AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
STX
Seagate Technology Holdings plc
STX 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.
STX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
STX'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.
STX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 9.9x | $188 | -65% |
| Forward | 12x | $545 | — |
| Fair | 17x | $318 | -42% |
| Current | 29x | $545 | — |
| Expensive | 43x | $823 | +51% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
STX's PE is in its expensive range at 29x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 12x 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.
STX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for STX, 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.
STX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $46.99 | +147% |
| Q3 2026 | $19.06 | +145% |
| Q2 2026 | $13.90 | +105% |
| Q1 2026 | $10.54 | +51% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.84 | +60% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.79 | +101% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.77 | +328% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.96 | +$8.26 |
| Q4 2024 | $5.51 | +$9.02 |
STX 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 STX 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.
STX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.2B | +61% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.6B | +48% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.1B | +44% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.8B | +22% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.6B | +21% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.4B | +30% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.2B | +31% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.3B | +50% |
STX's revenue has grown year over year for 10 quarters in a row: $4.2B last quarter, up 61% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 49% | +22 points |
| Q2 2026 | 43% | +20 points |
| Q1 2026 | 32% | +12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 30% | +8.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 26% | +7.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 23% | +6.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 20% | +11 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | +13 points |
STX 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.
STX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.5B | +246% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.1B | +163% |
| Q1 2026 | $953M | +341% |
| Q4 2025 | $607M | +305% |
| Q3 2025 | $427M | +1481% |
| Q2 2025 | $425M | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $216M | +69% |
| Q4 2024 | $150M | +52% |
STX 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.
STX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.3% | +3M shares |
| 1 year | +2.7% | +6M shares |
| 3 years | +12% | +24M shares |
| 5 years | +0.4% | +1M shares |
| Available history | -12% | -33M shares |
STX has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $400M |
| Q2 2026 | $117M |
| Q1 2026 | $30M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $29M |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
STX spent $547M buying back its own shares over 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.
STX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.8x | Moderate |
STX's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 1.6 years 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).
STX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 40.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 8.3 | Oversold |
STX's weekly RSI is 40 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 8 (oversold).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
STX PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | STX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 29x | 28x | 2.7% above |
| PE % | 75 | 35 | 40 pts above |
STX 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.
STX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $683.6 | 20% below |
| 20 week MA | $785.0 | 31% below |
| 50 week MA | $630.7 | 14% below |
| 100 week MA | $387.3 | 41% above |
| 200 week MA | $234.4 | 133% above |
STX 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's yearly returns have swung widely, from +891% in 2023 to −65% in 2022. It's up 42% so far in 2026.
STX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $59.6 | $63.0 | +5.7% |
| 2021 | $63.0 | $111.4 | +77% |
| 2022 | $111.4 | $50.5 | -55% |
| 2023 | $50.5 | $85.4 | +69% |
| 2024 | $85.4 | $87.4 | +2.4% |
| 2025 | $87.4 | $286.2 | +228% |
| 2026 YTD | $286.2 | $545.1 | +90% |
STX has the edge over AAOI on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.