AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
TASK
TaskUs, Inc.
TASK has the edge over AAOI overall, supported by stronger valuation 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.
TASK Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
TASK'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.
TASK PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 6.4x | $9.00 | — |
| Current | 8.3x | $9.00 | — |
| Cheap | 10x | $11.18 | +24% |
| Fair | 26x | $28.42 | +216% |
| Expensive | 33x | $35.43 | +294% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
TASK's PE is in its cheap range at 8.3x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 6.4x next year's earnings.
AAOI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
AAOI has the edge over TASK on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
TASK Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for TASK, with profitability 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.
TASK Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.41 | +29% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.09 | +24% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.15 | +69% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.13 | +88% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.10 | +120% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.88 | +47% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.68 | +21% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.60 | +15% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.50 | +4.2% |
TASK 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 TASK 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.
TASK Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $314.7M | +5.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $308.9M | +5% |
| Q1 2026 | $306.3M | +10% |
| Q4 2025 | $313M | +14% |
| Q3 2025 | $298.7M | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $294.1M | +24% |
| Q1 2025 | $277.8M | +22% |
| Q4 2024 | $274.2M | +17% |
TASK's revenue has grown year over year for 10 quarters in a row: $315M last quarter, up 5.4% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 12% | -1.1 points |
| Q2 2026 | 11% | +0.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 11% | -1.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 12% | +4.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 13% | +3.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 10% | +0.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 12% | +2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 8% | -5.5 points |
TASK 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.
TASK Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $22M | -48% |
| Q2 2026 | $32.6M | +85705% |
| Q1 2026 | $36.1M | +66% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.9M | -51% |
| Q3 2025 | $42M | +568% |
| Q2 2025 | $38K | -100% |
| Q1 2025 | $21.8M | -54% |
| Q4 2024 | $20.4M | -36% |
TASK 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.
TASK Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.9% | +842K shares |
| 1 year | +0.3% | +281K shares |
| 3 years | -0.7% | -697K shares |
| 5 years | -15% | -16.1M shares |
| Available history | +1.7% | +1.6M shares |
TASK has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $1,000 |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $18.1M |
| Q1 2025 | $9.7M |
| Q4 2024 | $3.1M |
TASK 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.
TASK Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.4x | Very low |
TASK's net debt is about 1.4 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from less than a year 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).
TASK Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 60.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 79.8 | Neutral |
TASK's weekly RSI is 60 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 80 (neutral).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
TASK PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | TASK | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 8.3x | 28x | 70% below |
| PE % | 14 | 43 | 29 pts below |
TASK is trading at 8.3x earnings, a 70% 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 fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 43% above its 200-week average.
TASK Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $8.45 | 6.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $7.54 | 19% above |
| 50 week MA | $8.29 | 8.6% above |
| 100 week MA | $11.9 | 24% below |
| 200 week MA | $12.5 | 28% below |
TASK 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 TASK on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
TASK Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $31.1 | $51.7 | +66% |
| 2022 | $51.7 | $16.1 | -69% |
| 2023 | $16.1 | $13.1 | -19% |
| 2024 | $13.1 | $17.0 | +30% |
| 2025 | $17.0 | $11.5 | -32% |
| 2026 YTD | $11.5 | $9.00 | -22% |
TASK has finished lower in three of the last five years. It's down 22% so far in 2026.