AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
BLZE
Backblaze, Inc.
BLZE has the edge over AAOI overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and lower modeled downside.
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.
BLZE Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
BLZE's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, but its profitability is under pressure.
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.
BLZE PE Valuation
BLZE has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
BLZE Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for BLZE, 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.
BLZE Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.31 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$0.31 | +$0.36 |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.34 | +$0.55 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.39 | +$0.62 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.46 | +$0.65 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.67 | +$0.45 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.89 | +$0.38 |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.01 | +$0.42 |
| Q4 2024 | -$1.11 | +$0.55 |
BLZE has the edge over AAOI on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 BLZE 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 has the edge over BLZE on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
BLZE Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $46.7M | +26% |
| Q2 2026 | $42.7M | +18% |
| Q1 2026 | $38.7M | +12% |
| Q4 2025 | $37.8M | +12% |
| Q3 2025 | $37.2M | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $36.3M | +16% |
| Q1 2025 | $34.6M | +15% |
| Q4 2024 | $33.8M | +18% |
BLZE's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since early 2021: $47M last quarter, up 26% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -3% | +5.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | -9.8% | +8.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | -14% | +12 points |
| Q4 2025 | -12% | +28 points |
| Q3 2025 | -8.9% | +29 points |
| Q2 2025 | -19% | +13 points |
| Q1 2025 | -26% | +9.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | -41% | -0.3 points |
BLZE's operating margin was −3% last quarter, up 5.9 points from the same quarter a year ago.
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.
BLZE Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $6.1M | +134% |
| Q2 2026 | $9.6M | +249% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.7M | -39% |
| Q4 2025 | $9M | +543% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.6M | -41% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.8M | +41% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.4M | +48% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4M | -50% |
BLZE 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.
BLZE Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +2.9% | +1.7M shares |
| 1 year | +9.8% | +5.6M shares |
| 3 years | +71% | +25.9M shares |
| 5 years | +230% | +43.6M shares |
| Available history | +236% | +43.9M shares |
BLZE has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | $566,000 |
| Q1 2026 | $809,000 |
| Q4 2025 | $798,000 |
| Q2 2021 | — |
| Q1 2021 | — |
| Q4 2020 | — |
| Q3 2020 | — |
BLZE spent $2M 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.
BLZE Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | -3.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -5.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -14.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2021 | -1.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2021 | 4.0x | High |
| Q1 2021 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2020 | 2.9x | Moderate |
BLZE's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA), after holding more cash than debt 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).
BLZE Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 44.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 8.5 | Oversold |
BLZE's weekly RSI is 44 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 8 (oversold).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
BLZE PE vs Technology Sector
BLZE has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
BLZE Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $10.2 | 14% below |
| 20 week MA | $13.0 | 33% below |
| 50 week MA | $8.48 | 3.7% above |
| 100 week MA | $7.47 | 18% above |
| 200 week MA | $7.00 | 26% above |
BLZE 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's yearly returns have swung widely, from +891% in 2023 to −65% in 2022. It's up 42% so far in 2026.
BLZE Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $22.0 | $18.7 | -15% |
| 2022 | $18.7 | $5.67 | -70% |
| 2023 | $5.67 | $7.59 | +34% |
| 2024 | $7.59 | $6.23 | -18% |
| 2025 | $6.23 | $4.84 | -22% |
| 2026 YTD | $4.84 | $8.79 | +82% |
BLZE has the edge over AAOI on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.