Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.

Semiconductors & Related Devices

AAOIStrong5 of 9 basics passed

$110.10

+3.97%

Market cap $9.35B

$110.10

+3.97%

Market cap $9.35B

Applied Optoelectronics Inc is a provider of fiber-optic networking products, for four networking end-markets; internet data center, CATV, telecom, and FTTH.

It is a $9.35B technology company. Revenue grew 61.8% over the last year, it currently loses money, and it carries $41.9M of net debt.

Website: ao-inc.com
Location: Sugar Land, TX
Employees: 4 691
Sector: Technology

Share price · 3 years

$7.46 → $110.10+1375.9%

price only — dividends excluded

Key facts · TTM

Revenue: total sales; $596M
Loss: spends more than it earns; -$57.0M
Free cash flow: cash left after running the business; -$891M
Net debt: debt minus cash on hand; $41.9M
Shares: up 240% since 2016 — dilution; 60.2M
Volatility: beta vs the market — under 1 swings less; 3.94

Revenue, last 10 years

52-week range

Low $19.49$110.10High $223.10

Today's price is 45% of the way from the year's low to its high.

Valuation vs own history

P/S

15.6×

P/B

5.6×

13%

Share of the last ~5 years that was pricier than today (unusually expensive vs its own history). Based on the daily valuation record.

Insider activity · 90 days

-$6.75Mnet selling

Purchases$0

Sales$6.75M

Insiders trading, last 14d0 buy · 1 sell

Standing in Technology

Size$9.35Btop 90%
Revenue growth+27%top 15%
Net margin-10%top 91%
Return on equity-6%top 90%

Ranked against 220 Technology companies with a full CV — for P/E, lower ranks higher.

Skills

Six independent scores, 0–100, built from reported numbers and valuation history. Click a row to see how it was scored.

Valuation, Growth, Profitability, Quality and Moat lag behind.

Valuation15

P/E vs own historyn/a · 10/25
FCF yield-9.5% · 0/25
P/S15.6x · 5/25
EV/EBITDA740.3x · 0/25

Growth25

Revenue CAGR21.1% · 25/25
Net income CAGRn/a · 0/25
EPS CAGR ~5Yn/a · 0/25
Fwd implied growthn/a · 0/25

Profitability0

ROIC-4.9% · 0/25
ROE-5.6% · 0/25
Net margin-9.6% · 0/25
Operating margin-11.3% · 0/25

Health70

Altman Z8.98 · 25/25
Current ratio2.78 · 25/25
Interest coverage-31.2x · 0/25
Net cash / debtD/A 4% · 20/25

Quality27

Piotroski F5/9 · 15/25
Beneish M-0.49 · 6/25
FCF conversionn/a · 0/25
Margin stabilityσ 19.7% · 6/25

Moat6

ROIC >12% years1/10 yrs · 0/25
Median gross margin25.9% · 6/25
FCF-positive years2/10 yrs · 0/25
Worst-year net marginworst -74.9% · 0/25

How the scores work →

Experience

The company's career so far — founding, the IPO, landmark products and acquisitions, plus revenue milestones and insider buying.

FY2017Financial
Best year on record
$74.0M net income
FY2016Financial
First recorded profitable year
$31.2M net income

Achievements

Verifiable track record, straight from the reported numbers.

$10 000 invested in 2021 would be worth ~$157 736 today — price return only

$455.7M revenue in FY2025

Revenue up 61.8% year over year

4 691 employees

Strengths & watch-outs

What a bull and a bear would each point to. Both lists come from the reported numbers, not opinions.

Strengths

Revenue growing 61.8% year over year
Altman Z-Score 8.98 — low bankruptcy-risk zone

Watch-outs

Not profitable — 9.6% net margin
Negative free cash flow (-$890.6M)
Thin interest coverage (-31.2×)
Loss-making in 8 of the recent years

Qualifications

The basics a company should meet before you research it further. Each check uses the reported numbers.

