Applied Optoelectronics
AAOI on Nasdaq. Applied Optoelectronics sells fiber-optic networking products to data centers, cable, telecom, and home networks. Market value $10.3bn.
Price checks use the past 12 months to June 2026. Some use the latest annual report instead, as marked. Quality checks use five annual reports, the latest for the year to December 2025.
Should I look at this?
Not a fit for our list right now
Why it could be worth it
See Technology stocks that passed both tests
This is not advice. Check the numbers below.
For every $100 of what the whole company costs, it produced $-3.44 of spare cash last year. A savings account pays about $4.
The filings do not give us enough to work this out.
Each dollar kept in the business earns -17 cents a year. Above 10 is good.
Quality score: 40 of 100. Price score: 0 of 100. Our list needs 70 on quality and 60 on price.
$121.57 a share, 557% above its 1-year low
Over the past year the price has ranged from $18.50 to $233.67.
Pays no dividend
Prices from Monday’s close (5 October).
Five years of cash, in billions
| Revenue | |||||
| Revenue | $212m | $223m | $218m | $249m | $456m |
| Operating margin | |||||
| Operating margin | -26.8% | -26.5% | -19.0% | -28.4% | -12.0% |
| Debt to equity | |||||
| Debt to equity | 0.22 | 0.31 | 0.11 | 0.12 | 0.05 |
| Shares outstanding | |||||
| Shares outstanding | 0.03bn | 0.04bn | 0.05bn | 0.07bn | 0.08bn |
Health checks
- Free cash flow positive0 of 4 years
- Accounting looks honest (Beneish)Warning signs
- Financial strength (Piotroski)2 of 9
- Profit backed by cash (accruals)No
- Debt0.05× equity
- Revenue growth, five yearsStrong, 14.2% a year
- Buying back its own sharesNo, 196% more shares since 2021
The quarter to June 2026
How the business did, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
- Sales: $192 million last quarter, up 86% on a year ago.
- A loss of $23 million, compared with a loss of $9 million a year ago.
- It loses 11 cents on each $1 of sales, compared with 13 cents a year earlier.
- 44% more shares than a year ago. Each share owns a bit less of the company.
- It has $441 million more cash than debt, up from $43 million a year ago.
- Sales grew on a year ago in each of the last 4 quarters.
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | $65m |
| December 2024 | $100m |
| March 2025 | $100m |
| June 2025 | $103m |
| September 2025 | $119m |
| December 2025 | $134m |
| March 2026 | $151m |
| June 2026 | $192m |
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | -$18m |
| December 2024 | -$120m |
| March 2025 | -$9m |
| June 2025 | -$9m |
| September 2025 | -$18m |
| December 2025 | -$2m |
| March 2026 | -$14m |
| June 2026 | -$23m |
From the company's quarterly reports to the SEC.
Dates
- Next results (estimated)
- n/a
- Last annual report (10-K)
- 26 February 2026
- Next quarterly (estimated, 10-Q)
- 5 November 2026
Who owns it
2 long-term investors we follow own it, unchanged from 2 last quarter. 481 funds in all.
| Fund | Value | Share of that fund | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royce & AssociatesChuck Royce | $6m | <0.1% | Cut |
| Polen CapitalDan Davidowitz | $3m | <0.1% | Added |
Largest holders overall
- BlackRock$956mCut
- Invesco$506mAdded
- Vanguard Capital Management$498mAdded
- Marex Group$419mAdded
- Vanguard Portfolio Management$393mAdded
- UBS Group AG$313mAdded
- Oberweis Asset Management$265mCut
- Geode Capital Management$248mAdded
- Value Aligned Research Advisors$236mAdded
- Goldman Sachs Group$235mAdded
From 13F filings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.
Big holders and activists
3 investors own more than 5%.
- Marex Securities Products Inc.Passive investorat least 5.6%(filed with 1 related holder)Since 8 May 2026
- BlackRock, Inc.Passive investor5.4%Since 30 June 2026
- D. E. Shaw & Co., L.L.C.Passive investorat least 4.2%−0.9 pts(filed with 1 related holder)Since 31 March 2025
- JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.Passive investorSold down below 5%Since 31 October 2025
- Invesco Ltd.Passive investorSold down below 5%Since 31 March 2026
- JANE STREET GROUP, LLCPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 30 June 2026
- The Vanguard GroupPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 13 March 2026
| Holder | Stake | Since | |
|---|---|---|---|
Marex Securities Products Inc. Passive investor | at least 5.6% (filed with 1 related holder) | 8 May 2026 | |
BlackRock, Inc. Passive investor | 5.4% | 30 June 2026 | |
D. E. Shaw & Co., L.L.C. Passive investor | at least 4.2%−0.9 pts (filed with 1 related holder) | 31 March 2025 | |
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 31 October 2025 | |
Invesco Ltd. Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 31 March 2026 | |
JANE STREET GROUP, LLC Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 30 June 2026 | |
The Vanguard Group Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 13 March 2026 |
From Schedule 13D and 13G filings: anyone owning more than 5% must file one.
What insiders did
No insider bought shares on the open market in the last 12 months. 10 sold $124m, $22m of it under preset trading plans.
