AAOI vs CALX vs GTN Stock Comparison

Applied Optoelectronics, Calix and Gray Media Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CALX Calix, Inc
$38.31 +14.3% 1M -38.4% 1Y
Market cap
$2.28B
P/E
44.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.11B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
3 wins
GTN Gray Media, Inc
$4.47 -0.9% 1M +1.6% 1Y
Market cap
$456.57M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.15B
Div. yield
0.07%
Television Broadcasting Communication Services
3 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Applied Optoelectronics leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Applied Optoelectronics 4, Gray Media 3, Calix 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAAOICALXGTNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.09B $2.28B $456.57M AAOI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -89.3x 44.5x -7.9x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 111.5x 23.6x 1.8x GTN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +61.8% +27.8% -11.3% AAOI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -9.6% 4.6% -1.8% CALX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -4.2% — 2.3% GTN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 13.8x — 7.2x GTN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.07% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +123.2% -38.4% +1.6% AAOI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +59.6%/yr -9.4%/yr -28.2%/yr AAOI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 139.0% 41.6% 62.2% CALX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 32/100 76/100 52/100 CALX

Percentile Scorecard

AAOICALXGTN

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAAOICALXGTN
Valuation 12 #99 of 112 60 #46 of 112 87 #8 of 53
Growth 54 #50 of 108 82 #20 of 108 9 #40 of 44
Profitability 16 #88 of 104 64 #38 of 104 54 #20 of 42
Financial Health 71 #34 of 116 77 #28 of 116 32 #42 of 61
Shareholder Returns 9 #71 of 78 97 #3 of 78 80 #6 of 26
Overall 32 76 52
  • AAOI ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • CALX ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • GTN ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAAOICALXGTNSPY
1 month -21.3%+14.3%-0.9% +0.7%
3 months -12.1%+8.9%+10.1% +3.7%
6 months -51.8%-12.1%-20.7% +7.1%
Year to date +127.2%-27.6%-7.6% +12.8%
1 year +123.2%-38.4%+1.6% +11.9%
3 years +1,018.5%+16.2%-29.7% +85.2%
3 years, per year +123.8%+5.1%-11.1% +22.8%
5 years +935.2%-38.8%-80.9% +67.6%
5 years, per year +59.6%-9.4%-28.2% +10.9%
10 years +302.2%+498.6%-50.9% +262.0%
10 years, per year +14.9%+19.6%-6.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAAOICALXGTNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 139.0%41.6%62.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 127.1%43.8%62.7% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 4.320.880.96 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.89-0.920.03 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.6%-65.3%-88.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -64.5%-44.0%-27.9% -1.2%
52-week high $223.10$68.42$6.20 $779.14
52-week low $19.49$33.15$3.58 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAAOICALXGTN
P/E now vs peer median -113.3xmedian 32.9x 47.5xmedian 32.9x -7.6xmedian 18.7x
P/S now vs peer median 11.2xmedian 2.9x 2.2xmedian 2.9x 0.2xmedian 0.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -194.4xmedian 20.0x 28.0xmedian 20.0x 7.8xmedian 10.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median -11.1xmedian 30.2x 28.2xmedian 30.2x 3.5xmedian 9.0x
P/B now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 2.9x 3.4xmedian 2.9x 0.2xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median -3.41median 1.08 6.72median 1.08 0.24median 0.49

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAAOICALXGTN
Revenue $595.97M $1.11B $3.15B
Gross profit $172.33M $628.73M $820.00M
Operating income -$67.41M $61.25M $435.00M
Net income -$57.02M $51.19M -$26.00M
Free cash flow -$600.81M $85.42M $146.00M
R&D $107.61M $207.99M –
EPS (diluted) $-0.70 $0.78 $-0.58
Cash & equivalents $499.74M $68.91M $176.00M
Total debt $57.26M – $5.81B
Shares (diluted) 81.57M 65.51M 100.00M
Enterprise value $3.81B $1.11B -$528.43M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAAOICALXGTN
P/E -113.3x 47.5x -7.6x
P/FCF -11.1x 28.2x 3.5x
P/Operating cash flow -50.7x 22.0x 2.1x
P/S 11.2x 2.2x 0.2x
P/B 4.0x 3.4x 0.2x
P/Tangible book 4.0x 3.4x -0.2x
EV/EBITDA -194.4x 28.0x 7.8x
EV/EBIT -92.6x 36.2x 14.1x
EV/Revenue 10.5x 2.0x 2.0x
EV/FCF -10.4x 26.0x 42.1x
EV/Operating cash flow -47.3x 20.3x 24.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.41 6.72 0.24