5 of 9 checks passed

Revenue growing — the company sells more than a year ago+61.8% YoY
Profitable — makes more than it spends-$57.0M TTM
Profit growing — earnings are higher than last year+79.5% YoY
Generates cash — cash left after running and investing-$891M TTM
Debt under control — could handle its obligationscurrent ratio 2.78
Established company — not a micro-cap — lower blow-up risk$9.35B market cap
Not printing shares — share count not ballooning — you keep your slice+175.2% shares over ~5y
Proven track record — years of profitability behind it2/10 profitable years
Financially stable — balance sheet not near distressAltman Z 9.0 — safe
Pays a dividend — returns cash to shareholdersno data
Valuation not extreme — price not wildly above earningsno data

Peer comparisonApplied Optoelectronics, Inc. vs 6 largest technology peers — cap, P/E, growth and margin side by sideOpen ▾

Company	Market cap	P/E	Revenue growth	Net margin	Profile
AAOI this company	$9.3B	—	+61.8%	-9.6%	Strong
NVDA Nvidia Corp	$5.5T	28.6	+83.4%	63.7%	Mixed
AAPL Apple Inc.	$4.9T	38.1	+14.2%	27.6%	Strong
GOOGL Alphabet Inc.	$4.3T	17.6	+20.1%	54.8%	Mixed
MSFT Microsoft Corp	$4.0T	29.7	+17.8%	40.3%	Strong
SPCX Space Exploration Technologies Corp.	$2.1T	—	+33.2%	-34.0%	Strained
META Meta Platforms, Inc.	$1.8T	26.9	+27.7%	29.8%	Mixed

Head-to-head: AAOI vs NVDA · AAOI vs AAPL · AAOI vs GOOGL

References

What covering analysts publish about the company — information only, not a recommendation.

Strong buy 2Buy 7Hold 4

Appendix · Financial records

The full statements behind this CV, FY2016–FY2025. For readers who want to check the numbers.

Profit & lossRevenue $596M · net income -$57.0M (TTM)Open ▾

Profit & loss

Revenue and profit over the company's career — the income statement, visualised.

How FY2025 revenue flows to profit

RevenueNet income

Revenue (TTM)

$596M

YoY 61.8%

Net income (TTM)

-$57.0M

Margin -9.6%

Gross margin

28.9%

Operating margin

-11.3%

Income statement — full detail

Figures in USD billions · EPS in USD

	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Revenue	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.5
Gross profit	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.1
Operating income (EBIT)	-0.0	-0.1	-0.1	-0.0	-0.1	-0.1
Net income	-0.1	-0.1	-0.1	-0.1	-0.2	-0.0
EPS (diluted)	-2.67	-2.01	-2.38	-1.75	-4.50	-0.64

Cash flowFree cash flow -$891M · operating cash flow -$132M (TTM)Open ▾

Cash flow statement

Cash generated by the business and what is left after investment — year by year.

Operating cash flowFree cash flow

Free cash flow (TTM)

-$891M

Margin -149.4%

Operating cash flow (TTM)

-$132M

FCF margin

-149.4%

Cash flow statement — full detail

Figures in USD billions

	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Operating cash flow	-0.0	-0.0	-0.0	-0.0	-0.1	-0.2
Capital expenditure	-0.0	-0.0	-0.0	-0.0	-0.0	-0.2
Free cash flow	-0.1	-0.0	-0.0	-0.0	-0.1	-0.4
FCF margin	-25.5%	-9.3%	-7.7%	-7.8%	-45.3%	-77.6%

Balance sheetAssets $1.17B · net debt $41.9M (FY2025)Open ▾

Balance sheet

How the balance sheet is built — what it owns versus how it is financed.

How $1.17B of assets is financed

37%

63%

Liabilities $435M — borrowed moneyEquity $734M — owners' stake

Cash vs debt

Total debt $248M − cash $206M = net debt $41.9M

Cash on hand covers 83% of debt.

Altman Z-Score

8.98

Safe zone

Debt repayment

0.0 yrs

Years of free cash flow to clear net debt

Interest coverage

-31.2x

EBIT ÷ interest expense

ROE

-5.6%

Profit per $1 of equity

Balance sheet — full detail

Figures in USD billions

	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Cash & equivalents	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.2
Total assets	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.5	1.2
Total liabilities	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.4
Total debt	—	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.2
Equity	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.7
Net debt	—	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.0

Want the live picture — intraday moves, valuation history and full analysis?

Deeper analysis of AAOI on PreMarketPrice

Figures are derived from company filings (quarterly values normalised from as-filed year-to-date data where applicable) and may be delayed, restated or incomplete. This page is information, not investment advice. Latest price $110.10 · market cap $9.35B.