AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
CTSH
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation
CTSH 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.
CTSH Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Strong |
CTSH's profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and cash flow 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.
CTSH PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 10x | $63.75 | — |
| Current | 12x | $63.75 | — |
| Cheap | 14x | $75.47 | +18% |
| Fair | 17x | $92.95 | +46% |
| Expensive | 23x | $128 | +100% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CTSH's PE is in its cheap range at 12x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 10x next year's earnings.
AAOI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
AAOI has the edge over CTSH on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
CTSH Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect CTSH's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue 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.
CTSH Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $6.16 | +12% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.49 | +27% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.66 | -5.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.61 | -2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.56 | +1.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.31 | -4.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.92 | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.75 | +14% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.51 | +7.1% |
CTSH 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 CTSH 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.
CTSH Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $5.7B | +4.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.5B | +4.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.4B | +5.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.3B | +4.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.4B | +7.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.2B | +8.1% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.1B | +7.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.1B | +6.8% |
CTSH's revenue has grown year over year for nine quarters in a row: $5.7B last quarter, up 4.6% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | -0.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 16% | +0.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 16% | -1.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 16% | +1.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 16% | +1.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 16% | +1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 17% | +2.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 15% | -0.4 points |
CTSH 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.
CTSH Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $925M | -20% |
| Q2 2026 | $459M | +39% |
| Q1 2026 | $198M | -39% |
| Q4 2025 | $781M | -6.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2B | +47% |
| Q2 2025 | $331M | +81% |
| Q1 2025 | $323M | +1919% |
| Q4 2024 | $837M | +27% |
CTSH 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.
CTSH Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -3.4% | -16M shares |
| 1 year | -7.6% | -37M shares |
| 3 years | -11% | -55M shares |
| 5 years | -14% | -76M shares |
| Available history | -20% | -110M shares |
CTSH has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $270M |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2B |
| Q1 2026 | $444M |
| Q4 2025 | $338M |
| Q3 2025 | $463M |
| Q2 2025 | $368M |
| Q1 2025 | $209M |
| Q4 2024 | $154M |
CTSH spent $2.2B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 86% 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.
CTSH Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
CTSH's net debt is less than a year 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).
CTSH Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 54.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 57.3 | Neutral |
CTSH's weekly RSI is 55 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 57 (neutral).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
CTSH PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | CTSH | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 12x | 28x | 58% below |
| PE % | 3 | 35 | 32 pts below |
CTSH is trading at 12x earnings, a 58% 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.
CTSH Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $63.2 | 1% above |
| 20 week MA | $58.0 | 9.9% above |
| 50 week MA | $62.4 | 2.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $69.0 | 7.6% below |
| 200 week MA | $69.5 | 8.3% below |
CTSH 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 CTSH on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
CTSH Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $62.2 | $81.1 | +30% |
| 2021 | $81.1 | $86.3 | +6.4% |
| 2022 | $86.3 | $56.0 | -35% |
| 2023 | $56.0 | $75.5 | +35% |
| 2024 | $75.5 | $79.2 | +4.9% |
| 2025 | $79.2 | $85.6 | +8% |
| 2026 YTD | $85.6 | $63.8 | -25% |
CTSH has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's down 25% so far in 2026.