AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI has the edge over DTST overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
DTST
Data Storage Corporation
DTST 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.
DTST Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Weak | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak | |
| Strong |
DTST'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.
DTST PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 1.5x | $3.06 | +4.2% |
| Current | 1.5x | $2.94 | — |
| Fair | 50x | $98.81 | +3261% |
| Expensive | 190x | $377 | +12727% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
DTST's PE is in its cheap range at 1.5x.
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.
DTST Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses growing | |
| Stable | |
| -- | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect DTST's losses to grow, with 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.
DTST Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $1.99 | +$2.03 |
| Q1 2026 | $2.44 | +12100% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.64 | +3671% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.14 | +10600% |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.04 | -300% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.02 | -78% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.07 | +40% |
| Q3 2024 | $0.02 | +$0.45 |
DTST 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 DTST 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 DTST on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
DTST Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $358.5K | -93% |
| Q1 2026 | $346.7K | -96% |
| Q4 2025 | $325.3K | -95% |
| Q3 2025 | $417K | -93% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.1M | +4.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.1M | -1.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.4M | +3.7% |
| Q3 2024 | $5.8M | -3% |
DTST's revenue has slid since its 2022 peak: $358,530 last quarter, down 93% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -358% | -342 points |
| Q1 2026 | -371% | -370 points |
| Q4 2025 | -249% | -253 points |
| Q3 2025 | -263% | -263 points |
| Q2 2025 | -15% | -7.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | -1.1% | -3.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 4.4% | +8.4 points |
| Q3 2024 | -0.4% | -0.7 points |
DTST's operating margin was −358% last quarter, down 342 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2019.
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 the stronger cash trend. Its trailing FCF is down 676% versus its history, compared with DTST at down 918%.
DTST Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | -$2.6M | -621% |
| Q3 2025 | $650.3K | +$666K |
| Q2 2025 | -$39K | -130% |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.2M | -$490.1K |
| Q4 2024 | $503.1K | -64% |
| Q3 2024 | -$15.6K | -102% |
| Q2 2024 | $129.5K | +$237.9K |
| Q1 2024 | -$677.3K | -3114% |
DTST's free cash flow was −$3M over the past year, against −$60,275 the year before.
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.
DTST Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -28% | -861K shares |
| 1 year | -69% | -4.9M shares |
| 3 years | -68% | -4.8M shares |
| 5 years | -46% | -1.9M shares |
| Available history | -30% | -959K shares |
DTST has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
AAOI Net Leverage
AAOI's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
DTST Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2025 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2024 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2024 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2024 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2023 | -1.2x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2022 | -94.4x | Net Cash |
DTST 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).
DTST Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 20.9 | Neutral |
DTST's weekly RSI is 44 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 21 (neutral).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
DTST PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | DTST | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 1.5x | 28x | 95% below |
| PE % | 9 | 35 | 26 pts below |
DTST is trading at 1.5x earnings, a 95% 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 the edge over DTST on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
DTST Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $3.06 | 3.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $3.11 | 5.5% below |
| 50 week MA | $3.74 | 21% below |
| 100 week MA | $3.91 | 25% below |
| 200 week MA | $3.76 | 22% below |
DTST is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 22% 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 DTST on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
DTST Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $5.20 | $5.60 | +7.7% |
| 2021 | $5.60 | $3.28 | -41% |
| 2022 | $3.28 | $1.59 | -52% |
| 2023 | $1.59 | $2.88 | +81% |
| 2024 | $2.88 | $4.33 | +50% |
| 2025 | $4.33 | $5.07 | +17% |
| 2026 YTD | $5.07 | $2.94 | -42% |
DTST is down 42% so far in 2026, after finishing higher in four of the previous six years.