- Murry Stefan J.Chief Financial OfficerSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 10 September 2026
- Shares
- 4,000
- Price
- $105.33
- Value
- $421,320
- Chang Hung-Lun (Fred)*** See RemarksSold
- Date
- 8 September 2026
- Shares
- 32,172
- Price
- $110.21
- Value
- $4m
- Yeh Shu-Hua (Joshua)*** See RemarksSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 18 August 2026
- Shares
- 6,000
- Price
- $147.73
- Value
- $886,380
- Murry Stefan J.Chief Financial OfficerSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 10 August 2026
- Shares
- 4,000
- Price
- $144.79
- Value
- $579,160
- Yeh Shu-Hua (Joshua)*** See RemarksSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 4 August 2026
- Shares
- 4,715
- Price
- $126.50
- Value
- $596,448
- Yeh Shu-Hua (Joshua)*** See RemarksSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 21 July 2026
- Shares
- 1,285
- Price
- $120.02
- Value
- $154,226
- Murry Stefan J.Chief Financial OfficerSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 10 July 2026
- Shares
- 4,000
- Price
- $122.09
- Value
- $488,360
- Yeh Shu-Hua (Joshua)*** See RemarksSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 18 June 2026
- Shares
- 6,000
- Price
- $171.89
- Value
- $1m
- Chang Hung-Lun (Fred)*** See RemarksSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 17 June 2026
- Shares
- 40,329
- Price
- $170.60
- Value
- $7m
- Yeh Shu-Hua (Joshua)*** See RemarksSold
- Date
- 12 June 2026
- Shares
- 28,826
- Price
- $166.53
- Value
- $5m
| Date | Who | Did | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 September 2026 | Murry Stefan J. Chief Financial Officer | Sold under a preset trading plan | 4,000 | $105.33 | $421,320 |
| 8 September 2026 | Chang Hung-Lun (Fred) *** See Remarks | Sold | 32,172 | $110.21 | $4m |
| 18 August 2026 | Yeh Shu-Hua (Joshua) *** See Remarks | Sold under a preset trading plan | 6,000 | $147.73 | $886,380 |
| 10 August 2026 | Murry Stefan J. Chief Financial Officer | Sold under a preset trading plan | 4,000 | $144.79 | $579,160 |
| 4 August 2026 | Yeh Shu-Hua (Joshua) *** See Remarks | Sold under a preset trading plan | 4,715 | $126.50 | $596,448 |
| 21 July 2026 | Yeh Shu-Hua (Joshua) *** See Remarks | Sold under a preset trading plan | 1,285 | $120.02 | $154,226 |
| 10 July 2026 | Murry Stefan J. Chief Financial Officer | Sold under a preset trading plan | 4,000 | $122.09 | $488,360 |
| 18 June 2026 | Yeh Shu-Hua (Joshua) *** See Remarks | Sold under a preset trading plan | 6,000 | $171.89 | $1m |
| 17 June 2026 | Chang Hung-Lun (Fred) *** See Remarks | Sold under a preset trading plan | 40,329 | $170.60 | $7m |
| 12 June 2026 | Yeh Shu-Hua (Joshua) *** See Remarks | Sold | 28,826 | $166.53 | $5m |
From Form 4 filings: insiders must report trades in their own company's shares within two days.
Warning signs in its filings
Problems the company itself reported to the SEC, in its own words.
None of the serious warning signs we check for were found. 2 things worth knowing.
We look for five warning signs: doubt it can keep going, weak checks on its own accounts, a notice that its past accounts can't be relied on, a change of auditor, and one customer bringing in a big share of sales. We don't check lawsuits, investigations or debt yet.
We checked the auditor's report, internal controls, restatement notices, auditor changes and big customers in the 10-K filed 26 Feb 2026, plus the 10-Q filed 6 Aug 2026 and 17 later 8-Ks.
Changed auditor
Worth knowingThe company changed its auditor (the firm that checks its books) in the last two years.
“Following the review and evaluation of the proposals of the participating firms, on May 4, 2026, the Committee approved the dismissal of Grant Thornton as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm.”
From an 8-K filed 8 May 2026: Change of auditor. Read it in the filing
One big customer
Worth knowingOne customer brings in a big share of sales: 53.1% last year. Losing that customer would hurt.
“In 2025, 2024, and 2023, Digicomm accounted for 53.1%, 34.1% and 11.3% of our revenue, respectively, and in 2023, ATX Networks accounted for 15.6% of our revenue.”
From the 10-K filed 26 February 2026, Item 1. Business. Read it in the filing
A 10-K is the yearly report every US company files with the SEC. An 8-K is a short notice of a big event.
What could go wrong
- Its accounts show patterns that sometimes come before companies have to correct past results (Beneish score).
- Profits run ahead of cash.
Whether the price already reflects the risks is what the deep dive is for.
The deep dive
Everything above is arithmetic on public filings. The deep dive reads the last ten years of annual reports, the proxy statements, and the earnings calls, then argues the case the way Buffett, Klarman, and Hohn would, and checks every claim against the source.
- What the business is worth, as a range, and the margin of safety at today’s price
- Prices to start buying, buy, and buy hard
- The three things that would make this a mistake
- Every number footnoted to the filing it came from
Your first deep dive is free.
Not advice. Numbers on this page come from SEC filings and are updated each night; prices are updated again after the US market closes. The five-year figures are rounded.