Sifting through countless of stocks in the Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Badger Meter, Inc., nLIGHT or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Badger Meter, Inc., nLIGHT and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Badger Meter, Inc., nLIGHT and Inc.

Badger Meter, Inc. manufactures and markets flow measurement, quality, control, and communication solutions worldwide. It offers Utility water smart metering solutions and software technologies and services to municipal water utilities market. The company also provides flow instrumentation products, including meters, valves, and other sensing instruments to measure and control fluids going through a pipe or pipeline, including water, air, steam, and other liquids and gases to original equipment manufacturers as the primary flow measurement device within a product or system, as well as through manufacturers’ representatives. In addition, the company offers ORION Cellular endpoints to power network as a service; ORION mobile read endpoints support for deploying AMR solution; radio products; hardware, instruments, and sensors, and related software, to enhance connected data to a water utility's operation; water quality monitoring solutions, including optical sensing and electrochemical instruments; and high frequency pressure and leak detection sensors to aid in burst pipe and leak events; as well as BEACON, a secure cloud-hosted software suite that establishes alerts for specific conditions and allows consumer engagement tools that permit end water customers to view and manage their water usage activity. Its flow instrumentation products are used in water/wastewater, heating, ventilating and air conditioning, and corporate sustainability markets. The company serves water utilities, commercial, and industrial industries; and provides training, project management, technical support, and other collaborative services for customers. It sells its products and software directly, as well as through resellers and representatives. The company was incorporated in 1905 and is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

nLIGHT, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor and fiber lasers for industrial, microfabrication, and aerospace and defense applications. The company operates through two segments, Laser Products and Advanced Development. It offers semiconductor lasers with various ranges of power levels, wavelengths, and output fiber sizes; and programmable and serviceable fiber lasers for use in industrial, aerospace, and defense applications. The company also provides fiber amplifiers, beam combination, and control systems for use in high-energy laser systems in directed energy applications. It sells its products through direct sales force in the United States, China, South Korea, and European countries, as well as through independent sales representatives and distributors in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. The company was formerly known as nLight Photonics Corporation and changed its name to nLIGHT, Inc. in January 2016. nLIGHT, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Camas, Washington.

Latest Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components and Badger Meter, Inc., nLIGHT, Inc. Stock News

As of January 14, 2026, Badger Meter, Inc. had a $5.0 billion market capitalization, compared to the Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components median of $832.2 million. Badger Meter, Inc.’s stock is down 2.1% in 2026, down 1.9% in the previous five trading days and down 17.28% in the past year.

Currently, Badger Meter, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 36.5. Badger Meter, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $901.1 million with a 15.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 13.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.810 per share for the current fiscal year. Badger Meter, Inc. currently has a 0.9% dividend yield.

As of January 14, 2026, nLIGHT, Inc. had a $2.2 billion market cap, putting it in the 56th percentile of all stocks. nLIGHT, Inc.’s stock is up 18.9% in 2026, up 11.4% in the previous five trading days and up 293.17% in the past year.

Currently, nLIGHT, Inc. does not have a price-earnings ratio. nLIGHT, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $227.5 million with a -19.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 18.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $0.214 per share for the current fiscal year. nLIGHT, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Badger Meter, Inc., nLIGHT and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Badger Meter, Inc., nLIGHT and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Badger Meter, Inc., nLIGHT and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Badger Meter, Inc.	BMI	F
nLIGHT, Inc.	LASR	F

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Badger Meter, Inc. has a Value Score of 14, which is Ultra Expensive. nLIGHT, Inc. has a Value Score of 6, which is Ultra Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Badger Meter, Inc., nLIGHT or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Badger Meter, Inc., nLIGHT or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Badger Meter, Inc., nLIGHT and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Badger Meter, Inc.	BMI	A
nLIGHT, Inc.	LASR	F

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Badger Meter, Inc. has a Growth Score of 91, which is Very Strong. nLIGHT, Inc. has a Growth Score of 13, which is Very Weak.

The Growth Grade Winner: Badger Meter, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Badger Meter, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than nLIGHT, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Badger Meter, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Badger Meter, Inc., nLIGHT and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Badger Meter, Inc.	BMI	A
nLIGHT, Inc.	LASR	D

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Badger Meter, Inc. has a Quality Score of 86, which is Very Strong. nLIGHT, Inc. has a Quality Score of 39, which is Weak.

The Quality Grade Winner: Badger Meter, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Badger Meter, Inc. has a better overall quality grade than nLIGHT, Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Badger Meter, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Badger Meter, Inc., nLIGHT and Inc. Grades

In addition to Value, Quality and Growth, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Estimate Revisions.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Badger Meter, Inc., nLIGHT and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Badger Meter, Inc., nLIGHT or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Badger Meter, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 14, Growth Score of 91 and Quality Score of 86.

nLIGHT, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 6, Growth Score of 13 and Quality Score of 39.

Comparing Badger Meter, Inc., nLIGHT and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.