AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
SANM
Sanmina Corporation
SANM has the edge over AAOI overall, supported by lower modeled downside 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.
SANM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
SANM's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow 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.
SANM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 10x | $69.85 | -58% |
| Fair | 16x | $111 | -32% |
| Current | 24x | $164 | — |
| Expensive | 25x | $170 | +3.4% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
SANM's PE is 24x, 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 |
Analysts expect AAOI to return to profit, with revenue growing. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
SANM Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for SANM to show an outlook.
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.
SANM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $6.85 | +54% |
SANM has the edge over AAOI in the latest year-over-year earnings comparison.
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's revenue has grown year over year for 10 quarters in a row: $270M last quarter, up 127% from the same quarter a year ago.
| 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.
SANM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.9B | +84% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.5B | +70% |
| Q1 2026 | $4B | +102% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.2B | +59% |
SANM has the edge over AAOI on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 6.4% | +1.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 3.9% | -0.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 2.3% | -2.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 3.7% | N/A |
| Q2 2025 | 4.7% | N/A |
| Q1 2025 | 4.6% | N/A |
| Q4 2024 | 4.4% | N/A |
SANM 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.
SANM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $23.6M | -86% |
| Q1 2026 | $342M | +171% |
| Q4 2025 | $91.9M | +96% |
SANM and AAOI do not have enough comparable growth data to identify a winner.
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.
SANM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | +25K shares |
| 1 year | +1.2% | +640K shares |
SANM has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
AAOI Net Leverage
AAOI's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
SANM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | -1.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
SANM's net debt is less than a year 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).
SANM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 44.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 20.6 | Neutral |
SANM's weekly RSI is 44 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 21 (neutral).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
SANM PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | SANM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 28x | 14% below |
| PE % | 82 | 35 | 47 pts above |
SANM is trading at 24x earnings, a 14% discount to 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.
SANM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $183.4 | 10% below |
| 20 week MA | $194.9 | 16% below |
| 50 week MA | $185.5 | 11% below |
| 100 week MA | $142.9 | 15% above |
| 200 week MA | $101.8 | 62% above |
SANM 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 SANM on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
SANM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $34.2 | $32.3 | -5.4% |
| 2021 | $32.3 | $40.6 | +26% |
| 2022 | $40.6 | $58.4 | +44% |
| 2023 | $58.4 | $51.4 | -12% |
| 2024 | $51.4 | $76.6 | +49% |
| 2025 | $76.6 | $154.3 | +101% |
| 2026 YTD | $154.3 | $164.5 | +6.6% |
SANM has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's up 6.6% so far in 2026.