AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
CTS
CTS Corporation
CTS has the edge over AAOI overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger fundamentals.
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.
CTS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CTS's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently strong, and its revenue 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.
CTS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 21x | $61.01 | — |
| Cheap | 22x | $54.94 | -10% |
| Current | 24x | $61.01 | — |
| Fair | 25x | $62.16 | +1.9% |
| Expensive | 29x | $73.78 | +21% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CTS's PE is in its fair range at 24x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 21x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
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.
CTS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CTS, 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.
CTS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.85 | +13% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.53 | +29% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.38 | +13% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.34 | +19% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.19 | +16% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.96 | +1% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.11 | +19% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.97 | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.89 | -1.6% |
CTS 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 CTS 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.
CTS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $149.6M | +4.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $144.8M | +7% |
| Q1 2026 | $139.2M | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $137.3M | +7.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $143M | +8% |
| Q2 2025 | $135.3M | +4% |
| Q1 2025 | $125.8M | 0% |
| Q4 2024 | $127.4M | +2.2% |
CTS's revenue has grown year over year for eight quarters in a row: $150M last quarter, up 4.6% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 17% | +2.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 19% | +1.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 16% | +2.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 17% | +1.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 15% | -1.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | +3.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 13% | +1.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 15% | +1.9 points |
CTS 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.
CTS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $41.1M | +70% |
| Q2 2026 | $28.9M | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $12.3M | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $26M | +31% |
| Q3 2025 | $24.2M | -23% |
| Q2 2025 | $25.1M | +67% |
| Q1 2025 | $11.1M | -23% |
| Q4 2024 | $19.9M | -31% |
CTS 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.
CTS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | +8K shares |
| 1 year | -2.4% | -710K shares |
| 3 years | -8.2% | -2.6M shares |
| 5 years | -11% | -3.5M shares |
| Available history | -13% | -4.2M shares |
CTS has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.3M |
| Q2 2026 | $3.4M |
| Q1 2026 | $8.6M |
| Q4 2025 | $16.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $16.6M |
| Q2 2025 | $16.5M |
| Q1 2025 | $6.5M |
| Q4 2024 | $7.8M |
CTS spent $32M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 33% 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.
CTS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
CTS 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).
CTS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 54.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 49.7 | Neutral |
CTS's weekly RSI is 54 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 50 (neutral).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
CTS PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | CTS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 28x | 13% below |
| PE % | 43 | 35 | 8 pts above |
CTS is trading at 24x earnings, a 13% 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.
CTS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $58.3 | 4.6% above |
| 20 week MA | $59.4 | 2.7% above |
| 50 week MA | $55.8 | 9.3% above |
| 100 week MA | $49.4 | 24% above |
| 200 week MA | $47.6 | 28% above |
CTS 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 CTS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
CTS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $29.6 | $33.7 | +14% |
| 2021 | $33.7 | $36.3 | +7.8% |
| 2022 | $36.3 | $38.9 | +7.1% |
| 2023 | $38.9 | $43.7 | +12% |
| 2024 | $43.7 | $53.1 | +21% |
| 2025 | $53.1 | $44.5 | -16% |
| 2026 YTD | $44.5 | $61.0 | +37% |
CTS has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's up 37% so far in 2026.