AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI has the edge over RSSS overall, supported by stronger modeled upside.
RSSS
Research Solutions, Inc.
RSSS 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.
RSSS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
RSSS's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
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.
RSSS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 13x | $1.94 | — |
| Cheap | 15x | $1.38 | -29% |
| Fair | 22x | $2.00 | +2.9% |
| Current | 22x | $1.94 | — |
| Expensive | 86x | $7.77 | +300% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
RSSS's PE is in its fair range at 22x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 13x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
AAOI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
AAOI has the edge over RSSS on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
RSSS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect RSSS'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 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.
RSSS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.15 | +67% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.09 | +125% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.15 | +$0.28 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.13 | +$0.27 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.04 | +$0.11 |
| Q2 2025 | $0.04 | +$0.17 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.13 | -$0.10 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.14 | -$0.12 |
| Q3 2024 | -$0.07 | -$0.04 |
RSSS 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 RSSS 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.
RSSS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $12.1M | -2.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $12.1M | -4.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $11.8M | -1% |
| Q3 2025 | $12.3M | +2.2% |
| Q2 2025 | $12.4M | +2.5% |
| Q1 2025 | $12.7M | +4.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $11.9M | +16% |
| Q3 2024 | $12M | +20% |
RSSS's revenue grew through 2024 and has held roughly level since: $12M last quarter, down 2.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 7% | -2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8.6% | +4.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 6.3% | +5.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 7.8% | +2.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9.7% | +4.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 4.4% | +3.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 0.8% | +4.9 points |
| Q3 2024 | 5.4% | +16 points |
RSSS 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.
RSSS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $1.8M | -22% |
| Q1 2026 | $1M | -65% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.3M | +16% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.9M | +43% |
| Q2 2024 | $1.9M | +30% |
| Q1 2024 | $2M | +141% |
| Q4 2023 | $306.7K | -66% |
| Q3 2023 | -$789.4K | -850% |
RSSS 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.
RSSS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.5% | -163K shares |
| 1 year | +2.4% | +769K shares |
| 3 years | +11% | +3.1M shares |
| 5 years | +24% | +6.3M shares |
| Available history | +34% | +8.2M shares |
RSSS has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $5,654 |
| Q1 2026 | $7,836 |
| Q4 2025 | $16,162 |
| Q3 2025 | $23,387 |
| Q2 2025 | $26,184 |
| Q1 2025 | $703,115 |
| Q4 2024 | $189,159 |
| Q3 2024 | $16,119 |
RSSS 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.
RSSS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -2.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -2.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -2.6x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -2.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -3.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -3.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -2.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2024 | -3.4x | Net Cash |
RSSS 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).
RSSS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 37.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 15.3 | Oversold |
RSSS's weekly RSI is 37 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 15 (oversold).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
RSSS PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | RSSS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 22x | 28x | 23% below |
| PE % | 46 | 35 | 11 pts above |
RSSS is trading at 22x earnings, a 23% discount to 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 the edge over RSSS on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
RSSS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $1.98 | 2% below |
| 20 week MA | $2.12 | 8.5% below |
| 50 week MA | $2.38 | 18% below |
| 100 week MA | $2.77 | 30% below |
| 200 week MA | $2.66 | 27% below |
RSSS is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 27% 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 RSSS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
RSSS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $3.29 | $2.27 | -31% |
| 2021 | $2.27 | $2.37 | +4.4% |
| 2022 | $2.37 | $1.99 | -16% |
| 2023 | $1.99 | $2.60 | +31% |
| 2024 | $2.60 | $4.14 | +59% |
| 2025 | $4.14 | $2.91 | -30% |
| 2026 YTD | $2.91 | $1.94 | -33% |
RSSS has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 33% so far in 2026.