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAAOICALXGTN
Revenue growth (1Y) 61.8% 27.8% -11.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 40.9% 3.9% -4.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 62.0% 30.3% -28.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 73.3% 7.4% -13.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -40.6% 273.3% -41.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -2.8% 3.8% -18.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 63.4% 290.5% -113.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 4.9% -28.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 74.5% 287.6% -138.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.2% 7.1% -31.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.2% 24.5% -69.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -168.6% 41.8% -36.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -146.3% 19.4% -79.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -294.2% 62.0% -32.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAAOICALXGTN
Gross margin 28.9% 56.6% 26.0%
EBITDA margin -5.4% 7.1% 24.9%
Operating margin -11.3% 5.5% 13.8%
Pretax margin -10.6% 6.5% -2.0%
Net margin -9.6% 4.6% -1.8%
FCF margin -100.8% 7.7% 4.6%
Operating cash flow margin -22.1% 9.9% 7.9%
Return on equity -4.1% 7.1% -1.2%
Return on assets -2.9% 5.4% -0.3%
Return on invested capital -4.2% – 2.3%
Return on capital employed -4.5% 8.2% 4.4%
Asset turnover 0.3x 1.2x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 2.1x -9.6x
Stock comp / revenue 2.6% 7.2% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAAOICALXGTN
Debt / assets 2.5% – 55.6%
Debt / equity 0.0x – 2.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 13.8x – 7.2x
Debt / FCF -0.1x – 39.8x
Liabilities / assets 27.5% 25.6% 79.6%
Equity / assets 72.5% 74.4% 20.4%
Interest coverage -19.1x – 0.9x
Current ratio 2.8x 2.8x 1.0x
Quick ratio 1.9x 1.6x 0.7x
Cash ratio 1.2x 0.9x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 6.57 7.28 0.63

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAAOICALXGTN
Dividend yield – – 7.2%
Net buyback yield -20.2% 7.9% –
Shareholder yield -20.2% 7.9% 7.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – -130.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 23.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 6.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 6.7%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAAOICALXGTN
Forward P/E 111.5xFY2026 23.6xFY2026 1.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.71FY2026 $1.62FY2026 $2.43FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +20.9%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +646.5% +48.1% -130.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $994.70MFY2026 $1.11BFY2026 $3.39BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +118.3%FY2026 +11.0%FY2026 +9.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +185.6% +18.8% +0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAAOICALXGTN
Held by institutions 60.5% 94.5% 80.6%
Institutions holding 481 289 177
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.5% +0.5% -2.7%
Institutions buying 313 148 73
Institutions selling 143 111 70
Buyers to sellers 2.19 1.33 1.04

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AAOICALXGTN
AAOI 1.00 0.24 0.00
CALX 0.24 1.00 0.20
GTN 0.00 0.20 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AAOI, CALX and GTN?

Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) $5.09B, Calix (CALX) $2.28B, Gray Media (GTN) $456.57M.

Which company is growing faster?

Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +61.8%, Calix (CALX) +27.8%, Gray Media (GTN) -11.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Calix (CALX) has the highest net margin (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -9.6%, Calix (CALX) 4.6%, Gray Media (GTN) -1.8%). On return on invested capital, Gray Media (GTN) leads (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -4.2%, Gray Media (GTN) 2.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) returned the most: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +123.2%, Calix (CALX) -38.4%, Gray Media (GTN) +1.6%. Over five years, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) compounded fastest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +59.6%/yr, Calix (CALX) -9.4%/yr, Gray Media (GTN) -28.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 0.00%, Calix (CALX) 0.00%, Gray Media (GTN) 0.07%. Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) and Calix (CALX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Calix (CALX) has been the steadiest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 139.0%, Calix (CALX) 41.6%, Gray Media (GTN) 62.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AAOI, CALX and GTN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) leads on 4. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.