AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
VERX
Vertex, Inc.
VERX 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.
VERX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
VERX's revenue and cash flow are currently healthy, and its balance sheet is stable, 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.
VERX PE Valuation
VERX has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
VERX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for VERX, 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.
VERX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.99 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$0.28 | +$0.06 |
| Q2 2026 | $0.03 | +$0.35 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.04 | +$0.24 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.05 | +$0.38 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.34 | -270% |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.32 | -346% |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.28 | -660% |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.33 | -$0.24 |
VERX is still losing money, but far less than before: $0.28 per share over the past year, against $0.57 at its worst in late 2020.
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 VERX 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.
VERX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $213.3M | +11% |
| Q2 2026 | $204M | +11% |
| Q1 2026 | $196.6M | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $194.7M | +9.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $192.1M | +13% |
| Q2 2025 | $184.6M | +15% |
| Q1 2025 | $177.1M | +13% |
| Q4 2024 | $178.5M | +15% |
VERX's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $213M last quarter, up 11% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1% | -2.1 points |
| Q2 2026 | -2.2% | -0.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | -1.5% | -4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 0.8% | +8.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 2.3% | -0.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | -2.1% | -6.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 2.5% | +3.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | -7.3% | -5.7 points |
VERX 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.
VERX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $53.2M | +76% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.6M | -46% |
| Q1 2026 | $7.7M | +$19.9M |
| Q4 2025 | $10.1M | -44% |
| Q3 2025 | $30.2M | +64% |
| Q2 2025 | $19.6M | -47% |
| Q1 2025 | -$12.3M | -372% |
| Q4 2024 | $17.9M | -38% |
VERX 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.
VERX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.5% | +876K shares |
| 1 year | +0.1% | +96.8K shares |
| 3 years | +6.7% | +10.2M shares |
| 5 years | +9.5% | +14.1M shares |
| Available history | +25% | +32.6M shares |
VERX has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $27.1M |
| Q2 2026 | $26.6M |
| Q1 2026 | $20M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
VERX spent $74M buying back its own shares over the past year, after none 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.
VERX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.5x | Very low |
VERX's net debt is about 2.3 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).
VERX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 65.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 89.0 | Overbought |
VERX's weekly RSI is 66 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 89 (overbought).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
VERX PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | VERX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 501x | 28x | 1,697% above |
| PE % | 74 | 37 | 37 pts above |
VERX 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.
VERX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $14.4 | 23% above |
| 20 week MA | $13.4 | 32% above |
| 50 week MA | $14.3 | 24% above |
| 100 week MA | $24.8 | 28% below |
| 200 week MA | $26.6 | 33% below |
VERX 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 VERX on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
VERX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $23.6 | $34.1 | +45% |
| 2021 | $34.1 | $17.1 | -50% |
| 2022 | $17.1 | $14.8 | -13% |
| 2023 | $14.8 | $26.9 | +82% |
| 2024 | $26.9 | $52.7 | +96% |
| 2025 | $52.7 | $20.3 | -61% |
| 2026 YTD | $20.3 | $17.8 | -13% |
VERX has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 13% so far in 2026.