AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
AFRM
Affirm Holdings, Inc.
AFRM has the edge over AAOI overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger fundamentals.
AAOI Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak | |
| Unavailable |
AAOI's revenue is currently strong, but its profitability and cash flow are under pressure. There isn't enough data to rate its balance sheet.
AFRM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Weak |
AFRM's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, but its balance sheet is weak.
AAOI PE Valuation
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year. If it returns to profit as analysts expect, today's price would be 18x next year's earnings.
AFRM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 11x | $65.84 | — |
| Cheap | 14x | $82.33 | +25% |
| Forward | 30x | $65.84 | — |
| Fair | 68x | $393 | +497% |
| Expensive | 113x | $651 | +889% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
AFRM's PE is 11x, but its earnings don't support one, so it isn't a reliable read right now.
AAOI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect AAOI to return to profit, with revenue growing. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
AFRM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for AFRM, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
AAOI Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.98 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$0.42 | +$3.02 |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.77 | +$2.81 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.65 | +$3.43 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.64 | +$3.86 |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.44 | -$1.41 |
| Q2 2025 | -$3.58 | -$1.70 |
| Q1 2025 | -$4.08 | -$2.29 |
| Q4 2024 | -$4.50 | -$2.75 |
AAOI is still losing money, but far less than before: $0.42 per share over the past year, against $4.50 at its worst in late 2024.
AFRM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.21 | -62% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.77 | +736% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.53 | +3587% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.12 | +$1.32 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.83 | +$1.47 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.69 | +$2.10 |
| Q2 2025 | $0.15 | +$1.82 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.20 | +$2.03 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.64 | +$1.85 |
AFRM has the edge over AAOI on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
AAOI Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $269.9M | +127% |
| Q2 2026 | $191.9M | +86% |
| Q1 2026 | $151.1M | +51% |
| Q4 2025 | $134.3M | +34% |
| Q3 2025 | $118.6M | +82% |
| Q2 2025 | $103M | +138% |
| Q1 2025 | $99.9M | +146% |
| Q4 2024 | $100.3M | +66% |
AAOI has the edge over AFRM on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.5% | +15 points |
| Q2 2026 | -13% | +2.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | -8.6% | +0.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | -8.6% | -2.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | -15% | +10 points |
| Q2 2025 | -16% | +45 points |
| Q1 2025 | -8.9% | +44 points |
| Q4 2024 | -6.5% | +1 points |
AAOI's operating margin was −0.5% last quarter, up 15 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
AFRM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.3B | +35% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2B | +33% |
| Q1 2026 | $1B | +33% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.1B | +30% |
| Q3 2025 | $933.3M | +34% |
| Q2 2025 | $876.4M | +33% |
| Q1 2025 | $783.1M | +36% |
| Q4 2024 | $866.4M | +47% |
AFRM's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $1.3B last quarter, up 35% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | +8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 13% | +6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8.5% | +9.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 10% | +11 points |
| Q3 2025 | 6.8% | +26 points |
| Q2 2025 | 6.6% | +18 points |
| Q1 2025 | -1.1% | +27 points |
| Q4 2024 | -0.5% | +29 points |
AFRM has the edge over AAOI on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
AAOI Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$369.9M | -$291.2M |
| Q2 2026 | -$265.3M | -$174.4M |
| Q1 2026 | -$143.6M | -$64.3M |
| Q4 2025 | -$104.6M | -$51.6M |
| Q3 2025 | -$78.7M | -$58M |
| Q2 2025 | -$91M | -$86M |
| Q1 2025 | -$79.3M | -$45.1M |
| Q4 2024 | -$53M | -$48.4M |
AAOI has burned cash in almost every quarter: −$883M over the past year, against −$302M the year before.
AFRM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $144.6M | -55% |
| Q2 2026 | $229.3M | +875% |
| Q1 2026 | $325.1M | +107% |
| Q4 2025 | $118M | -56% |
| Q3 2025 | $320.2M | +110% |
| Q2 2025 | $23.5M | -23% |
| Q1 2025 | $157.4M | -2.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $268.1M | +654% |
AFRM has the edge over AAOI on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
AAOI Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +7.7% | +6.3M shares |
| 1 year | +39% | +24.5M shares |
| 3 years | +168% | +55.1M shares |
| 5 years | +224% | +60.7M shares |
| Available history | +340% | +67.9M shares |
AAOI has 88M diluted shares, up 39% from a year ago.
AFRM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.8% | +2.9M shares |
| 1 year | +1% | +3.5M shares |
| 3 years | +16% | +47.9M shares |
| 5 years | +29% | +80.1M shares |
| Available history | +68% | +142M shares |
AFRM has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
AAOI Net Leverage
AAOI's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
AFRM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 9.5x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 11.3x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 11.8x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 15.1x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 17.9x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 45.4x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 755.3x | High |
AFRM's net debt is about 9.5 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 18 years a year ago.
AAOI Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 35.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 4.8 | Oversold |
AAOI's weekly RSI is 35 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 5 (oversold).
AFRM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 44.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 14.7 | Oversold |
AFRM's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 15 (oversold).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
AFRM PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | AFRM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 11x | 28x | 59% below |
| PE % | 0 | 40 | 40 pts below |
AFRM is trading at 11x earnings, a 59% discount to the Technology sector's median of 28x, though its earnings don't support one.
AAOI Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $80.2 | 34% below |
| 20 week MA | $100.6 | 47% below |
| 50 week MA | $100.3 | 47% below |
| 100 week MA | $62.3 | 15% below |
| 200 week MA | $36.9 | 43% above |
AAOI has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 43% above its 200-week average.
AFRM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $71.8 | 8.3% below |
| 20 week MA | $74.2 | 11% below |
| 50 week MA | $67.3 | 2.2% below |
| 100 week MA | $65.8 | 0% above |
| 200 week MA | $47.4 | 39% above |
AFRM has the edge over AAOI on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
AAOI Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $11.5 | $8.77 | -24% |
| 2021 | $8.77 | $5.64 | -36% |
| 2022 | $5.64 | $1.95 | -65% |
| 2023 | $1.95 | $19.3 | +891% |
| 2024 | $19.3 | $37.7 | +95% |
| 2025 | $37.7 | $37.2 | -1.5% |
| 2026 YTD | $37.2 | $52.9 | +42% |
AAOI has the edge over AFRM on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
AFRM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $117.0 | $101.2 | -14% |
| 2022 | $101.2 | $9.19 | -91% |
| 2023 | $9.19 | $49.1 | +435% |
| 2024 | $49.1 | $64.6 | +32% |
| 2025 | $64.6 | $75.8 | +17% |
| 2026 YTD | $75.8 | $65.8 | -13% |
AFRM's yearly returns have swung widely, from +435% in 2023 to −91% in 2022. It's down 13% so far in 2026.