AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
V
Visa Inc.
V has a slight 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.
V Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
V's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like V.
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.
V PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 28x | $420 | — |
| Cheap | 30x | $371 | -12% |
| Fair | 33x | $402 | -4.4% |
| Current | 34x | $420 | — |
| Expensive | 38x | $474 | +13% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
V's PE is in its fair range at 34x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 28x 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.
V Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for V, 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.
V Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $15.01 | +22% |
| Q3 2026 | $12.32 | +21% |
| Q2 2026 | $11.76 | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $11.48 | +15% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.66 | +7.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $10.21 | +4.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $10.24 | +9.5% |
| Q1 2025 | $9.95 | +11% |
| Q4 2024 | $9.92 | +14% |
V 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 V 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.
V Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $12.1B | +13% |
| Q2 2026 | $11.6B | +14% |
| Q1 2026 | $11.2B | +17% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.9B | +15% |
| Q3 2025 | $10.7B | +12% |
| Q2 2025 | $10.2B | +14% |
| Q1 2025 | $9.6B | +9.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $9.5B | +10% |
V's revenue has grown year over year for 22 quarters in a row: $12.1B last quarter, up 13% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 60% | +2.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 59% | -1.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 64% | +7.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 62% | -3.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 57% | -8.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 61% | -6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 57% | -4.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 66% | -3.4 points |
V 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.
V Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $6.9B | +18% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.1B | -2.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.6B | -40% |
| Q4 2025 | $6.4B | +27% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.8B | -8% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.3B | +33% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.4B | +2.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.1B | +51% |
V 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.
V Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -7% | -136M shares |
| 1 year | -7.6% | -148M shares |
| 3 years | -13% | -268M shares |
| 5 years | -17% | -378M shares |
| Available history | -20% | -443M shares |
V has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4B |
| Q2 2026 | $4.8B |
| Q1 2026 | $7.9B |
| Q4 2025 | $3.7B |
| Q3 2025 | $4.9B |
| Q2 2025 | $4.8B |
| Q1 2025 | $4.6B |
| Q4 2024 | $4B |
V spent $20.5B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 12% from the year before.
AAOI Net Leverage
AAOI's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
V Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.3x | Very low |
V's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA). Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like V.
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).
V Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 73.7 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 82.0 | Overbought |
V's weekly RSI is 74 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 82 (overbought).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
V PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | V | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 34x | 13x | 162% above |
| PE % | 62 | 63 | 1 pt below |
V is trading at 34x earnings, a 162% premium to the Financial Services sector's median of 13x.
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.
V Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $397.6 | 5.7% above |
| 20 week MA | $378.3 | 11% above |
| 50 week MA | $346.0 | 21% above |
| 100 week MA | $343.7 | 22% above |
| 200 week MA | $300.6 | 40% above |
V 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 V on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
V Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $189.4 | $208.7 | +10% |
| 2021 | $208.7 | $216.6 | +3.8% |
| 2022 | $216.6 | $205.8 | -5% |
| 2023 | $205.8 | $260.4 | +26% |
| 2024 | $260.4 | $318.7 | +22% |
| 2025 | $318.7 | $355.0 | +11% |
| 2026 YTD | $355.0 | $420.3 | +18% |
V has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's up 18% so far in 2026.