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Dolby Laboratories
(NYSE:DLB)
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Rating:77Outperform
Price Target:
$68.00
▲(36.38% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:08/04/26
DLB’s score is driven primarily by strong underlying financial quality—exceptional margins, strong free-cash-flow generation, and a very conservative balance sheet. The latest earnings call supports the outlook with strong Q4/FY26 guidance and continued shareholder returns, but execution and timing risks around large deals/MVCs remain. Technically, the uptrend is intact, though overbought indicators raise near-term pullback risk, and valuation looks only moderately attractive at ~24.7x earnings despite the ~2.4% yield.
Positive Factors
Licensing business model & patent moat
Dolby's core licensing model and extensive patent/trademark portfolio generate recurring per-unit royalties and multiyear agreements with device makers, chip vendors and content platforms. That creates durable, scalable revenue streams tied to device/content cycles and certification stickiness, supporting steady cash flow over multiple device generations.
Negative Factors
Revenue decline & growth volatility
A sharp TTM revenue decline and only modest annual growth in recent years point to uneven demand and mix shifts. Persistent top-line volatility makes earnings and cash-flow forecasting harder, can compress reinvestment capacity, and may slow the pace of long-term margin or return expansion over the next several quarters.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Licensing business model & patent moat
Dolby's core licensing model and extensive patent/trademark portfolio generate recurring per-unit royalties and multiyear agreements with device makers, chip vendors and content platforms. That creates durable, scalable revenue streams tied to device/content cycles and certification stickiness, supporting steady cash flow over multiple device generations.
Read all positive factors
Dolby Laboratories Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Remaining Performance Obligations
Represents the value of contracted revenue yet to be recognized, offering insight into future revenue streams and business stability.
Represents the value of contracted revenue yet to be recognized, offering insight into future revenue streams and business stability.
Data provided by:
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Dolby Laboratories (DLB) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$5.79B
Dividend Yield2.32%
Average Volume (3M)920.53K
Price to Earnings (P/E)26.1
Beta (1Y)0.84
Revenue Growth0.55%
EPS Growth-13.85%
CountryUS
Employees2,051
SectorIndustrials
Sector Strength72
IndustryInformation Technology Services
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)2.38
Shares Outstanding59,416,893
10 Day Avg. Volume794,841
30 Day Avg. Volume920,530
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-9.32
Price to Book (P/B)2.65
Price to Sales (P/S)5.14
P/FCF Ratio16.13
Enterprise Value/Market Cap<0.01
Enterprise Value/Revenue<0.01
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit<0.01
Enterprise Value/Ebitda<0.01
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$87.50Price Target Upside75.49% Upside
Rating ConsensusStrong Buy
Number of Analyst Covering3
EPS Forecast (FY)4.32
Revenue Forecast (FY)$1.42B
Dolby Laboratories Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. develops pioneering audio and visual technologies designed to enhance entertainment and communication experiences across a broad spectrum of platforms. These include cinematic venues, digital television, various transmissi...
How the Company Makes Money
Dolby primarily makes money by licensing its proprietary technologies and collecting royalties tied to the use of Dolby audio and imaging solutions in products and content distribution. A major revenue stream comes from licensing agreements with c...
Dolby Laboratories Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Jul 30, 2026
(Q3-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Nov 12, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call conveyed a broadly positive outlook driven by strong Q4 guidance (midpoint implying ~23% YoY growth), strategic momentum in high-growth initiatives (VDP, OptiView, auto, Dolby Atmos/Vision adoption), robust margins (~90% non-GAAP gross margin), healthy cash flow ($167M) and an active capital return program (buybacks and dividend +9%). Key risks include timing-dependency of some revenue (large deals and MVCs), memory cost pressure on mobile/PC that could reduce device volumes, modest declines in foundational audio/PC, and some one-time tax and restructuring impacts. Overall, the positive strategic progress and financial strength outweigh the near-term risks and timing volatility.Positive Updates
Q3 Revenue and EPS in Guidance
Reported revenue of $305M for Q3 FY26 (within prior guidance) and non-GAAP EPS of $0.69 (just above midpoint of guidance). Licensing revenue was $282M and products & services $23M.
Negative Updates
Dependence on Timing of Large Deals and MVCs
Management acknowledged that strong Q4 guidance is driven in part by timing (large VDP deal with Meta signed early in Q4 and minimum volume commitments that are back-end loaded), creating quarter-to-quarter volatility and potential sustainability/timing risk.
