AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
CGNX
Cognex Corporation
CGNX 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.
CGNX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CGNX's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
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.
CGNX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 26x | $50.77 | — |
| Current | 35x | $50.77 | — |
| Cheap | 40x | $57.69 | +14% |
| Fair | 55x | $79.70 | +57% |
| Expensive | 79x | $113 | +123% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CGNX's PE is in its cheap range at 35x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 26x 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.
CGNX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CGNX, 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.
CGNX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.94 | +35% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.44 | +122% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.04 | +44% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.85 | +23% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.68 | +9.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.65 | +27% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.72 | +60% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.69 | +21% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.62 | -4.6% |
CGNX 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 CGNX 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.
CGNX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $313.4M | +13% |
| Q2 2026 | $291.3M | +17% |
| Q1 2026 | $268.4M | +24% |
| Q4 2025 | $252.3M | +9.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $276.9M | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $249.1M | +4.1% |
| Q1 2025 | $216M | +2.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $229.7M | +17% |
CGNX's revenue has grown year over year for nine quarters in a row: $313M last quarter, up 13% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 32% | +11 points |
| Q2 2026 | 29% | +12 points |
| Q1 2026 | 22% | +10 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | +0.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 21% | +7.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | +1.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 12% | +5.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 13% | +7 points |
CGNX 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.
CGNX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $103.8M | +21% |
| Q2 2026 | $67.6M | +67% |
| Q1 2026 | $42.3M | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $72.3M | +47% |
| Q3 2025 | $86M | +66% |
| Q2 2025 | $40.4M | +74% |
| Q1 2025 | $38M | +297% |
| Q4 2024 | $49.3M | +560% |
CGNX 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.
CGNX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.6% | +1M shares |
| 1 year | +1% | +1.7M shares |
| 3 years | -1.3% | -2.3M shares |
| 5 years | -5.2% | -9.3M shares |
| Available history | -2.4% | -4.2M shares |
CGNX has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | $6.2M |
| Q1 2026 | $99M |
| Q4 2025 | $25M |
| Q3 2025 | $24M |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | $102.2M |
| Q4 2024 | $43.2M |
CGNX spent $130M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 23% 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.
CGNX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.3x | Net Cash |
CGNX 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).
CGNX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 41.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 13.4 | Oversold |
CGNX's weekly RSI is 41 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 13 (oversold).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
CGNX PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | CGNX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 35x | 28x | 27% above |
| PE % | 8 | 35 | 27 pts below |
CGNX is trading at 35x earnings, a 27% 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 fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 43% above its 200-week average.
CGNX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $56.4 | 9.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $60.9 | 17% below |
| 50 week MA | $55.1 | 7.8% below |
| 100 week MA | $45.6 | 11% above |
| 200 week MA | $44.9 | 13% above |
CGNX 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 CGNX on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
CGNX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $56.2 | $80.7 | +44% |
| 2021 | $80.7 | $77.6 | -3.9% |
| 2022 | $77.6 | $47.4 | -39% |
| 2023 | $47.4 | $41.7 | -12% |
| 2024 | $41.7 | $36.0 | -14% |
| 2025 | $36.0 | $36.6 | +1.4% |
| 2026 YTD | $36.6 | $50.8 | +39% |
CGNX is up 39% so far in 2026, after finishing lower in four of the previous six years.