AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
YOU
Clear Secure, Inc.
YOU 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.
YOU Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
YOU'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.
YOU PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 19x | $32.82 | -42% |
| Forward | 25x | $56.79 | — |
| Fair | 32x | $54.08 | -4.8% |
| Current | 33x | $56.79 | — |
| Expensive | 50x | $85.27 | +50% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
YOU's PE is in its fair range at 33x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 25x 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.
YOU Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for YOU, 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.
YOU Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.31 | +35% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.71 | +1.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.48 | -9.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.25 | -24% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.12 | -29% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.68 | +95% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.64 | +110% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.64 | +169% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.58 | +394% |
YOU 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 YOU 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.
YOU Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $292.9M | +28% |
| Q2 2026 | $277.8M | +27% |
| Q1 2026 | $253M | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | $240.8M | +17% |
| Q3 2025 | $229.2M | +16% |
| Q2 2025 | $219.5M | +18% |
| Q1 2025 | $211.4M | +18% |
| Q4 2024 | $206.3M | +21% |
YOU's revenue has grown year over year for 21 quarters in a row: $293M last quarter, up 28% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 28% | +5.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 30% | +11 points |
| Q1 2026 | 25% | +6.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 22% | +5.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 23% | +5.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 19% | +3.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 18% | +4.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 17% | +7.3 points |
YOU 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.
YOU Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$103.8M | -$50.4M |
| Q2 2026 | $189M | +60% |
| Q1 2026 | $185.5M | +103% |
| Q4 2025 | $187.4M | +40% |
| Q3 2025 | -$53.5M | -$15.6M |
| Q2 2025 | $117.9M | +7.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $91.3M | +18% |
| Q4 2024 | $133.9M | +49% |
YOU 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.
YOU Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +28% | +28.5M shares |
| 1 year | +34% | +33.5M shares |
| 3 years | +44% | +40.4M shares |
| 5 years | +79% | +58M shares |
| Available history | +79% | +57.8M shares |
YOU has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $170.9M |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $1.2M |
| Q4 2025 | $1.8M |
| Q3 2025 | $5.9M |
| Q2 2025 | $24.6M |
| Q1 2025 | $101.7M |
| Q4 2024 | $47.8M |
YOU spent $174M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 3.4% 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.
YOU Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.6x | Very low |
YOU 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).
YOU Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 64.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 50.9 | Neutral |
YOU's weekly RSI is 64 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 51 (neutral).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
YOU PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | YOU | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 33x | 28x | 19% above |
| PE % | 55 | 43 | 12 pts above |
YOU is trading at 33x earnings, a 19% 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.
YOU Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $46.6 | 22% above |
| 20 week MA | $47.7 | 19% above |
| 50 week MA | $46.3 | 23% above |
| 100 week MA | $37.5 | 51% above |
| 200 week MA | $30.4 | 87% above |
YOU 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.
YOU Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $48.0 | $30.3 | -37% |
| 2022 | $30.3 | $26.8 | -12% |
| 2023 | $26.8 | $20.7 | -23% |
| 2024 | $20.7 | $27.2 | +32% |
| 2025 | $27.2 | $35.9 | +32% |
| 2026 YTD | $35.9 | $56.8 | +58% |
YOU has the edge over AAOI on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.