AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
BL
BlackLine, Inc.
BL has the edge over AAOI overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger valuation.
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.
BL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
BL's cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and profitability are stable.
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.
BL PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 11x | $28.48 | — |
| Cheap | 41x | $26.87 | -5.7% |
| Current | 44x | $28.48 | — |
| Fair | 68x | $44.36 | +56% |
| Expensive | 95x | $61.45 | +116% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BL's PE is in its cheap range at 44x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 11x next year's earnings.
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.
BL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for BL, with profitability improving.
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.
BL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.66 | +310% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.65 | -41% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.56 | -57% |
| Q1 2024 | $1.18 | +$1.70 |
| Q4 2023 | $0.81 | +$1.30 |
| Q3 2023 | $0.64 | +$1.96 |
| Q2 2023 | $0.11 | +$1.32 |
| Q1 2023 | -$0.52 | +$0.95 |
| Q4 2022 | -$0.49 | +$1.48 |
BL 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 BL 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.
BL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $193.4M | +8.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $187.8M | +9.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $183.2M | +9.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $183.2M | +8.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $178.3M | +7.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $172M | +7.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $166.9M | +6% |
| Q4 2024 | $169.5M | +8.8% |
BL's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $193M last quarter, up 8.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 8.7% | +4.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 5.8% | +1.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 3.4% | +1.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 3.7% | +0.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 4.3% | -0.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 4.4% | +3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 2.1% | +1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 3.7% | -4.6 points |
BL 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.
BL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $64.5M | +1.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $43.1M | +37% |
| Q1 2026 | $44.2M | +8.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $26.1M | -39% |
| Q3 2025 | $63.3M | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $31.4M | -22% |
| Q1 2025 | $40.8M | -19% |
| Q4 2024 | $43M | +7.2% |
BL 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.
BL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.1% | -741K shares |
| 1 year | +7.3% | +4.6M shares |
| 3 years | -5.5% | -4M shares |
| 5 years | +16% | +9.6M shares |
| Available history | +23% | +12.5M shares |
BL has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $38.7M |
| Q2 2026 | $38.5M |
| Q1 2026 | $46M |
| Q4 2025 | $34.8M |
| Q3 2025 | $111.9M |
| Q2 2025 | $43.3M |
| Q1 2025 | $45.5M |
BL spent $158M buying back its own shares over the past year.
AAOI Net Leverage
AAOI's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
BL Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -3.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -3.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -5.4x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -5.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -6.2x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -6.9x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -12.9x | Net Cash |
BL has more cash than debt.
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).
BL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 44.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 40.7 | Neutral |
BL's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 41 (neutral).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
BL PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | BL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 44x | 28x | 57% above |
| PE % | 22 | 35 | 13 pts below |
BL is trading at 44x earnings, a 57% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
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 the edge over BL on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
BL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $29.7 | 4.2% below |
| 20 week MA | $30.1 | 5.3% below |
| 50 week MA | $35.8 | 20% below |
| 100 week MA | $44.8 | 36% below |
| 200 week MA | $51.0 | 44% below |
BL is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 44% below its 200-week average.
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 BL on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
BL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $52.4 | $137.8 | +163% |
| 2021 | $137.8 | $103.9 | -25% |
| 2022 | $103.9 | $65.8 | -37% |
| 2023 | $65.8 | $62.4 | -5.1% |
| 2024 | $62.4 | $61.2 | -2% |
| 2025 | $61.2 | $57.8 | -5.6% |
| 2026 YTD | $57.8 | $28.5 | -51% |
BL has finished five years in a row lower, and it's down 51% so far in 2026.