AAOI vs CIEN vs UI Stock Comparison

Applied Optoelectronics, Ciena and Ubiquiti Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CIEN Ciena Corp
$320.30 -10.0% 1M +85.6% 1Y
Market cap
$47.78B
P/E
73.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.02B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
2 wins
UI Ubiquiti Inc.
$587.99 +2.3% 1M -17.8% 1Y
Market cap
$35.38B
P/E
36.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.27B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ubiquiti leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Ubiquiti 6, Applied Optoelectronics 3, Ciena 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAAOICIENUILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.87B $47.78B $35.38B CIEN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -102.9x 73.0x 36.8x UI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 95.1x 42.1x 31.1x UI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +61.8% +32.6% +27.2% AAOI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -9.6% 10.9% 29.3% UI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -4.2% 12.4% 72.8% UI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 13.8x 0.7x — CIEN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +115.0% +85.6% -17.8% AAOI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +55.2%/yr +43.5%/yr +14.0%/yr AAOI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 139.0% 77.7% 53.8% UI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 33/100 55/100 68/100 UI

Percentile Scorecard

AAOICIENUI

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

AxisAAOICIENUI
Valuation 13 #98 of 112 22 #88 of 112 28 #81 of 112
Growth 56 #49 of 109 95 #6 of 109 90 #12 of 109
Profitability 16 #88 of 105 83 #19 of 105 99 #2 of 105
Financial Health 72 #33 of 117 44 #66 of 117 75 #30 of 117
Shareholder Returns 7 #76 of 82 32 #56 of 82 48 #43 of 82
Overall 33 55 68
  • AAOI ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • CIEN ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • UI ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAAOICIENUISPY
1 month -33.2%-10.0%+2.3% -1.0%
3 months -32.6%-18.0%+12.1% +2.9%
6 months -58.4%-38.5%-43.1% +6.4%
Year to date +93.7%+37.0%+6.3% +11.4%
1 year +115.0%+85.6%-17.8% +13.1%
3 years +807.4%+670.7%+410.1% +79.4%
3 years, per year +108.7%+97.6%+72.2% +21.5%
5 years +800.1%+508.1%+92.9% +67.7%
5 years, per year +55.2%+43.5%+14.0% +10.9%
10 years +228.3%+1,507.1%+1,034.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year +12.6%+32.0%+27.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAAOICIENUISPY
Volatility, 1Y 139.0%77.7%53.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 126.6%82.8%59.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 4.332.761.65 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.831.10-0.33 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.6%-49.7%-70.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -69.7%-48.9%-45.8% -2.5%
52-week high $223.10$627.00$1,084.50 $779.14
52-week low $19.49$172.58$515.44 $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.

MultipleAAOICIENUI
P/E now vs peer median -96.6xmedian 31.3x 69.5xmedian 31.3x 37.1xmedian 31.3x
P/S now vs peer median 9.6xmedian 2.6x 7.5xmedian 2.6x 10.9xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -163.7xmedian 19.6x 51.3xmedian 19.6x 29.0xmedian 19.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median -9.5xmedian 28.3x 55.8xmedian 28.3x 39.2xmedian 28.3x
P/B now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 2.9x 14.9xmedian 2.9x 24.7xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median -2.91median 1.15 1.55median 1.15 1.12median 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 monthsAAOICIENUI
Revenue $595.97M $6.02B $3.27B
Gross profit $172.33M $2.65B $1.51B
Operating income -$67.41M $738.95M $1.19B
Net income -$57.02M $654.41M $960.30M
Free cash flow -$600.81M $814.36M $908.94M
R&D $107.61M $924.94M $204.17M
EPS (diluted) $-0.70 $4.48 $15.85
Cash & equivalents $499.74M $2.45B $522.58M
Total debt $160.44M $3.23B $180.81M
Shares (diluted) 81.57M 145.97M 60.57M
Enterprise value $4.59B $41.34B $33.92B

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
MetricAAOICIENUI
P/E -96.6x 69.5x 37.1x
P/FCF -9.5x 55.8x 39.2x
P/Operating cash flow -43.2x 43.1x 38.3x
P/S 9.6x 7.5x 10.9x
P/B 3.4x 14.9x 24.7x
P/Tangible book 3.4x 15.8x 24.7x
EV/EBITDA -163.7x 51.3x 29.0x
EV/EBIT -78.0x 62.3x 29.5x
EV/Revenue 8.8x 7.6x 10.7x
EV/FCF -8.7x 56.5x 38.5x
EV/Operating cash flow -39.9x 43.7x 37.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.91 1.55 1.12

