AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
U
Unity Software Inc.
U 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.
U Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Under pressure | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
U's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently strong, but its profitability is under pressure.
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.
U PE Valuation
U 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 29x next year's earnings.
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.
U Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect U to return to profit, with revenue growing. 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.
U Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.74 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$0.81 | +$0.24 |
| Q2 2026 | -$1.36 | -$0.30 |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.57 | -$0.45 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.96 | +$0.72 |
| Q3 2025 | -$1.05 | +$0.99 |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.06 | +$0.99 |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.12 | +$1.12 |
| Q4 2024 | -$1.68 | +$0.48 |
U has the edge over AAOI on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 U 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.
U Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $622.1M | +32% |
| Q2 2026 | $546.5M | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $508.2M | +17% |
| Q4 2025 | $503.1M | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $470.6M | +5.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $440.9M | -1.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $435M | -5.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $457.1M | -25% |
U's revenue has grown year over year for five quarters in a row: $622M last quarter, up 32% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 16% | +43 points |
| Q2 2026 | -5.9% | +21 points |
| Q1 2026 | -69% | -40 points |
| Q4 2025 | -21% | +5.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | -27% | +1.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | -27% | +1.9 points |
| Q1 2025 | -29% | +52 points |
| Q4 2024 | -27% | +15 points |
U 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.
U Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $219.7M | +45% |
| Q2 2026 | $202M | +59% |
| Q1 2026 | $66.5M | +809% |
| Q4 2025 | $118.7M | +12% |
| Q3 2025 | $151.3M | +31% |
| Q2 2025 | $126.7M | +59% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.3M | +$21.9M |
| Q4 2024 | $105.8M | +74% |
U 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.
U Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +14% | +60.3M shares |
| 1 year | +17% | +73.9M shares |
| 3 years | +30% | +114M shares |
| 5 years | +76% | +214M shares |
| Available history | +118% | +270M shares |
U has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | — |
| Q2 2021 | — |
| Q1 2021 | — |
| Q4 2020 | — |
| Q2 2020 | — |
AAOI Net Leverage
AAOI's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
U Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -66.1x | Net Cash |
U 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).
U Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 63.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 71.1 | Neutral |
U's weekly RSI is 63 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 71 (neutral).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
U PE vs Technology Sector
U has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
U Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $44.1 | 14% above |
| 20 week MA | $40.4 | 24% above |
| 50 week MA | $34.0 | 48% above |
| 100 week MA | $31.5 | 59% above |
| 200 week MA | $29.9 | 68% above |
U 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 U on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
U Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $68.4 | $164.9 | +141% |
| 2021 | $164.9 | $145.6 | -12% |
| 2022 | $145.6 | $27.6 | -81% |
| 2023 | $27.6 | $40.9 | +48% |
| 2024 | $40.9 | $22.8 | -44% |
| 2025 | $22.8 | $45.2 | +98% |
| 2026 YTD | $45.2 | $50.2 | +11% |
U's yearly returns have swung widely, from +141% in 2020 to −81% in 2022. It's up 11% so far in 2026.