AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI has the edge over MRDN overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
MRDN
Meridian Holdings Inc.
MRDN 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.
MRDN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Weak | |
| Unavailable | |
| Strong |
MRDN's balance sheet is currently strong, and its revenue is stable, but its profitability is weak. There isn't enough data to rate its cash flow.
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.
MRDN PE Valuation
MRDN 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 |
AAOI has the edge over MRDN on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
MRDN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect MRDN'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 has the edge over MRDN on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MRDN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.01 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$8.10 | -$7.53 |
| Q2 2026 | -$7.05 | -$6.12 |
| Q1 2026 | -$7.58 | -$7.01 |
| Q4 2025 | -$7.76 | -$7.76 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.57 | -371% |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.93 | -215% |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.57 | -227% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.00 | +$0.24 |
MRDN lost $8.10 per share over the past year, a bigger loss than the year before.
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 MRDN 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 MRDN on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
MRDN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $46M | -2.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $50.2M | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $50.1M | +17% |
| Q4 2025 | $49.6M | +8.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $47.3M | +15% |
| Q2 2025 | $43.2M | +9.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $42.7M | +33% |
| Q4 2024 | $45.9M | +287% |
MRDN's revenue is growing: $46M last quarter, down 2.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -32% | -32 points |
| Q2 2026 | 4.9% | +10 points |
| Q1 2026 | 6.3% | +6.5 points |
| Q4 2025 | -188% | -188 points |
| Q3 2025 | -0.8% | +1.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | -5.3% | -5.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | -0.3% | -6.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | -0.2% | -2.6 points |
MRDN's operating margin was −32% last quarter, down 32 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2020.
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 |
MRDN has the stronger cash trend. Its trailing FCF is up 164% versus its history, compared with AAOI at down 676%.
MRDN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.3M | -30% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.2M | -22% |
| Q4 2025 | $6.4M | -52% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.2M | +168% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.6M | +88% |
| Q4 2024 | $13.4M | +201194% |
| Q3 2024 | $2.3M | +101% |
| Q1 2024 | $3.5M | +778% |
MRDN generated $22M in free cash flow over the past year, about the same as 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.
MRDN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.7% | -84.8K shares |
| 1 year | +6.5% | +778K shares |
| 3 years | +329% | +9.7M shares |
| 5 years | +550% | +10.7M shares |
| Available history | +446% | +10.4M shares |
MRDN has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | $104.9M |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | $121,430 |
| Q1 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q4 2021 | — |
AAOI Net Leverage
AAOI's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
MRDN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2025 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q3 2024 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2024 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2024 | -4.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2024 | -32.8x | Net Cash |
MRDN 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).
MRDN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 27.5 | Oversold |
| Stochastic | 2.4 | Oversold |
MRDN's weekly RSI is 28 (oversold) and its Stochastic is 2 (oversold).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
MRDN PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MRDN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 28x | — |
MRDN 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 MRDN on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
MRDN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $10.3 | 44% below |
| 20 week MA | $12.3 | 53% below |
| 50 week MA | $10.6 | 45% below |
| 100 week MA | $14.8 | 61% below |
| 200 week MA | $23.9 | 76% below |
MRDN is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 76% 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 MRDN on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
MRDN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $7.92 | $84.8 | +971% |
| 2021 | $84.8 | $79.6 | -6.2% |
| 2022 | $79.6 | $29.6 | -63% |
| 2023 | $29.6 | $28.9 | -2.4% |
| 2024 | $28.9 | $24.5 | -15% |
| 2025 | $24.5 | $9.84 | -60% |
| 2026 YTD | $9.84 | $5.77 | -41% |
MRDN has finished five years in a row lower, and it's down 41% so far in 2026.