AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI has the edge over CORZ overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
CORZ
Core Scientific, Inc.
CORZ has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
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.
CORZ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Weak | |
| Weak | |
| Under pressure |
CORZ's revenue is currently strong, but its profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are 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.
CORZ PE Valuation
CORZ 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 48x 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.
CORZ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect CORZ to return to profit, with revenue growing. 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.
CORZ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.30 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$3.31 | -5617% |
| Q2 2026 | -$4.23 | -$3.57 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.95 | +$4.18 |
| Q4 2025 | $1.35 | +$6.94 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.06 | +$5.48 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.66 | +$3.70 |
| Q1 2025 | -$5.13 | -4046% |
| Q4 2024 | -$5.59 | -$4.91 |
CORZ has swung to a loss: it lost $3.31 per share over the past year, after a profit the year before.
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 CORZ 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.
CORZ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $232.9M | +187% |
| Q2 2026 | $164.2M | +109% |
| Q1 2026 | $115.2M | +45% |
| Q4 2025 | $79.8M | -16% |
| Q3 2025 | $81.1M | -15% |
| Q2 2025 | $78.6M | -44% |
| Q1 2025 | $79.5M | -56% |
| Q4 2024 | $94.9M | -33% |
CORZ's revenue is growing: $233M last quarter, up 187% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 31% | +99 points |
| Q2 2026 | -48% | -14 points |
| Q1 2026 | -269% | -210 points |
| Q4 2025 | -147% | -78 points |
| Q3 2025 | -68% | -24 points |
| Q2 2025 | -33% | -38 points |
| Q1 2025 | -59% | -90 points |
| Q4 2024 | -69% | -72 points |
CORZ 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.
CORZ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$475.4M | -$362.7M |
| Q2 2026 | -$583.9M | -$496.7M |
| Q1 2026 | -$139.3M | -$10.3M |
| Q4 2025 | -$121.7M | -$106.8M |
| Q3 2025 | -$112.7M | -$87.3M |
| Q2 2025 | -$87.3M | -$85.3M |
| Q1 2025 | -$129M | -$119.3M |
| Q4 2024 | -$15M | -249% |
CORZ has burned cash in most quarters: −$1.3B over the past year, against −$344M the year before.
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 the edge over CORZ on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
CORZ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +44% | +144M shares |
| 1 year | +47% | +150M shares |
| 3 years | +25% | +93.2M shares |
CORZ has 469M diluted shares, up 47% from a year ago.
AAOI Net Leverage
AAOI's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
CORZ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2024 | 3.7x | Elevated |
| Q3 2024 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2024 | 2.7x | Moderate |
| Q1 2024 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q4 2023 | 8.1x | High |
CORZ's net debt is about 3.7 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 8.1 years 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).
CORZ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 40.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 17.2 | Oversold |
CORZ's weekly RSI is 41 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 17 (oversold).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
CORZ PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | CORZ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 28x | — |
CORZ 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 stronger trend alignment. AAOI is above 1 of 5 weekly averages versus CORZ above 0 of 4.
CORZ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $14.4 | 0.1% below |
| 20 week MA | $17.7 | 19% below |
| 50 week MA | $18.9 | 24% below |
| 100 week MA | $16.1 | 11% below |
CORZ is in a downtrend: it's below all four of its weekly moving averages, and 11% below its 100-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 CORZ on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
CORZ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3.46 | $14.1 | +306% |
| 2025 | $14.1 | $15.3 | +8.8% |
| 2026 YTD | $15.3 | $14.4 | -6% |
CORZ has finished every year since 2024 higher, and it's down 6% so far in 2026.