AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
PAYS
PaySign, Inc.
PAYS has the edge over AAOI overall, supported by stronger valuation 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.
PAYS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
PAYS's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
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.
PAYS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 26x | $9.49 | — |
| Current | 29x | $9.49 | — |
| Cheap | 31x | $10.13 | +6.8% |
| Fair | 49x | $16.12 | +70% |
| Expensive | 95x | $31.19 | +229% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PAYS's PE is in its cheap range at 29x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 26x next year's earnings.
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.
PAYS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for PAYS, with profitability improving. 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.
PAYS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.37 | +12% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.33 | +154% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.26 | +117% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.17 | +55% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.13 | +86% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.13 | -13% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.12 | -14% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.11 | -15% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.07 | -42% |
PAYS 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 PAYS 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.
PAYS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $30.8M | +43% |
| Q2 2026 | $28.3M | +48% |
| Q1 2026 | $28M | +51% |
| Q4 2025 | $22.8M | +46% |
| Q3 2025 | $21.6M | +42% |
| Q2 2025 | $19.1M | +33% |
| Q1 2025 | $18.6M | +41% |
| Q4 2024 | $15.6M | +14% |
PAYS's revenue has grown year over year for 22 quarters in a row: $31M last quarter, up 43% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 24% | +16 points |
| Q2 2026 | 25% | +17 points |
| Q1 2026 | 24% | +10 points |
| Q4 2025 | 8.2% | +5.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 7.3% | +2.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 7.5% | +6.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 13% | +15 points |
| Q4 2024 | 3% | -1.6 points |
PAYS 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.
PAYS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $62.7M | +895% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2M | -66% |
| Q1 2026 | $18.5M | +$24.6M |
| Q4 2025 | $47.5M | +235% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.3M | +$26.6M |
| Q2 2025 | $3.6M | -83% |
| Q1 2025 | -$6.1M | -175% |
| Q4 2024 | $14.2M | -39% |
PAYS 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.
PAYS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.2% | +744K shares |
| 1 year | +1.5% | +949K shares |
| 3 years | +17% | +9.2M shares |
| 5 years | +23% | +11.6M shares |
| Available history | +15% | +8.2M shares |
PAYS has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | $199,677 |
| Q1 2026 | $199,677 |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | $375,786 |
| Q4 2024 | $134,550 |
PAYS has spent almost nothing on buybacks 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.
PAYS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | -1.5x | Net Cash |
PAYS 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).
PAYS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 51.3 | Neutral |
PAYS's weekly RSI is 44 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 51 (neutral).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
PAYS PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | PAYS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 29x | 28x | 3.2% above |
| PE % | 13 | 35 | 22 pts below |
PAYS is trading at 29x earnings, in line with 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.
PAYS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $13.8 | 31% below |
| 20 week MA | $12.3 | 23% below |
| 50 week MA | $8.11 | 17% above |
| 100 week MA | $6.25 | 52% above |
| 200 week MA | $4.77 | 99% above |
PAYS 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.
PAYS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $9.99 | $4.83 | -52% |
| 2021 | $4.83 | $1.56 | -68% |
| 2022 | $1.56 | $2.42 | +55% |
| 2023 | $2.42 | $2.80 | +16% |
| 2024 | $2.80 | $3.27 | +17% |
| 2025 | $3.27 | $5.26 | +61% |
| 2026 YTD | $5.26 | $9.49 | +80% |
PAYS has the edge over AAOI on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.