AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
MXL
MaxLinear, Inc.
MXL has the edge over AAOI overall, supported by 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.
MXL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Stable |
MXL's revenue is currently strong, and its profitability and balance sheet are stable, but its cash flow 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.
MXL PE Valuation
MXL 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.
MXL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for MXL, with profitability improving.
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.
MXL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.06 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$0.37 | +$1.72 |
| Q2 2026 | -$1.19 | +$1.28 |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.52 | +$1.11 |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.58 | +$1.35 |
| Q3 2025 | -$2.09 | +$0.65 |
| Q2 2025 | -$2.47 | -$0.14 |
| Q1 2025 | -$2.63 | -$0.72 |
| Q4 2024 | -$2.93 | -$2.02 |
MXL 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 MXL 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.
MXL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $218.1M | +72% |
| Q2 2026 | $168.8M | +55% |
| Q1 2026 | $137.2M | +43% |
| Q4 2025 | $136.4M | +48% |
| Q3 2025 | $126.5M | +56% |
| Q2 2025 | $108.8M | +18% |
| Q1 2025 | $95.9M | +0.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $92.2M | -26% |
MXL's revenue is recovering but still below its 2022 peak: $218M last quarter, up 72% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 14% | +47 points |
| Q2 2026 | -2.5% | +20 points |
| Q1 2026 | -13% | +36 points |
| Q4 2025 | -11% | +34 points |
| Q3 2025 | -33% | +50 points |
| Q2 2025 | -23% | +22 points |
| Q1 2025 | -48% | +30 points |
| Q4 2024 | -45% | -11 points |
MXL 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.
MXL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$19.5M | -544% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.5M | -73% |
| Q1 2026 | -$10.3M | +$3.1M |
| Q4 2025 | $6.7M | +$36.7M |
| Q3 2025 | $4.4M | +$39.3M |
| Q2 2025 | $9.3M | +$15M |
| Q1 2025 | -$13.4M | -276% |
| Q4 2024 | -$30M | -$12.2M |
MXL has the edge over AAOI on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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.
MXL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.4% | +381K shares |
| 1 year | +12% | +10.5M shares |
| 3 years | +20% | +16.5M shares |
| 5 years | +22% | +17.9M shares |
| Available history | +38% | +26.7M shares |
MXL has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q2 2023 | — |
| Q1 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q2 2022 | $5.2M |
| Q1 2022 | $26.3M |
AAOI Net Leverage
AAOI's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
MXL Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q4 2023 | -2.0x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2023 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2023 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2023 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2022 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2022 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2022 | 0.2x | Very low |
MXL's net debt is about 2.6 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), after holding more cash than debt 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).
MXL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 45.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 16.3 | Oversold |
MXL's weekly RSI is 46 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 16 (oversold).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
MXL PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MXL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 28x | — |
MXL 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 fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 43% above its 200-week average.
MXL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $75.8 | 22% below |
| 20 week MA | $75.4 | 22% below |
| 50 week MA | $55.0 | 7.2% above |
| 100 week MA | $35.0 | 69% above |
| 200 week MA | $28.7 | 106% above |
MXL 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.
MXL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $21.4 | $36.7 | +71% |
| 2021 | $36.7 | $74.1 | +102% |
| 2022 | $74.1 | $33.9 | -54% |
| 2023 | $33.9 | $23.8 | -30% |
| 2024 | $23.8 | $20.5 | -14% |
| 2025 | $20.5 | $17.7 | -14% |
| 2026 YTD | $17.7 | $59.0 | +233% |
MXL has the edge over AAOI on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.