AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI has the edge over IDCC overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
IDCC
InterDigital, Inc.
IDCC 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.
IDCC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
IDCC'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.
IDCC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 15x | $137 | -54% |
| Fair | 25x | $221 | -25% |
| Current | 33x | $295 | — |
| Forward | 45x | $295 | — |
| Expensive | 65x | $579 | +96% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
IDCC's PE is in its fair range at 33x. On analysts' estimates for next year's earnings, today's price would be 45x, in its expensive range.
AAOI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
AAOI has the edge over IDCC on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
IDCC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect IDCC'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.
IDCC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $6.58 | -26% |
| Q3 2026 | $8.95 | -40% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.54 | -39% |
| Q1 2026 | $10.49 | -17% |
| Q4 2025 | $11.80 | -2.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $14.85 | +57% |
| Q2 2025 | $14.06 | +40% |
| Q1 2025 | $12.64 | +83% |
| Q4 2024 | $12.07 | +58% |
IDCC 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 IDCC 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.
IDCC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $193.4M | +17% |
| Q2 2026 | $260.2M | -13% |
| Q1 2026 | $205.4M | -2.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $158.2M | -37% |
| Q3 2025 | $164.7M | +28% |
| Q2 2025 | $300.6M | +34% |
| Q1 2025 | $210.5M | -20% |
| Q4 2024 | $252.8M | +140% |
IDCC's revenue is recovering but still below its 2025 peak: $193M last quarter, up 17% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 51% | +5.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 54% | -15 points |
| Q1 2026 | 40% | -23 points |
| Q4 2025 | 30% | -34 points |
| Q3 2025 | 46% | +16 points |
| Q2 2025 | 68% | +8.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 63% | +23 points |
| Q4 2024 | 64% | +40 points |
IDCC 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.
IDCC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $149.4M | -62% |
| Q2 2026 | $80.9M | -23% |
| Q1 2026 | $15.2M | +$49.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $63.2M | -66% |
| Q3 2025 | $395.3M | +415% |
| Q2 2025 | $104.5M | +$154M |
| Q1 2025 | -$34.5M | -169% |
| Q4 2024 | $188.1M | +$212.8M |
IDCC 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.
IDCC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -46K shares |
| 1 year | +1.4% | +489K shares |
| 3 years | +24% | +6.6M shares |
| 5 years | +9.7% | +3M shares |
| Available history | +7.6% | +2.4M shares |
IDCC has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $18.7M |
| Q2 2026 | $23M |
| Q1 2026 | $8.2M |
| Q4 2025 | $35.7M |
| Q3 2025 | $35.3M |
| Q2 2025 | $26.2M |
| Q1 2025 | $5.2M |
| Q4 2024 | — |
IDCC spent $86M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 28% 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.
IDCC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
IDCC 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).
IDCC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 44.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 27.0 | Neutral |
IDCC's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 27 (neutral).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
IDCC PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | IDCC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 33x | 28x | 18% above |
| PE % | 64 | 35 | 29 pts above |
IDCC is trading at 33x earnings, a 18% 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.
IDCC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $317.4 | 6.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $314.3 | 6% below |
| 50 week MA | $318.9 | 7.4% below |
| 100 week MA | $284.1 | 4% above |
| 200 week MA | $195.1 | 51% above |
IDCC 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 IDCC on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
IDCC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $55.0 | $61.2 | +11% |
| 2021 | $61.2 | $72.6 | +19% |
| 2022 | $72.6 | $49.7 | -32% |
| 2023 | $49.7 | $108.5 | +118% |
| 2024 | $108.5 | $194.9 | +80% |
| 2025 | $194.9 | $330.7 | +70% |
| 2026 YTD | $330.7 | $295.4 | -11% |
IDCC has finished higher in five of the last six years, three of them by more than 50%. It's down 11% so far in 2026.