AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
VIAV
Viavi Solutions Inc.
VIAV 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.
VIAV Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
VIAV'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.
VIAV PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 54x | $14.03 | -57% |
| Fair | 93x | $24.16 | -26% |
| Current | 125x | $32.54 | — |
| Expensive | 377x | $98.00 | +201% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VIAV's PE is in its fair range at 125x.
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.
VIAV Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for VIAV to show an outlook.
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.
VIAV Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $0.26 | +333% |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.13 | -187% |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.25 | -1350% |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.19 | -$0.01 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.06 | +$0.23 |
| Q2 2025 | $0.15 | +$0.27 |
| Q1 2025 | $0.02 | +$0.04 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.18 | -1000% |
VIAV 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 VIAV 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.
VIAV Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $469.3M | +57% |
| Q2 2026 | $443.1M | +53% |
| Q1 2026 | $406.8M | +43% |
| Q4 2025 | $369.3M | +36% |
| Q3 2025 | $299.1M | +26% |
| Q2 2025 | $290.5M | +15% |
| Q1 2025 | $284.8M | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $270.8M | +6.4% |
VIAV's revenue has grown year over year for eight quarters in a row: $469M last quarter, up 57% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 17% | +15 points |
| Q2 2026 | 14% | +8.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 6.1% | +3.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 3.1% | -5.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 2.5% | -2.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 5.3% | +7.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3% | +7.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 8.2% | -0.6 points |
VIAV 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.
VIAV Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $92.7M | +312% |
| Q2 2026 | $55.6M | +204% |
| Q1 2026 | -$32.2M | -3320% |
| Q4 2025 | $36.9M | +1.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $22.5M | +263% |
| Q2 2025 | $18.3M | -18% |
| Q1 2025 | $1M | -94% |
| Q4 2024 | $36.5M | +150% |
VIAV 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.
VIAV Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +16% | +36.7M shares |
| 1 year | +19% | +43.3M shares |
| 3 years | +19% | +42M shares |
| 5 years | +15% | +35.1M shares |
| Available history | +12% | +27.9M shares |
VIAV has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $150M |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $30M |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
VIAV spent $150M buying back its own shares over the past year, about five times what it spent 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.
VIAV Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -2.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 5.0x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 2.5x | Moderate |
VIAV 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).
VIAV Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 45.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 19.6 | Oversold |
VIAV's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 20 (oversold).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
VIAV PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | VIAV | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 125x | 28x | 349% above |
| PE % | 58 | 35 | 23 pts above |
VIAV is trading at 125x earnings, a 349% 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.
VIAV Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $36.0 | 9.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $37.7 | 14% below |
| 50 week MA | $35.6 | 8.6% below |
| 100 week MA | $23.5 | 38% above |
| 200 week MA | $16.4 | 98% above |
VIAV 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's yearly returns have swung widely, from +891% in 2023 to −65% in 2022. It's up 42% so far in 2026.
VIAV Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $15.1 | $14.7 | -2.8% |
| 2021 | $14.7 | $17.1 | +16% |
| 2022 | $17.1 | $10.3 | -40% |
| 2023 | $10.3 | $10.1 | -1.8% |
| 2024 | $10.1 | $10.2 | +1.1% |
| 2025 | $10.2 | $18.2 | +79% |
| 2026 YTD | $18.2 | $32.5 | +79% |
VIAV has the edge over AAOI on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.