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAAOICIENUI
Revenue growth (1Y) 61.8% 32.6% 27.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 40.9% 12.5% 19.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 62.0% 40.6% 35.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 73.3% 13.3% 25.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -40.6% 200.1% 41.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -2.8% 29.1% 29.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 63.4% 364.5% 34.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 43.5% 33.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 74.5% 359.9% 34.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.2% 44.8% 33.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.2% 34.5% 45.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -168.6% 201.2% 103.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -146.3% 34.5% 44.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -294.2% 95.4% 95.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAAOICIENUI
Gross margin 28.9% 44.1% 46.2%
EBITDA margin -5.4% 14.9% 36.8%
Operating margin -11.3% 12.3% 36.2%
Pretax margin -10.6% 12.1% 36.1%
Net margin -9.6% 10.9% 29.3%
FCF margin -100.8% 13.5% 27.8%
Operating cash flow margin -22.1% 17.5% 28.4%
Return on equity -4.1% 22.0% 72.7%
Return on assets -2.9% 9.3% 49.1%
Return on invested capital -4.2% 12.4% 72.8%
Return on capital employed -4.5% 13.1% 89.1%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.9x 1.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 1.6x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 2.6% 3.5% 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAAOICIENUI
Debt / assets 2.5% 40.4% –
Debt / equity 0.0x 1.1x –
Net debt / EBITDA 13.8x 0.7x –
Debt / FCF -0.1x 4.0x –
Liabilities / assets 27.5% 61.8% 34.5%
Equity / assets 72.5% 38.2% 65.5%
Interest coverage -19.1x 10.6x –
Current ratio 2.8x 3.8x 2.9x
Quick ratio 1.9x 2.8x 1.5x
Cash ratio 1.2x 1.9x 1.0x
Altman Z-score 5.64 6.72 33.00

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAAOICIENUI
Dividend yield – – 0.6%
Net buyback yield -23.7% -1.1% –
Shareholder yield -23.7% -1.1% 0.6%
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.

ConsensusAAOICIENUI
Forward P/E 95.1xFY2026 42.1xFY2026 31.1xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $0.71FY2026 $7.60FY2026 $18.88FY2027
EPS growth, next FY – +187.9%FY2026 +18.4%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +646.5% +64.7% +9.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $994.70MFY2026 $6.86BFY2026 $4.12BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +118.3%FY2026 +43.8%FY2026 +25.9%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +185.6% +18.0% +5.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAAOICIENUI
Held by institutions 60.5% 92.9% 4.9%
Institutions holding 481 1,220 354
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.5% -1.7% +8.0%
Institutions buying 313 729 163
Institutions selling 143 379 139
Buyers to sellers 2.19 1.92 1.17

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.

AAOICIENUI
AAOI 1.00 0.59 0.31
CIEN 0.59 1.00 0.42
UI 0.31 0.42 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AAOI, CIEN and UI?

Ciena (CIEN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) $5.87B, Ciena (CIEN) $47.78B, Ubiquiti (UI) $35.38B.

Which stock is cheaper, AAOI, CIEN and UI?

Ubiquiti (UI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -102.9x, Ciena (CIEN) 73.0x, Ubiquiti (UI) 36.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ubiquiti (UI) is cheapest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 95.1x, Ciena (CIEN) 42.1x, Ubiquiti (UI) 31.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +61.8%, Ciena (CIEN) +32.6%, Ubiquiti (UI) +27.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ubiquiti (UI) has the highest net margin (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -9.6%, Ciena (CIEN) 10.9%, Ubiquiti (UI) 29.3%). On return on invested capital, Ubiquiti (UI) leads (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -4.2%, Ciena (CIEN) 12.4%, Ubiquiti (UI) 72.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) returned the most: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +115.0%, Ciena (CIEN) +85.6%, Ubiquiti (UI) -17.8%. Over five years, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) compounded fastest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +55.2%/yr, Ciena (CIEN) +43.5%/yr, Ubiquiti (UI) +14.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ubiquiti (UI) has been the steadiest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 139.0%, Ciena (CIEN) 77.7%, Ubiquiti (UI) 53.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AAOI, CIEN and UI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ubiquiti (UI) leads on 6. 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.