What Display Daily thinks: You can’t make money in microdisplays. That was just a clickbait-y title. I mean, really.
However, Kopin is an interesting “success” story in the microdisplay industry. It is successful because it gets multiple multi-million dollar orders. It seems to be winning orders from defense departments around the world. Yet, it loses money, and it cannot consistently maintain revenue growth.
The definition of success in microdisplays is that you can keep promising the next wave of growth and opportunity every year and always be just a few months away from the tide turning in your favor.
Microdisplays are really, really expensive businesses to maintain.
The proof that a technology is evolving comes in two parts: improvements in processes, and rising adoption by the market. We could debate the improvements in processes part for microdisplays, but we don’t need to argue that rising adoption is not there.
So, do the math, and do the common sense thing and have your grandpa assess the market. He would say, “Everyone likes the idea of your grandmother’s cooking but no one’s got the stomach for it.”
There’s something not quite right about microdisplays. Maybe the smell, the texture, or the taste. Whatever it is, it just doesn’t feel like it is a display business. And if you ever doubt what I say, which wouldn’t make you special in any way, then take a look at this sad tale of a company that banked on the two things that break your heart in this industry, MicroLED and Apple.
Kopin’s Big Order in India
Kopin is a company that specializes in developing and manufacturing high-performance microdisplays and other optical solutions for a variety of markets. Their products include tiny LCD, OLED, and LCOS displays. These microdisplays are used in several applications across defense, industrial, and consumer markets.
Kopin also loves to put out press releases all of the time. The recent one says, it has secured a third production order for its OLED microdisplays from the Indian Armed Forces. The order, which includes over 1,200 units, is set to be delivered over the next six months. That’s about all there is of importance here.
And a few weeks ago, we got the company’s financials. For the fourth quarter, the company saw revenues of $8.6 million, down from $12.2 million in the same quarter the previous year. The annual revenues for 2023 totaled $40.4 million, a decrease from $47.4 million in 2022.
The company did want you to know that it had experienced five consecutive quarters of positive book-to-bill, indicating strong future orders, and was anticipating at least 20% revenue growth in 2024. This expected growth is supported by a significant number of orders, according to the company, including a $6.0 million follow-on order for a Thermal Weapon Sight Program and a $20.5 million contract for a new thermal weapon sight configuration.
The financials for 2023 reflect a net loss of $19.7 million, which is comparable to a net loss of $19.3 million, in 2022.
