AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI has the edge over DOCN overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger valuation.
DOCN
DigitalOcean Holdings, Inc.
DOCN trails on the overall score without a compensating advantage in the available component scores.
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.
DOCN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
DOCN's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently strong, 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.
DOCN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 25x | $7.61 | -92% |
| Fair | 46x | $13.68 | -85% |
| Forward | 55x | $90.07 | — |
| Expensive | 68x | $20.36 | -77% |
| Current | 300x | $90.07 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
DOCN's PE is in its expensive range at 300x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 55x next year's earnings, in its fair range.
AAOI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
AAOI has the edge over DOCN on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
DOCN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly weakening | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for DOCN, but weaker profitability. 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.
DOCN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.64 | +448% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.30 | -88% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.18 | +68% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.28 | +105% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.52 | +190% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.48 | +195% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.30 | +83% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.11 | +113% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.87 | +335% |
DOCN 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 DOCN 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.
DOCN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $321.2M | +40% |
| Q2 2026 | $281.2M | +29% |
| Q1 2026 | $257.9M | +22% |
| Q4 2025 | $242.4M | +18% |
| Q3 2025 | $229.6M | +16% |
| Q2 2025 | $218.7M | +14% |
| Q1 2025 | $210.7M | +14% |
| Q4 2024 | $204.9M | +13% |
DOCN's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since early 2021: $321M last quarter, up 40% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 10% | -9.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 10% | -5.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 14% | -3.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 16% | +0.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 20% | +7.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 16% | +4.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 18% | +12 points |
| Q4 2024 | 16% | +9.8 points |
DOCN 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.
DOCN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $137.7M | +56% |
| Q2 2026 | $68.4M | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.9M | +226% |
| Q4 2025 | $31.1M | +19% |
| Q3 2025 | $88M | +450% |
| Q2 2025 | $59.3M | +50% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.1M | -91% |
| Q4 2024 | $26.1M | -7.9% |
DOCN 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.
DOCN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -9.4% | -11.9M shares |
| 1 year | +8.7% | +9.2M shares |
| 3 years | +12% | +12M shares |
| 5 years | +6.2% | +6.7M shares |
| Available history | +32% | +27.6M shares |
DOCN 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 | $2.9M |
| Q2 2025 | $20.1M |
| Q1 2025 | $59.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $29.9M |
DOCN 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.
DOCN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 3.5x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 3.8x | Elevated |
| Q2 2025 | 4.3x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 4.6x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 4.8x | High |
DOCN 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).
DOCN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 42.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 11.0 | Oversold |
DOCN's weekly RSI is 42 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 11 (oversold).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
DOCN PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | DOCN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 300x | 28x | 978% above |
| PE % | 100 | 41 | 59 pts above |
DOCN is trading at 300x earnings, a 978% premium 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.
DOCN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $107.3 | 16% below |
| 20 week MA | $116.3 | 23% below |
| 50 week MA | $101.1 | 11% below |
| 100 week MA | $68.0 | 33% above |
| 200 week MA | $51.5 | 75% above |
DOCN 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.
DOCN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $41.6 | $81.3 | +95% |
| 2022 | $81.3 | $24.8 | -70% |
| 2023 | $24.8 | $36.7 | +48% |
| 2024 | $36.7 | $34.9 | -4.8% |
| 2025 | $34.9 | $49.5 | +42% |
| 2026 YTD | $49.5 | $90.1 | +82% |
DOCN has the edge over AAOI on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.