AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
SNDK
Sandisk Corporation
SNDK has the edge over AAOI overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and 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.
SNDK Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
SNDK's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
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.
SNDK PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 3.8x | $937 | — |
| Current | 7.5x | $937 | — |
| Cheap | 17x | $2,173 | +132% |
| Fair | 24x | $3,048 | +225% |
| Expensive | 59x | $7,452 | +695% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
SNDK's PE is 7.5x, 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.
SNDK Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for SNDK, 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.
SNDK Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $247.30 | +97% |
| Q3 2026 | $125.61 | +$137.63 |
| Q2 2026 | $73.76 | +$85.07 |
| Q2 2025 | -$11.31 | -$6.65 |
SNDK 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 has the edge over SNDK 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.
SNDK Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $11B | +378% |
| Q2 2026 | $9B | +372% |
| Q1 2026 | $6B | +251% |
| Q4 2025 | $3B | +61% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.3B | +23% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.9B | +8% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.7B | -0.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.9B | +13% |
SNDK's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $11B last quarter, up 378% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 80% | +72 points |
| Q2 2026 | 78% | +78 points |
| Q1 2026 | 69% | +180 points |
| Q4 2025 | 35% | +25 points |
| Q3 2025 | 7.6% | -9 points |
| Q2 2025 | 0.9% | N/A |
| Q1 2025 | -111% | -122 points |
| Q4 2024 | 10% | +6.6 points |
SNDK 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.
SNDK Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $6.3B | +1340% |
| Q2 2026 | $7.1B | +14355% |
| Q1 2026 | $3B | +$3B |
| Q3 2025 | $438M | +$636M |
| Q2 2025 | $49M | +$217M |
| Q1 2025 | -$18M | +$23M |
| Q3 2024 | -$198M | -$157M |
SNDK 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.
SNDK Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.6% | -1M shares |
| 1 year | +3.4% | +5M shares |
| 3 years | +6.9% | +10M shares |
SNDK has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $5B |
| Q3 2024 | — |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
AAOI Net Leverage
AAOI's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
SNDK Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
SNDK 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).
SNDK Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 40.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 10.6 | Oversold |
SNDK's weekly RSI is 40 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 11 (oversold).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
SNDK PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | SNDK | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 7.5x | 28x | 73% below |
| PE % | 4 | 27 | 23 pts below |
SNDK is trading at 7.5x earnings, a 73% 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 stronger trend alignment. AAOI is above 1 of 5 weekly averages versus SNDK above 0 of 3.
SNDK Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $1,317.5 | 29% below |
| 20 week MA | $1,465.4 | 36% below |
| 50 week MA | $1,119.6 | 16% below |
SNDK is in a downtrend: it's below all three of its weekly moving averages, and 16% below its 50-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's yearly returns have swung widely, from +891% in 2023 to −65% in 2022. It's up 42% so far in 2026.
SNDK Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $50.4 | $250.1 | +396% |
| 2026 YTD | $250.1 | $937.5 | +275% |
SNDK has the edge over AAOI on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.