AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
QLYS
Qualys, Inc.
QLYS has the edge over AAOI overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger valuation.
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.
QLYS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
QLYS's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
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.
QLYS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 20x | $173 | — |
| Cheap | 27x | $165 | -4.7% |
| Current | 29x | $173 | — |
| Fair | 45x | $270 | +56% |
| Expensive | 58x | $347 | +101% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
QLYS's PE is in its cheap range at 29x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 20x 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.
QLYS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for QLYS, 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.
QLYS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $8.54 | +42% |
| Q3 2026 | $6.01 | +16% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.78 | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.57 | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.44 | +17% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.16 | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.01 | +11% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.89 | +13% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.65 | +15% |
QLYS 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 QLYS 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.
QLYS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $188M | +11% |
| Q2 2026 | $182.2M | +11% |
| Q1 2026 | $175.6M | +9.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $175.3M | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $169.9M | +10% |
| Q2 2025 | $164.1M | +10% |
| Q1 2025 | $159.9M | +9.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $159.2M | +10% |
QLYS's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $188M last quarter, up 11% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 35% | 0 points |
| Q2 2026 | 34% | +2.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 35% | +2.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 34% | +2.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 35% | +6.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 31% | -1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 32% | +1.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 31% | +2.4 points |
QLYS 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.
QLYS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $100M | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $55.9M | +72% |
| Q1 2026 | $93.6M | -13% |
| Q4 2025 | $74.9M | +79% |
| Q3 2025 | $89.5M | +55% |
| Q2 2025 | $32.4M | -34% |
| Q1 2025 | $107.6M | +29% |
| Q4 2024 | $41.9M | +30% |
QLYS 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.
QLYS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.8% | +291K shares |
| 1 year | -2.7% | -972K shares |
| 3 years | -5.7% | -2.1M shares |
| 5 years | -12% | -4.6M shares |
| Available history | -15% | -6M shares |
QLYS has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $54.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $77.9M |
| Q1 2026 | $53.5M |
| Q4 2025 | $44.7M |
| Q3 2025 | $49.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $49.9M |
| Q1 2025 | $39.7M |
| Q4 2024 | $42.7M |
QLYS spent $230M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 27% 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.
QLYS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
QLYS 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).
QLYS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 51.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 55.4 | Neutral |
QLYS's weekly RSI is 52 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 55 (neutral).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
QLYS PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | QLYS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 29x | 28x | 3.4% above |
| PE % | 23 | 35 | 12 pts below |
QLYS 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.
QLYS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $194.2 | 11% below |
| 20 week MA | $176.6 | 2% below |
| 50 week MA | $136.5 | 27% above |
| 100 week MA | $135.5 | 28% above |
| 200 week MA | $140.8 | 23% above |
QLYS 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 QLYS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
QLYS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $84.6 | $120.4 | +42% |
| 2021 | $120.4 | $139.4 | +16% |
| 2022 | $139.4 | $111.3 | -20% |
| 2023 | $111.3 | $196.3 | +76% |
| 2024 | $196.3 | $139.8 | -29% |
| 2025 | $139.8 | $138.3 | -1.1% |
| 2026 YTD | $138.3 | $173.1 | +25% |
QLYS has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's up 25% so far in 2026.