AAOI vs CALX Stock Comparison

Applied Optoelectronics and Calix Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CALX Calix, Inc
$36.50 +5.7% 1M -39.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.40B
P/E
46.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.11B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
4 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

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

QuestionAAOICALXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.87B $2.40B AAOI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -102.9x 46.8x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 95.1x 22.5x CALX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +61.8% +27.8% AAOI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -9.6% 4.6% CALX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -4.2% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 13.8x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +115.0% -39.3% AAOI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +55.2%/yr -7.5%/yr AAOI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 139.0% 41.5% CALX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 33/100 76/100 CALX

Percentile Scorecard

AAOICALX

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

AxisAAOICALX
Valuation 13 #98 of 112 60 #45 of 112
Growth 56 #49 of 109 82 #21 of 109
Profitability 16 #88 of 105 64 #38 of 105
Financial Health 72 #33 of 117 76 #29 of 117
Shareholder Returns 7 #76 of 82 98 #3 of 82
Overall 33 76
  • AAOI ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • CALX ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAAOICALXSPY
1 month -33.2%+5.7% -1.0%
3 months -32.6%+1.4% +2.9%
6 months -58.4%-15.9% +6.4%
Year to date +93.7%-31.0% +11.4%
1 year +115.0%-39.3% +13.1%
3 years +807.4%+4.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year +108.7%+1.6% +21.5%
5 years +800.1%-32.2% +67.7%
5 years, per year +55.2%-7.5% +10.9%
10 years +228.3%+453.0% +255.2%
10 years, per year +12.6%+18.7% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAAOICALXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 139.0%41.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 126.6%43.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 4.330.86 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.83-0.95 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.6%-65.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -69.7%-46.7% -2.5%
52-week high $223.10$68.42 $779.14
52-week low $19.49$33.15 $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.

MultipleAAOICALX
P/E now vs peer median -96.6xmedian 31.3x 45.3xmedian 31.3x
P/S now vs peer median 9.6xmedian 2.6x 2.1xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -163.7xmedian 19.6x 26.6xmedian 19.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median -9.5xmedian 28.3x 26.9xmedian 28.3x
P/B now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 2.9x 3.2xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median -2.91median 1.15 6.40median 1.15

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 monthsAAOICALX
Revenue $595.97M $1.11B
Gross profit $172.33M $628.73M
Operating income -$67.41M $61.25M
Net income -$57.02M $51.19M
Free cash flow -$600.81M $85.42M
R&D $107.61M $207.99M
EPS (diluted) $-0.70 $0.78
Cash & equivalents $499.74M $68.91M
Total debt $160.44M –
Shares (diluted) 81.57M 65.51M
Enterprise value $4.59B $1.23B

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
MetricAAOICALX
P/E -96.6x 45.3x
P/FCF -9.5x 26.9x
P/Operating cash flow -43.2x 21.0x
P/S 9.6x 2.1x
P/B 3.4x 3.2x
P/Tangible book 3.4x 3.2x
EV/EBITDA -163.7x 26.6x
EV/EBIT -78.0x 34.4x
EV/Revenue 8.8x 1.9x
EV/FCF -8.7x 24.6x
EV/Operating cash flow -39.9x 19.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.91 6.40

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAAOICALX
Revenue growth (1Y) 61.8% 27.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 40.9% 3.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 62.0% 30.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 73.3% 7.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -40.6% 273.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -2.8% 3.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 63.4% 290.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 4.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 74.5% 287.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.2% 7.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.2% 24.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -168.6% 41.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -146.3% 19.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -294.2% 62.0%

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAAOICALX
Debt / assets 2.5% –
Debt / equity 0.0x –
Net debt / EBITDA 13.8x –
Debt / FCF -0.1x –
Liabilities / assets 27.5% 25.6%
Equity / assets 72.5% 74.4%
Interest coverage -19.1x –
Current ratio 2.8x 2.8x
Quick ratio 1.9x 1.6x
Cash ratio 1.2x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 5.64 7.00

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAAOICALX
Dividend yield – –
Net buyback yield -23.7% 8.3%
Shareholder yield -23.7% 8.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

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.

ConsensusAAOICALX
Forward P/E 95.1xFY2026 22.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.71FY2026 $1.62FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +20.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +646.5% +48.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $994.70MFY2026 $1.11BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +118.3%FY2026 +11.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +185.6% +18.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAAOICALX
Held by institutions 60.5% 94.5%
Institutions holding 481 288
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.5% +0.5%
Institutions buying 313 148
Institutions selling 143 111
Buyers to sellers 2.19 1.33

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.

AAOICALX
AAOI 1.00 0.23
CALX 0.23 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AAOI and CALX?

Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) $5.87B, Calix (CALX) $2.40B.

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%.

Which company is more profitable?

Calix (CALX) has the highest net margin (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -9.6%, Calix (CALX) 4.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) returned the most: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +115.0%, Calix (CALX) -39.3%. Over five years, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) compounded fastest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +55.2%/yr, Calix (CALX) -7.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Calix (CALX) has been the steadiest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 139.0%, Calix (CALX) 41.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do AAOI and CALX move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.23, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, AAOI and CALX?

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.