AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI has the edge over DQ overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
DQ
Daqo New Energy Corp.
DQ 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.
DQ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Under pressure | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak | |
| Strong |
DQ's balance sheet is currently strong, but its revenue, profitability and cash flow 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.
DQ PE Valuation
DQ has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
DQ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect DQ's losses to shrink, with revenue growing.
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.
DQ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$3.41 | +$1.76 |
| Q2 2026 | -$2.83 | +$3.02 |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.78 | +$3.72 |
| Q4 2025 | -$2.57 | +$2.60 |
| Q3 2025 | -$5.17 | -$3.36 |
| Q2 2025 | -$5.85 | -$4.85 |
| Q1 2025 | -$6.50 | -402% |
| Q4 2024 | -$5.17 | -195% |
DQ is still losing money, but less than at its worst: $3.41 per share over the past year, against $6.50 at its worst in early 2025.
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 DQ 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 has the edge over DQ on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
DQ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $194.7M | -21% |
| Q2 2026 | $62.8M | -17% |
| Q1 2026 | $26.7M | -78% |
| Q4 2025 | $221.7M | +13% |
| Q3 2025 | $244.9M | +23% |
| Q2 2025 | $75.5M | -66% |
| Q1 2025 | $123.9M | -70% |
| Q4 2024 | $195.4M | -59% |
DQ's revenue has slid since its 2022 peak: $195M last quarter, down 21% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -41% | -32 points |
| Q2 2026 | -160% | -7.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | -564% | -472 points |
| Q4 2025 | -9.4% | +145 points |
| Q3 2025 | -9.5% | +40 points |
| Q2 2025 | -152% | -62 points |
| Q1 2025 | -92% | -100 points |
| Q4 2024 | -154% | -164 points |
DQ's operating margin was −41% last quarter, down 31 points from the same quarter a year ago.
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.
DQ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $31.2M | +35% |
| Q2 2026 | -$155.3M | -$58.1M |
| Q1 2026 | -$176.2M | -$79.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $47M | +$139.4M |
| Q3 2025 | $23.1M | +$154.6M |
| Q2 2025 | -$97.2M | +$176.9M |
| Q1 2025 | -$96.5M | +$199.8M |
| Q4 2024 | -$92.5M | +$899.7M |
DQ has the edge over AAOI on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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.
DQ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -- |
| 1 year | +0.2% | +119K shares |
| 3 years | -8.6% | -6.4M shares |
| 5 years | -12% | -9M shares |
| Available history | -5.2% | -3.7M shares |
DQ 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 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
DQ 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.
DQ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | -88.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2024 | -13.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2024 | -5.5x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2024 | -4.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2023 | -3.1x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2023 | -2.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2023 | -1.5x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2023 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
DQ 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).
DQ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 39.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 32.4 | Neutral |
DQ's weekly RSI is 40 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 32 (neutral).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
DQ PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | DQ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 28x | — |
DQ 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 fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 43% above its 200-week average.
DQ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $11.1 | 3.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $12.1 | 5.5% below |
| 50 week MA | $18.5 | 38% below |
| 100 week MA | $19.7 | 42% below |
| 200 week MA | $24.1 | 53% below |
DQ has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-week average, but 53% below its 200-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 DQ on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
DQ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $10.3 | $54.8 | +430% |
| 2021 | $54.8 | $38.9 | -29% |
| 2022 | $38.9 | $40.5 | +4.1% |
| 2023 | $40.5 | $26.6 | -34% |
| 2024 | $26.6 | $19.3 | -28% |
| 2025 | $19.3 | $31.8 | +65% |
| 2026 YTD | $31.8 | $11.4 | -64% |
DQ has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 64% so far in 2026.