AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
CDW
CDW Corporation
CDW 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.
CDW Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Stable |
CDW's revenue and profitability are currently healthy, and its cash flow and balance sheet 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.
CDW PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 14x | $173 | — |
| Cheap | 19x | $166 | -4.2% |
| Current | 20x | $173 | — |
| Fair | 24x | $205 | +19% |
| Expensive | 28x | $243 | +41% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CDW's PE is in its cheap range at 20x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 14x next year's earnings.
AAOI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
AAOI has the edge over CDW on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
CDW Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CDW, with profitability holding steady.
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.
CDW Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $12.14 | +42% |
| Q3 2026 | $8.56 | +8.1% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.31 | +3.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.21 | +1.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.08 | +1.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.92 | -3.2% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.05 | -1.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.07 | +0.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.97 | -1.6% |
CDW 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 CDW 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.
CDW Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $6.8B | +18% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.6B | +10% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.7B | +9.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.5B | +6.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.7B | +4% |
| Q2 2025 | $6B | +10% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.2B | +6.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.2B | +3.3% |
CDW's revenue has grown year over year for eight quarters in a row: $6.8B last quarter, up 18% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 7.3% | -0.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 6.5% | -0.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 6.6% | -0.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.8% | -0.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 7.7% | -1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 7% | -1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 7% | +0.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 7.9% | -0.8 points |
CDW 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.
CDW Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $372M | +25% |
| Q2 2026 | -$82.6M | -162% |
| Q1 2026 | $248.4M | -4.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $395.9M | +25% |
| Q3 2025 | $298.5M | -3.2% |
| Q2 2025 | $133.4M | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $260.3M | -37% |
| Q4 2024 | $316.7M | -37% |
CDW 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.
CDW Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.3% | -1.7M shares |
| 1 year | -4.6% | -6.1M shares |
| 3 years | -7.5% | -10.2M shares |
| 5 years | -9.8% | -13.7M shares |
| Available history | -15% | -22.1M shares |
CDW has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $108M |
| Q2 2026 | $343.7M |
| Q1 2026 | $201M |
| Q4 2025 | $153M |
| Q3 2025 | $149.9M |
| Q2 2025 | $150M |
| Q1 2025 | $200.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $146M |
CDW spent $806M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 25% from the year before.
AAOI Net Leverage
AAOI's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
CDW Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.7x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 2.7x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.8x | Moderate |
CDW's net debt is about 2.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as 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).
CDW Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 63.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 81.9 | Overbought |
CDW's weekly RSI is 64 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 82 (overbought).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
CDW PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | CDW | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 20x | 28x | 28% below |
| PE % | 19 | 35 | 16 pts below |
CDW is trading at 20x earnings, a 28% discount 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 fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 43% above its 200-week average.
CDW Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $151.3 | 14% above |
| 20 week MA | $145.8 | 19% above |
| 50 week MA | $135.1 | 28% above |
| 100 week MA | $152.1 | 14% above |
| 200 week MA | $180.9 | 4.5% below |
CDW 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 CDW on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
CDW Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $144.0 | $129.2 | -10% |
| 2021 | $129.2 | $202.8 | +57% |
| 2022 | $202.8 | $178.1 | -12% |
| 2023 | $178.1 | $227.3 | +28% |
| 2024 | $227.3 | $175.8 | -23% |
| 2025 | $175.8 | $139.7 | -21% |
| 2026 YTD | $139.7 | $172.8 | +24% |
CDW has finished lower in four of the last six years. It's up 24% so far in 2026.