AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
HCKT
The Hackett Group, Inc.
HCKT has a slight edge over AAOI overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger fundamentals.
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.
HCKT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Under pressure | |
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Stable |
HCKT's profitability is currently strong, and its cash flow and balance sheet are stable, but its revenue is 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.
HCKT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 8.7x | $13.44 | — |
| Cheap | 16x | $11.45 | -15% |
| Current | 19x | $13.44 | — |
| Fair | 21x | $14.55 | +8.2% |
| Expensive | 39x | $26.96 | +101% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
HCKT's PE is in its fair range at 19x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 8.7x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
AAOI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
AAOI has the edge over HCKT on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
HCKT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect HCKT'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.
HCKT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.55 | +121% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.70 | +84% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.65 | +8.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.53 | -38% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.47 | -56% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.38 | -69% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.60 | -52% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.85 | -33% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.06 | -15% |
HCKT 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 HCKT 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.
HCKT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $69.8M | -4.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $69.3M | -12% |
| Q1 2026 | $68.8M | -12% |
| Q4 2025 | $75.8M | -4.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $73.1M | -8.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $78.9M | +1.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $77.9M | +0.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $79.2M | +9.4% |
HCKT's revenue is shrinking: $70M last quarter, down 4.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 11% | +3.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 11% | +5.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 13% | +7.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 12% | +2.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 7.5% | -8.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | 5.8% | -10 points |
| Q1 2025 | 5.7% | -9.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 9.8% | -6.1 points |
HCKT 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.
HCKT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$1.3M | -115% |
| Q2 2026 | $12.6M | +237% |
| Q1 2026 | -$7.5M | -382% |
| Q4 2025 | $17.1M | -13% |
| Q3 2025 | $9M | -3.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.7M | -71% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.7M | +44% |
| Q4 2024 | $19.6M | -21% |
HCKT 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.
HCKT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.8% | -213K shares |
| 1 year | -9.6% | -2.7M shares |
| 3 years | -10% | -2.9M shares |
| 5 years | -24% | -7.9M shares |
| Available history | -23% | -7.5M shares |
HCKT has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.8M |
| Q2 2026 | $3.9M |
| Q1 2026 | $3M |
| Q4 2025 | $41.2M |
| Q3 2025 | $17.4M |
| Q2 2025 | $4.3M |
| Q1 2025 | $6.2M |
| Q4 2024 | $3.6M |
HCKT spent $50M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 58% 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.
HCKT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 2.2x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.0x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
HCKT's net debt is about 1.9 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 1.1 years 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).
HCKT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 59.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 84.5 | Overbought |
HCKT's weekly RSI is 60 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 84 (overbought).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
HCKT PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | HCKT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 19x | 28x | 31% below |
| PE % | 38 | 35 | 3 pts above |
HCKT is trading at 19x earnings, a 31% 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.
HCKT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $11.9 | 13% above |
| 20 week MA | $11.2 | 20% above |
| 50 week MA | $13.3 | 1% above |
| 100 week MA | $19.0 | 29% below |
| 200 week MA | $21.0 | 36% below |
HCKT 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 HCKT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
HCKT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $15.9 | $14.0 | -12% |
| 2021 | $14.0 | $20.7 | +47% |
| 2022 | $20.7 | $20.5 | -0.8% |
| 2023 | $20.5 | $22.8 | +11% |
| 2024 | $22.8 | $30.9 | +36% |
| 2025 | $30.9 | $20.0 | -35% |
| 2026 YTD | $20.0 | $13.4 | -33% |
HCKT has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 33% so far in 2026.