AAOI
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.
AAOI offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
ZS
Zscaler, Inc.
ZS 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.
ZS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Strong | |
| Unavailable |
ZS's revenue and cash flow are currently healthy, but its profitability is under pressure. There isn't enough data to rate its balance sheet.
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.
ZS PE Valuation
ZS 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.
ZS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Broad | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for ZS, 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.
ZS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.04 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$0.39 | -$0.12 |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.48 | -$0.23 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.42 | -$0.32 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.26 | -$0.02 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.27 | +$0.12 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.25 | +$0.25 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.10 | +$0.84 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.24 | +$0.91 |
ZS is still losing money, but far less than before: $0.39 per share over the past year, against $2.77 at its worst in mid-2022.
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 ZS 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 has the edge over ZS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ZS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $898.2M | +25% |
| Q2 2026 | $850.5M | +25% |
| Q1 2026 | $815.8M | +26% |
| Q4 2025 | $788.1M | +26% |
| Q3 2025 | $719.2M | +21% |
| Q2 2025 | $678M | +23% |
| Q1 2025 | $647.9M | +23% |
| Q4 2024 | $628M | +26% |
ZS's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $898M last quarter, up 25% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.7% | +2.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | -3.5% | +0.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | -6.3% | -0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | -4.6% | +0.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | -4.5% | +0.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | -3.8% | -3.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | -6.2% | +2.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | -4.9% | +4.4 points |
ZS's operating margin was −1.7% last quarter, up 2.8 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
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.
ZS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $79.4M | -58% |
| Q2 2026 | $155.6M | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $186.3M | +13% |
| Q4 2025 | $431M | +37% |
| Q3 2025 | $190.6M | +24% |
| Q2 2025 | $138.9M | +0.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $164.4M | +48% |
| Q4 2024 | $314.3M | +35% |
ZS 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.
ZS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -522K shares |
| 1 year | +3.8% | +5.8M shares |
| 3 years | +11% | +15.3M shares |
| 5 years | +18% | +24.6M shares |
| Available history | +26% | +32.7M shares |
ZS has the edge over AAOI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2020 | — |
| Q2 2020 | — |
| Q1 2020 | — |
| Q4 2019 | — |
AAOI Net Leverage
AAOI's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
ZS Net Leverage
ZS's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
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).
ZS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 51.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 49.0 | Neutral |
ZS's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 49 (neutral).
AAOI PE vs Technology Sector
AAOI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
ZS PE vs Technology Sector
ZS 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.
ZS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $214.3 | 9.8% below |
| 20 week MA | $184.7 | 4.6% above |
| 50 week MA | $175.4 | 10% above |
| 100 week MA | $214.1 | 9.7% below |
| 200 week MA | $192.3 | 0.5% above |
ZS 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 ZS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
ZS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $47.6 | $205.3 | +331% |
| 2021 | $205.3 | $323.0 | +57% |
| 2022 | $323.0 | $108.8 | -66% |
| 2023 | $108.8 | $221.6 | +104% |
| 2024 | $221.6 | $184.6 | -17% |
| 2025 | $184.6 | $230.5 | +25% |
| 2026 YTD | $230.5 | $193.2 | -16% |
ZS's yearly returns have swung widely, from +331% in 2020 to −66% in 2022. It's down 16% so far in 2026.