AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
KC
Kingsoft Cloud Holdings Limited
KC 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.
KC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Strong |
KC's revenue and balance sheet are currently strong, and its profitability and cash flow are 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.
KC PE Valuation
KC 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.
KC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect KC's losses to shrink, with revenue growing. 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.
KC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -$0.31 | +$0.92 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.53 | +$0.65 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.54 | +$0.67 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.58 | +$0.69 |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.23 | -$0.11 |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.18 | +$0.04 |
| Q4 2024 | -$1.21 | +$0.17 |
| Q3 2024 | -$1.27 | -$0.04 |
KC has the edge over AAOI on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 KC 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.
KC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $459.7M | +30% |
| Q1 2026 | $405.8M | +37% |
| Q4 2025 | $414.4M | +24% |
| Q3 2025 | $371.9M | +31% |
| Q2 2025 | $352.6M | +24% |
| Q1 2025 | $295.6M | +11% |
| Q4 2024 | $335M | +30% |
| Q3 2024 | $283M | +16% |
KC's revenue has grown year over year for nine quarters in a row: $460M last quarter, up 30% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 0.8% | +15 points |
| Q1 2026 | -6.1% | +5.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 6.5% | +8.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | -5.9% | +6 points |
| Q2 2025 | -14% | +0.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | -12% | +3.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | -2.2% | +18 points |
| Q3 2024 | -12% | +38 points |
KC 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.
KC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $427.8M | +95% |
| Q1 2026 | $80.1M | +$142.9M |
| Q4 2025 | -$555.2M | -749% |
| Q3 2025 | $257.6M | +652% |
| Q2 2025 | $219.1M | +866% |
| Q1 2025 | -$62.8M | -$14.6M |
| Q4 2024 | $85.6M | +$377M |
| Q3 2024 | $34.3M | +1021% |
KC 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.
KC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.2% | -3.6M shares |
| 1 year | +21% | +51.6M shares |
| 3 years | +26% | +62.4M shares |
| 5 years | +34% | +75.6M shares |
| Available history | +401% | +240M shares |
KC has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
KC 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.
KC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
KC's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
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).
KC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 37.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 8.2 | Oversold |
KC's weekly RSI is 37 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 8 (oversold).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
KC PE vs Technology Sector
KC 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 the edge over KC on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
KC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $8.63 | 8.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $9.79 | 20% below |
| 50 week MA | $11.7 | 33% below |
| 100 week MA | $12.7 | 38% below |
| 200 week MA | $8.48 | 7.3% below |
KC is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 7.3% 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 KC on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
KC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $23.8 | $45.3 | +90% |
| 2021 | $45.3 | $15.5 | -66% |
| 2022 | $15.5 | $3.45 | -78% |
| 2023 | $3.45 | $3.78 | +9.6% |
| 2024 | $3.78 | $12.6 | +233% |
| 2025 | $12.6 | $10.7 | -15% |
| 2026 YTD | $10.7 | $7.86 | -27% |
KC's yearly returns have swung widely, from +233% in 2024 to −78% in 2022. It's down 27% so far in 2026.