AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
TSEM
Tower Semiconductor Ltd.
TSEM 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.
TSEM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
TSEM's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
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.
TSEM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 11x | $27.61 | -83% |
| Forward | 25x | $158 | — |
| Fair | 26x | $66.20 | -58% |
| Expensive | 42x | $106 | -33% |
| Current | 62x | $158 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
TSEM's PE is in its expensive range at 62x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 25x next year's earnings, in its fair 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.
TSEM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for TSEM, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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.
TSEM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $6.34 | +151% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.53 | +45% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.15 | +19% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.93 | +3.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.72 | -7% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.74 | -61% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.81 | -59% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.86 | -60% |
| Q3 2024 | $1.85 | -62% |
TSEM 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 TSEM 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.
TSEM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $460.1M | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $413.6M | +15% |
| Q4 2025 | $440.2M | +14% |
| Q3 2025 | $395.7M | +6.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $372.1M | +5.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $358.2M | +9.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $387.2M | +10% |
| Q3 2024 | $370.5M | +3.4% |
TSEM's revenue has grown year over year for eight quarters in a row: $460M last quarter, up 24% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 20% | +8.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 16% | +6.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 16% | +4.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 13% | -2.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 11% | -5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 9.2% | -1.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 12% | -0.8 points |
| Q3 2024 | 15% | -86 points |
TSEM 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.
TSEM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -$9.6M | -181% |
| Q1 2026 | $353.6M | +$371.1M |
| Q4 2025 | -$75.3M | -2680% |
| Q3 2025 | $35.9M | +$38.8M |
| Q2 2025 | $11.9M | +2436% |
| Q1 2025 | -$17.5M | -245% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.9M | +$25.6M |
| Q3 2024 | -$2.9M | -101% |
TSEM 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.
TSEM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +85K shares |
| 1 year | +1% | +1.1M shares |
| 3 years | +2.9% | +3.2M shares |
| 5 years | +4.4% | +4.8M shares |
| Available history | +6.3% | +6.8M shares |
TSEM has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
TSEM hasn't bought back shares 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.
TSEM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2024 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
TSEM 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).
TSEM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 40.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 9.7 | Oversold |
TSEM's weekly RSI is 41 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 10 (oversold).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
TSEM PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | TSEM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 62x | 28x | 124% above |
| PE % | 87 | 35 | 52 pts above |
TSEM is trading at 62x earnings, a 124% 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.
TSEM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $190.6 | 17% below |
| 20 week MA | $213.0 | 26% below |
| 50 week MA | $191.3 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $122.3 | 29% above |
| 200 week MA | $79.4 | 99% above |
TSEM 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 TSEM on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
TSEM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $24.3 | $25.4 | +4.7% |
| 2021 | $25.4 | $38.4 | +51% |
| 2022 | $38.4 | $43.9 | +14% |
| 2023 | $43.9 | $30.5 | -31% |
| 2024 | $30.5 | $52.1 | +71% |
| 2025 | $52.1 | $121.6 | +134% |
| 2026 YTD | $121.6 | $157.9 | +30% |
TSEM has finished higher in five of the last six years, three of them by more than 50%. It's up 30% so far in 2026.