AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
PLXS
Plexus Corp.
PLXS has the edge over AAOI overall, supported by 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.
PLXS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Strong |
PLXS's revenue and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its profitability is 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.
PLXS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 18x | $122 | -42% |
| Forward | 20x | $211 | — |
| Fair | 21x | $144 | -32% |
| Current | 28x | $211 | — |
| Expensive | 31x | $211 | -0.1% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PLXS's PE is 28x, but its earnings don't support one, so it isn't a reliable read right now.
AAOI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
AAOI has the edge over PLXS on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
PLXS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for PLXS, with profitability 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.
PLXS Earnings Per Share
PLXS and AAOI do not have enough comparable growth data to identify a winner.
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 PLXS 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.
PLXS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $1.3B | +28% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.2B | +19% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.1B | +9.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $4B | +273% |
| Q2 2025 | $1B | +2.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $980.2M | -1.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $976.1M | -3.2% |
| Q3 2024 | $1.1B | +2.6% |
PLXS's revenue has grown year over year for five quarters in a row: $1.3B last quarter, up 28% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 4.7% | -0.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 5.3% | +0.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 5.1% | +0.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 1.3% | -3.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 5.3% | +1.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 5% | +2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 4.8% | +0.3 points |
| Q3 2024 | 5% | -0.1 points |
PLXS 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.
PLXS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -$754K | -106% |
| Q1 2026 | $16M | -3% |
| Q4 2025 | -$50.6M | -287% |
| Q3 2025 | $97.2M | -50% |
| Q2 2025 | $13.2M | -88% |
| Q1 2025 | $16.5M | -75% |
| Q4 2024 | $27.1M | +$58.8M |
| Q3 2024 | $193.8M | +196% |
PLXS 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.
PLXS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -16K shares |
| 1 year | -0.9% | -238K shares |
| 3 years | -2.5% | -698K shares |
| 5 years | -6.1% | -1.8M shares |
| Available history | -12% | -3.8M shares |
PLXS has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $20.6M |
| Q1 2026 | $21M |
| Q4 2025 | $22.4M |
| Q3 2025 | $21.5M |
| Q2 2025 | $18.4M |
| Q1 2025 | $12.5M |
| Q4 2024 | $12.8M |
| Q3 2024 | $19.5M |
PLXS spent $86M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 35% from the year before.
AAOI Net Leverage
AAOI's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
PLXS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.3x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2024 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
PLXS 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).
PLXS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 41.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 11.9 | Oversold |
PLXS's weekly RSI is 42 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 12 (oversold).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
PLXS PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | PLXS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 28x | 28x | 1.9% above |
| PE % | 76 | 35 | 41 pts above |
PLXS is trading at 28x earnings, in line with the Technology sector's median of 28x, though its earnings don't support one.
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.
PLXS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $232.1 | 9.2% below |
| 20 week MA | $246.1 | 14% below |
| 50 week MA | $227.5 | 7.3% below |
| 100 week MA | $182.2 | 16% above |
| 200 week MA | $144.6 | 46% above |
PLXS 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 has the edge over PLXS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
PLXS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $76.9 | $77.9 | +1.3% |
| 2021 | $77.9 | $95.2 | +22% |
| 2022 | $95.2 | $104.6 | +9.8% |
| 2023 | $104.6 | $108.1 | +3.4% |
| 2024 | $108.1 | $157.8 | +46% |
| 2025 | $157.8 | $154.2 | -2.3% |
| 2026 YTD | $154.2 | $210.8 | +37% |
PLXS has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's up 37% so far in 2026.