AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
DLB
Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
DLB has a slight 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.
DLB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
DLB's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, 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.
DLB PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 14x | $64.59 | — |
| Cheap | 27x | $62.50 | -3.2% |
| Current | 28x | $64.59 | — |
| Fair | 32x | $74.76 | +16% |
| Expensive | 40x | $94.26 | +46% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
DLB's PE is in its cheap range at 28x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 14x next year's earnings.
AAOI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
AAOI has the edge over DLB on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
DLB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect DLB'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.
DLB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.58 | +96% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.34 | -14% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.52 | -4.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.47 | -8.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.62 | -2.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.71 | +24% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.63 | +35% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.70 | +41% |
| Q3 2024 | $2.69 | +31% |
DLB 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 DLB 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.
DLB Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $305M | -3.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $395.6M | +7.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $346.7M | -2.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $307M | +0.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $315.5M | +9.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $369.6M | +1.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $357M | +13% |
| Q3 2024 | $304.8M | +4.9% |
DLB's revenue grew through 2023 and has held roughly level since: $305M last quarter, down 3.3% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 11% | -3.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 29% | -0.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 18% | -4.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 9.7% | -5.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 15% | +2.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 29% | -0.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 22% | +1.4 points |
| Q3 2024 | 15% | +16 points |
DLB 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.
DLB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $152.5M | +149% |
| Q1 2026 | $83.4M | -50% |
| Q4 2025 | $50.2M | -50% |
| Q3 2025 | $106.6M | -2% |
| Q2 2025 | $61.3M | +349% |
| Q1 2025 | $168M | -2.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $100M | +4229% |
| Q3 2024 | $108.8M | +42% |
DLB 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.
DLB Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1% | -997K shares |
| 1 year | -2.5% | -2.4M shares |
| 3 years | -3% | -2.9M shares |
| 5 years | -9.7% | -10.1M shares |
| Available history | -8.2% | -8.4M shares |
DLB has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $65M |
| Q1 2026 | $65M |
| Q4 2025 | $70M |
| Q3 2025 | $35M |
| Q2 2025 | $40M |
| Q1 2025 | $35M |
| Q4 2024 | $15M |
| Q3 2024 | $20M |
DLB spent $235M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 114% 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.
DLB Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -2.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -2.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.5x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2024 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
DLB 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).
DLB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 58.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 78.1 | Neutral |
DLB's weekly RSI is 58 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 78 (neutral).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
DLB PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | DLB | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 28x | 28x | 0.9% below |
| PE % | 22 | 35 | 13 pts below |
DLB is trading at 28x earnings, in line with 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.
DLB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $61.3 | 5.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $59.2 | 9.1% above |
| 50 week MA | $60.3 | 7.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $67.5 | 4.4% below |
| 200 week MA | $74.3 | 13% below |
DLB 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 DLB on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
DLB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $68.3 | $95.3 | +39% |
| 2021 | $95.3 | $92.7 | -2.7% |
| 2022 | $92.7 | $69.2 | -25% |
| 2023 | $69.2 | $86.2 | +24% |
| 2024 | $86.2 | $78.5 | -8.9% |
| 2025 | $78.5 | $65.7 | -16% |
| 2026 YTD | $65.7 | $64.6 | -1.7% |
DLB has finished lower in four of the last six years. It's down 1.7% so far in 2026.