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what it is
It sells OLED materials and patents that help screens glow in phones, watches, and TVs.
how it gets paid
Last year Universal Display made $651M in revenue. Licensing and royalties was the main engine at $0.29B, or 45% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 0.5% last year. EPS → profit per share → $1.39 beat the $1.07 estimate by 29.9%.
what just happened
The quarter beat by 29.9% on EPS, while revenue reached $478M.
At a glance
A balance sheet — strong enough to weather a downturn
75/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable
19.4x trailing p/e — priced about right
2.2% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
18.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 58/100 — below average
What they do
It sells OLED materials and patents that help screens glow in phones, watches, and TVs.
Universal Display owns more than 3,000 patents. That is a legal wall, not a slogan. If your phone uses OLED, it gets paid through licensing fees and materials sales, while 469 employees keep the tollbooth running.
How they make money
$651M
annual revenue · their business grew +0.5% last year
Licensing and royalties
$0.29B
+0.5%
OLED materials
$0.25B
+1.0%
Contract R&D
$0.06B
+2.0%
Support services
$0.03B
flat
Other
$0.02B
1.0%
The products that matter
patented materials and IP licensing
OLED Materials & Licenses
$650.6M revenue · effectively the whole business
it produced essentially all of the company's $650.6M in annual revenue. when this line grows, OLED grows. when it stalls, there is nowhere else to hide.
100% of revenue
Key numbers
$121
18-mo target
That is $22.37 above the current $98.63, or 23% upside. You are paying less than the target price being assigned to the stock.
38.2%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit from the core business → 38.2% means nearly $38 keeps working for every $100 sold.
18.0%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit from each dollar invested → 18% says this niche IP business squeezes a lot out of its asset base.
3,000+
patents
Patents → legal claims on inventions → more than 3,000 make it harder for customers to walk away cheaply.
Financial health
A
strength
- balance sheet grade A — very strong financial position
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 35 / 100
- net profit margin 27.5% — keeps 28 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 18% — $0.18 profit for every $1 investors have put in
A — among the top-rated companies for balance sheet quality.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in OLED 3 years ago → it's now worth $7,210.
The index would have given you $14,540.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
The quarter beat by 29.9% on EPS, while revenue reached $478M.
The consensus feed says $1.39 in EPS versus a $1.07 estimate. EDGAR's EPS figure of $3.68 conflicts with that print, so the safe takeaway is the beat and the 76.4% gross margin.
$478M
revenue
$1.39
eps
76.4%
gross margin
the number that mattered
EPS → profit per share → $1.39 beat the $1.07 estimate by 29.9%, which kept the market focused on margin instead of slowdown.
-
the investment community continues to display tendencies toward universal display stock.
-
at the recent quotation, these shares have decreased an additional 20% since our mid-december report, and rest near a multi-year low.the ongoing exodus is not too surprising given the company’s string of uneven financial results in the past couple of years.
-
although universal ended 2025 on a solid note, whereby revenues and earnings advanced 6.5% and 44.8%, to $173 million and $1.39 a share, respectively, this did little to stoke investor enthusiasm.
-
perhaps the more-tepid 2025 full-year top- and bottom-line increases of 0.4% and 9.2%, to $650.6 million and $5.08 a share, respectively, have given investors some reason for pause.
-
we forecast that revenues and earnings will progress at single-digit paces in 2026 and 2027.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is OLED adoption and customer demand staying soft while the entire model depends on one patent-driven product stack.
med
customer demand wobble hits everything at once
All $650.6M of annual revenue comes from OLED materials and licenses. If panel makers slow orders or push out product cycles, the whole income statement feels it.
Full-year revenue grew only 0.4%. That is a reminder that this business can look flat fast.
med
patent leverage fades over time
The moat is the patent wall and the emitter chemistry behind it. If customers gain alternatives, negotiate harder, or benefit from aging IP, the 34% net margin gets less durable.
This is a margin story as much as a growth story. Pressure on pricing would hit the part of the model investors actually pay for.
med
the expected recovery may stay modest
Current estimates call for $680M of revenue in 2026 after $650.6M in 2025. If that recovery slips, a 19.4x earnings multiple stops looking like patience and starts looking like dead money.
Three years of owning the stock turned $10,000 into $7,210. You already know what stalled expectations look like.
When one technology family funds 100% of revenue, any slowdown in OLED demand or any loss of pricing power goes straight at the heart of the thesis.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
full-year revenue reacceleration
$680M is the current 2026 revenue estimate versus $650.6M in 2025. If growth cannot clearly move above the 0.4% pace of last year, the recovery case weakens.
trend
whether Q4 strength repeats
Q4 revenue rose 6.5% to $173M and EPS jumped 44.8% to $1.39. You want to see that strength show up in more than one quarter.
risk
institutional selling pressure
Two straight quarters of net selling is not fatal, but 157 buyers versus 201 sellers says big money has been trimming, not pressing.
calendar
next earnings for proof, not promises
This story now needs follow-through. Another quarter of modest demand would keep the stock in the penalty box.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
below average
momentum score 4 — in human-speak, analysts think this stock is more likely to lag than lead over the next stretch.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 — this is not a bunker stock, but it is not a disaster candidate either.
chart momentum
average
technical score 3 — the chart is not giving you a clean reversal signal yet.
earnings predictability
75 / 100
The business is usually readable. The issue is not surprise. The issue is whether growth comes back.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net selling for 2 consecutive quarters — 157 buyers vs. 201 sellers in 4q2025. total institutional holdings: 39.3M shares. net selling for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$70
$171
$99
current price
$121
target midpoint · +23% from current · 3-5yr high: $235 (+140% · 25% ann'l return)
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