AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MLAB
Mesa Laboratories, Inc.
MLAB has the edge over AAOI overall, supported by stronger valuation and lower modeled downside.
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.
MLAB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
MLAB'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.
MLAB PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 12x | $135 | — |
| Current | 118x | $135 | — |
| Cheap | 142x | $163 | +20% |
| Fair | 301x | $346 | +156% |
| Expensive | 570x | $656 | +385% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MLAB's PE is in its cheap range at 118x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 12x next year's earnings.
AAOI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
AAOI has the edge over MLAB on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
MLAB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect MLAB'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.
MLAB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $11.01 | +858% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.15 | +$1.46 |
| Q2 2026 | $0.85 | +$0.98 |
| Q1 2026 | $1.21 | +$1.57 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.65 | +$46.97 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.31 | +$45.31 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.13 | +$46.35 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.36 | +$46.84 |
| Q4 2024 | -$46.32 | -25833% |
MLAB 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 MLAB 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.
MLAB Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $62.3M | +2.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $60.1M | +1% |
| Q1 2026 | $63.7M | +2.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $65.1M | +3.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $60.7M | +5% |
| Q2 2025 | $59.5M | +2.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $62.1M | +5.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $62.8M | +18% |
MLAB's revenue has grown year over year for 11 quarters in a row: $62M last quarter, up 2.6% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 13% | +5.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 12% | +6.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 4.3% | +1.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 12% | +3.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 7.8% | +1.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 5.2% | -4.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 2.4% | +463 points |
| Q4 2024 | 9.2% | +9.3 points |
MLAB 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.
MLAB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.7M | -48% |
| Q2 2026 | $14.2M | +1504% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.5M | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $18M | +2.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.1M | +105% |
| Q2 2025 | $884K | -91% |
| Q1 2025 | $11.9M | -3.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $17.6M | +69% |
MLAB 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.
MLAB Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +3K shares |
| 1 year | +4.1% | +225K shares |
| 3 years | +6.9% | +373K shares |
| 5 years | +7.8% | +416K shares |
| Available history | +32% | +1.4M shares |
MLAB 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.
MLAB Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q3 2023 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
MLAB's net debt is about 1.4 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 1.2 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).
MLAB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 64.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 72.9 | Neutral |
MLAB's weekly RSI is 65 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 73 (neutral).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
MLAB PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MLAB | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 118x | 28x | 322% above |
| PE % | 12 | 35 | 23 pts below |
MLAB is trading at 118x earnings, a 322% 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.
MLAB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $129.6 | 4.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $118.6 | 14% above |
| 50 week MA | $102.2 | 32% above |
| 100 week MA | $101.9 | 33% above |
| 200 week MA | $112.8 | 20% above |
MLAB 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's yearly returns have swung widely, from +891% in 2023 to −65% in 2022. It's up 42% so far in 2026.
MLAB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $247.3 | $284.8 | +15% |
| 2021 | $284.8 | $328.9 | +15% |
| 2022 | $328.9 | $162.8 | -50% |
| 2023 | $162.8 | $104.8 | -36% |
| 2024 | $104.8 | $133.1 | +27% |
| 2025 | $133.1 | $80.5 | -40% |
| 2026 YTD | $80.5 | $135.2 | +68% |
MLAB has the edge over AAOI on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.