AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
SITM
SiTime Corporation
SITM 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.
SITM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Weak |
SITM's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, but its balance sheet is weak.
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.
SITM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 26x | $471 | — |
| Cheap | 50x | $51.83 | -89% |
| Fair | 119x | $123 | -74% |
| Expensive | 409x | $425 | -9.7% |
| Current | 452x | $471 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
SITM's PE is in its expensive range at 452x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 26x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
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.
SITM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for SITM, 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.
SITM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $18.02 | +1633% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.04 | +$4.00 |
| Q2 2026 | $0.59 | +$4.07 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.91 | +$2.89 |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.72 | +$2.33 |
| Q3 2025 | -$2.96 | +$1.18 |
| Q2 2025 | -$3.48 | +$0.64 |
| Q1 2025 | -$3.80 | +$0.33 |
| Q4 2024 | -$4.05 | -$0.42 |
SITM 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 SITM 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.
SITM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $298.7M | +257% |
| Q2 2026 | $157.4M | +127% |
| Q1 2026 | $113.6M | +88% |
| Q4 2025 | $113.3M | +66% |
| Q3 2025 | $83.6M | +45% |
| Q2 2025 | $69.5M | +58% |
| Q1 2025 | $60.3M | +83% |
| Q4 2024 | $68.1M | +61% |
SITM's revenue has grown year over year for 10 quarters in a row: $299M last quarter, up 257% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.8% | +22 points |
| Q2 2026 | 5.2% | +41 points |
| Q1 2026 | -11% | +36 points |
| Q4 2025 | 1.6% | +35 points |
| Q3 2025 | -19% | +24 points |
| Q2 2025 | -35% | +38 points |
| Q1 2025 | -47% | +60 points |
| Q4 2024 | -34% | +31 points |
SITM 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.
SITM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$16.7M | -164% |
| Q2 2026 | $27.3M | +$30.2M |
| Q1 2026 | $17.9M | +$19.1M |
| Q4 2025 | $13M | +$15.4M |
| Q3 2025 | $26.3M | +$33M |
| Q2 2025 | -$2.9M | -$149K |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.3M | -$98K |
| Q4 2024 | -$2.4M | +$1.8M |
SITM 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.
SITM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +13% | +3.7M shares |
| 1 year | +20% | +5.1M shares |
| 3 years | +40% | +8.8M shares |
| 5 years | +47% | +9.9M shares |
| Available history | +108% | +16.2M shares |
SITM 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.
SITM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 8.8x | High |
| Q2 2026 | -21.3x | Net Cash |
SITM's net debt is about 8.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
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).
SITM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 44.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 19.0 | Oversold |
SITM's weekly RSI is 44 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 19 (oversold).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
SITM PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | SITM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 452x | 28x | 1,524% above |
| PE % | 85 | 35 | 50 pts above |
SITM is trading at 452x earnings, a 1524% premium 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 fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 43% above its 200-week average.
SITM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $531.4 | 11% below |
| 20 week MA | $579.9 | 19% below |
| 50 week MA | $520.0 | 9.5% below |
| 100 week MA | $369.3 | 27% above |
| 200 week MA | $248.3 | 90% above |
SITM 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 SITM on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
SITM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $22.7 | $106.9 | +370% |
| 2021 | $106.9 | $283.9 | +166% |
| 2022 | $283.9 | $99.4 | -65% |
| 2023 | $99.4 | $122.1 | +23% |
| 2024 | $122.1 | $220.9 | +81% |
| 2025 | $220.9 | $377.1 | +71% |
| 2026 YTD | $377.1 | $470.6 | +25% |
SITM's yearly returns have swung widely, from +370% in 2020 to −65% in 2022. It's up 25% so far in 2026.