn't enough data to rate its balance sheet.
PLAB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
PLAB's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently strong, and its revenue is stable.
ASTS PE Valuation
ASTS has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
PLAB PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 9.9x | $27.88 | — |
| Cheap | 10x | $28.49 | +2.2% |
| Fair | 13x | $37.09 | +33% |
| Forward | 13x | $27.88 | — |
| Expensive | 22x | $62.33 | +124% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PLAB's PE is in its cheap range at 9.8x. On analysts' estimates for next year's earnings, today's price would be 13x, in its fair range.
ASTS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses growing | |
| Strong growth | |
| -- | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect ASTS's losses to grow, with revenue growing. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
PLAB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect PLAB's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
ASTS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$2.15 | -$0.91 |
| Q2 2026 | -$2.16 | -$0.27 |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.80 | +$0.19 |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.34 | +$0.61 |
| Q3 2025 | -$1.24 | +$0.88 |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.89 | -$0.64 |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.99 | -$1.01 |
| Q4 2022 | -$0.58 | -$0.21 |
ASTS is still losing money, but far less than before: $2.15 per share over the past year, against $5.76 at its worst in mid-2021.
PLAB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.09 | -26% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.83 | +61% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.73 | +42% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.34 | -0.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.28 | +9.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.76 | -22% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.92 | -11% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.35 | +5.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.09 | +3% |
PLAB has the edge over ASTS on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
ASTS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $42.3M | +187% |
| Q2 2026 | $31.5M | +2627% |
| Q1 2026 | $14.7M | +1952% |
| Q4 2025 | $54.3M | +2731% |
| Q3 2025 | $14.7M | +1240% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.2M | +28% |
| Q1 2025 | $718K | +44% |
| Q3 2022 | $4.2M | +70% |
ASTS has the edge over PLAB on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -415% | +694 points |
| Q2 2026 | -948% | +10744 points |
| Q1 2026 | -1686% | +7083 points |
| Q4 2025 | -175% | +2446 points |
| Q3 2025 | -1109% | +4850 points |
| Q2 2025 | -11692% | -4693 points |
| Q1 2025 | -8769% | +2331 points |
| Q4 2024 | -2621% | N/A |
ASTS's operating margin was −415% last quarter, up 694 points from the same quarter a year ago.
PLAB Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $216M | +2.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $209.9M | -0.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $225.1M | +6.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $215.8M | -3.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $210.4M | -0.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $211M | -2.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $212.1M | -1.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $222.6M | -2.1% |
PLAB's revenue grew through 2022 and has held roughly level since: $216M last quarter, up 2.7% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 21% | -1.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 20% | -6.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 24% | -0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 24% | -0.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 23% | -1.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 26% | +0.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 25% | -2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 25% | -3.4 points |
PLAB has the edge over ASTS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ASTS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$464.2M | -$161.4M |
| Q2 2026 | -$694.8M | -$341.1M |
| Q1 2026 | -$309.7M | -$160.7M |
| Q4 2025 | -$330.7M | -$220.3M |
| Q3 2025 | -$302.9M | -$239.1M |
| Q2 2025 | -$353.6M | -$315.3M |
| Q1 2025 | -$149M | -$61.3M |
| Q4 2024 | -$110.5M | -$63.2M |
ASTS has burned cash in almost every quarter: −$1.8B over the past year, against −$916M the year before.
PLAB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $39.4M | +56% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2M | +$30.3M |
| Q1 2026 | $49.6M | +15% |
| Q4 2025 | $20.3M | -19% |
| Q3 2025 | $25.2M | -50% |
| Q2 2025 | -$29.1M | -152% |
| Q1 2025 | $43.3M | +$45.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $25.2M | -54% |
PLAB has the edge over ASTS on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
ASTS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.4% | +1.1M shares |
| 1 year | +10% | +27.3M shares |
| 3 years | +235% | +211M shares |
| 5 years | +480% | +248M shares |
| Available history | +944% | +271M shares |
ASTS has 300M diluted shares, up 10% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q2 2023 | — |
PLAB Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -27K shares |
| 1 year | +1.1% | +650K shares |
| 3 years | -5.3% | -3.3M shares |
| 5 years | -4.5% | -2.8M shares |
| Available history | -15% | -10.4M shares |
PLAB has the edge over ASTS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $20.7M |
| Q2 2025 | $72.1M |
| Q1 2025 | $4.6M |
| Q4 2023 | — |
PLAB hasn't bought back shares in the past year.
ASTS Net Leverage
ASTS's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
PLAB Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -2.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
PLAB has more cash than debt.
ASTS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 34.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 11.9 | Oversold |
ASTS's weekly RSI is 34 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 12 (oversold).
PLAB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 42.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 15.9 | Oversold |
PLAB's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 16 (oversold).
ASTS PE vs Technology Sector
ASTS has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
PLAB PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | PLAB | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 9.9x | 28x | 65% below |
| PE % | 14 | 35 | 21 pts below |
PLAB is trading at 9.8x earnings, a 65% discount to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
ASTS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $44.9 | 23% below |
| 20 week MA | $57.1 | 40% below |
| 50 week MA | $75.5 | 54% below |
| 100 week MA | $57.8 | 40% below |
| 200 week MA | $33.6 | 2.8% above |
ASTS has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 2.8% above its 200-week average.
PLAB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $28.8 | 3% below |
| 20 week MA | $29.5 | 5.4% below |
| 50 week MA | $34.6 | 19% below |
| 100 week MA | $27.9 | 0.1% below |
| 200 week MA | $25.7 | 8.3% above |
PLAB has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 8.3% above its 200-week average.
ASTS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $9.87 | $13.4 | +36% |
| 2021 | $13.4 | $8.71 | -35% |
| 2022 | $8.71 | $3.97 | -54% |
| 2023 | $3.97 | $6.03 | +52% |
| 2024 | $6.03 | $22.9 | +280% |
| 2025 | $22.9 | $72.0 | +214% |
| 2026 YTD | $72.0 | $34.5 | -52% |
ASTS's yearly returns have swung widely, from +280% in 2024 to −54% in 2022. It's down 52% so far in 2026.
PLAB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $15.8 | $11.0 | -30% |
| 2021 | $11.0 | $18.5 | +68% |
| 2022 | $18.5 | $16.4 | -11% |
| 2023 | $16.4 | $31.4 | +91% |
| 2024 | $31.4 | $23.9 | -24% |
| 2025 | $23.9 | $33.7 | +41% |
| 2026 YTD | $33.7 | $27.9 | -17% |
PLAB has the edge over ASTS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.