AI Optical Leader Loses 6 Trillion Won in a Day

Coherent Corp (NASDAQ: COHR) plunged 6.67% on July 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, closing at $368.15. Its market capitalization stands at roughly $72 billion (about ₩100 trillion), meaning the company lost an estimated $4.5 billion (around ₩6 trillion) in a single trading day.

On June 16, Coherent signed a letter of intent (LOI) with the U.S. Department of Commerce under the CHIPS Act to secure up to $50 million in direct funding. The support is aimed at accelerating the expansion of its optical-component manufacturing facility for AI infrastructure in Sherman, Texas. At the same time, Nvidia has come on board as an equity investor, and major investment banks—including JPMorgan and Bank of America—have raised their price targets, fueling expectations that Coherent will be a core beneficiary of the growing AI network infrastructure market.

Coherent is a photonics and optical-communications company that supplies optical transceivers, lasers, and semiconductor-based photonic devices for data centers and telecommunications networks. Its revenues are divided across three segments: Networking, Materials, and Lasers. Originally founded in 1967 as II-VI, the company acquired laser specialist Coherent in 2022 and subsequently adopted the Coherent name. It has since attracted attention as a prime indirect beneficiary of increased investment in AI data centers.