Read all updates
Q3-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Q3 Revenue and EPS in Guidance
Reported revenue of $305M for Q3 FY26 (within prior guidance) and non-GAAP EPS of $0.69 (just above midpoint of guidance). Licensing revenue was $282M and products & services $23M.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Management guided Q4 FY26 revenue of $362–392M (licensing $335–365M) with non‑GAAP gross margin ~90%, non‑GAAP operating expenses $195–205M and non‑GAAP EPS $1.13–1.28 (midpoint implies ~23% YoY revenue growth), citing early‑Q4 VDP deals, higher in‑car Dolby Atmos units, wearables and timing of minimum volume commitments as drivers; for FY26 they expect revenue $1.41–1.44B (licensing $1.31–1.34B), non‑GAAP operating expenses $785–795M, non‑GAAP EPS $4.25–4.40 and about a 100‑basis‑point annual non‑GAAP operating margin improvement (up from prior 50–100 bps range), with other revenue up high‑teens (auto, VDP), broadcast up mid‑single digits, mobile up mid‑single digits, CE flattish, PC down low‑single digits, and Dolby Atmos/Dolby Vision/imaging patents revenue roughly +15% YoY; Q3 actuals to date were $305M revenue ($282M licensing, $23M products & services), non‑GAAP EPS $0.69, operating cash flow ~$167M, $65M buybacks (1.2M shares), $0.36 dividend (+9% YoY), and $756M cash & investments.Dolby Laboratories Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
72
Positive
Balance Sheet
92
Very Positive
Cash Flow
78
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Sep 2025 | Sep 2024 | Sep 2023 | Sep 2022 | Sep 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 1.35B | 1.35B | 1.27B | 1.30B | 1.25B | 1.28B |
| Gross Profit | 1.19B | 1.19B | 1.13B | 1.15B | 1.11B | 1.15B |
| EBITDA | 372.80M | 378.56M | 399.81M | 345.57M | 318.89M | 450.37M |
| Net Income | 226.18M | 255.02M | 261.82M | 200.66M | 184.09M | 310.23M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 3.16B | 3.23B | 3.13B | 2.99B | 2.70B | 3.12B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 670.05M | 702.60M | 577.75M | 957.11M | 817.58M | 1.27B |
| Total Debt | 47.45M | 38.88M | 46.99M | 50.65M | 50.94M | 72.12M |
| Total Liabilities | 563.89M | 595.81M | 643.72M | 622.38M | 451.15M | 518.66M |
| Stockholders Equity | 2.58B | 2.62B | 2.48B | 2.36B | 2.25B | 2.60B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 344.50M | 430.26M | 297.25M | 336.74M | 259.12M | 393.30M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 437.60M | 472.20M | 327.25M | 367.08M | 318.58M | 447.75M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -76.55M | -10.59M | -286.29M | 54.21M | -295.94M | -44.91M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -376.78M | -247.24M | -287.81M | -236.81M | -610.56M | -252.51M |
Dolby Laboratories Technical Analysis
Positive
49.86
Price Trends
53.12
Positive
56.18
Positive
60.27
Positive
Market Momentum
2.73
Negative
76.81
Negative
94.69
Negative
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For DLB, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 49.86 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 53.97, below the 50-day MA of 53.12, and below the 200-day MA of 60.27, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 2.73 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 76.81 is Negative, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 94.69 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for DLB.
Dolby Laboratories Risk Analysis
Dolby Laboratories disclosed 11 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Dolby Laboratories reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Dolby Laboratories Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (63)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
81 Outperform | $18.98B | 17.89 | 40.25% | 2.62% | 8.19% | 40.01% | |
77 Outperform | $5.79B | 26.09 | 8.68% | 2.83% | 0.55% | -13.85% | |
76 Outperform | $107.53B | 14.12 | 25.00% | 4.44% | 6.74% | -0.66% | |
76 Outperform | $25.98B | 12.51 | 14.94% | 2.82% | 5.64% | -5.39% | |
75 Outperform | $49.94B | 15.12 | 33.03% | 4.71% | -0.64% | 5.69% | |
68 Neutral | $11.72B | 17.31 | 401.44% | ― | 0.68% | -31.71% | |
63 Neutral | $10.79B | 15.43 | 7.44% | 2.01% | 2.89% | -14.66% |
* Industrials Sector Average
DLB
Dolby Laboratories
62.10
-8.14
-11.59%
ACN
Accenture
178.25
-52.68
-22.81%
BR
Broadridge Financial Solutions
173.40
-84.76
-32.83%
CTSH
Cognizant
58.31
-9.41
-13.89%
IT
Gartner
193.17
-32.81
-14.52%
INFY
Infosys
12.56
-2.93
-18.94%
Dolby Laboratories Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyStock BuybackDividendsFinancial Disclosures
Dolby Laboratories Reports Q3 Results, Boosts Share Repurchases
Neutral
Jul 30, 2026
On July 30, 2026, Dolby Laboratories reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue of $305 million, down from $316 million a year earlier, with GAAP net income falling to $29 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, versus $46 million, or $0.48 per share...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.