AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
COHU
Cohu, Inc.
COHU 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.
COHU Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
COHU's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its profitability is 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.
COHU PE Valuation
COHU 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.
COHU Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for COHU, 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 has the edge over COHU on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
COHU Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.99 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$0.52 | +$1.04 |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.83 | +$1.03 |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.19 | +$0.65 |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.59 | -$0.10 |
| Q3 2025 | -$1.56 | -$0.48 |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.86 | -$1.25 |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.84 | -$1.79 |
| Q4 2024 | -$1.49 | -353% |
COHU is still losing money, but far less than before: $0.52 per share over the past year, against $1.86 at its worst in mid-2025.
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 COHU on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| 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.
COHU Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $173M | +37% |
| Q2 2026 | $149M | +38% |
| Q1 2026 | $125.1M | +29% |
| Q4 2025 | $122.2M | +30% |
| Q3 2025 | $126.2M | +32% |
| Q2 2025 | $107.7M | +2.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $96.8M | -10% |
| Q4 2024 | $94.1M | -31% |
COHU's revenue is recovering but still below its 2021 peak: $173M last quarter, up 37% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 7.4% | +15 points |
| Q2 2026 | 0.2% | +16 points |
| Q1 2026 | -8.9% | +19 points |
| Q4 2025 | -13% | +10 points |
| Q3 2025 | -7.7% | +8.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | -16% | -0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | -28% | -12 points |
| Q4 2024 | -23% | -23 points |
COHU 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.
COHU Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3M | +$20.9M |
| Q2 2026 | $8.1M | -39% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.3M | +$29.4M |
| Q4 2025 | $36.5M | +$41.2M |
| Q3 2025 | -$18M | -219% |
| Q2 2025 | $13.4M | +$14.3M |
| Q1 2025 | -$21.1M | -$3.9M |
| Q4 2024 | -$4.8M | -$3.6M |
COHU 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.
COHU Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +15% | +7M shares |
| 1 year | +16% | +7.6M shares |
| 3 years | +13% | +6.3M shares |
| 5 years | +9.9% | +4.9M shares |
| Available history | +32% | +13.2M shares |
COHU has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $1,000 |
| Q2 2025 | $138,000 |
| Q1 2025 | $8.4M |
| Q4 2024 | $32,000 |
COHU hasn't bought back shares in 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.
COHU Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 8.6x | High |
| Q3 2024 | -60.8x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2024 | -7.7x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2024 | -3.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2023 | -2.2x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2023 | -2.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2023 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
COHU's net debt is about 1.1 years 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).
COHU Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 45.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 21.9 | Neutral |
COHU's weekly RSI is 46 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 22 (neutral).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
COHU PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | COHU | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 28x | — |
COHU 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.
COHU Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $55.2 | 19% below |
| 20 week MA | $54.4 | 17% below |
| 50 week MA | $44.0 | 2.2% above |
| 100 week MA | $32.1 | 40% above |
| 200 week MA | $32.4 | 39% above |
COHU 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.
COHU Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $22.3 | $38.8 | +74% |
| 2021 | $38.8 | $38.0 | -1.9% |
| 2022 | $38.0 | $31.6 | -17% |
| 2023 | $31.6 | $35.4 | +12% |
| 2024 | $35.4 | $26.8 | -24% |
| 2025 | $26.8 | $23.5 | -12% |
| 2026 YTD | $23.5 | $45.0 | +92% |
COHU has the edge over AAOI on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.