AAOI vs CSCO vs CALX Stock Comparison

Applied Optoelectronics, Cisco Systems and Calix Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc.
$111.38 +4.4% 1M +56.0% 1Y
Market cap
$434.69B
P/E
32.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.33B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
7 wins
CALX Calix, Inc
$38.33 +15.6% 1M -37.2% 1Y
Market cap
$2.39B
P/E
46.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.11B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Cisco Systems leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Cisco Systems 7, Applied Optoelectronics 3, Calix 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAAOICSCOCALXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.48B $434.69B $2.39B CSCO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -113.6x 32.8x 46.6x CSCO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 108.4x 23.5x 23.7x CSCO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +61.8% +11.8% +27.8% AAOI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -9.6% 21.0% 4.6% CSCO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -4.2% 15.9% — CSCO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 13.8x 0.8x — CSCO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +106.7% +56.0% -37.2% AAOI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +58.7%/yr +14.7%/yr -8.8%/yr AAOI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 138.8% 35.5% 41.6% CSCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 33/100 54/100 76/100 CALX

Percentile Scorecard

AAOICSCOCALX

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

AxisAAOICSCOCALX
Valuation 13 #98 of 112 32 #76 of 112 60 #45 of 112
Growth 56 #49 of 109 41 #65 of 109 82 #20 of 109
Profitability 17 #87 of 104 87 #14 of 104 64 #38 of 104
Financial Health 72 #33 of 116 30 #82 of 116 76 #29 of 116
Shareholder Returns 9 #74 of 81 79 #18 of 81 98 #3 of 81
Overall 33 54 76
  • AAOI ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • CSCO 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

PeriodAAOICSCOCALXSPY
1 month -24.1%+4.4%+15.6% -0.2%
3 months -12.7%-3.6%+3.3% +3.9%
6 months -43.9%+28.2%-8.8% +8.2%
Year to date +120.7%+44.6%-27.6% +12.9%
1 year +106.7%+56.0%-37.2% +12.3%
3 years +993.0%+116.0%+17.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year +122.0%+29.3%+5.4% +23.3%
5 years +904.6%+98.0%-36.9% +67.9%
5 years, per year +58.7%+14.7%-8.8% +10.9%
10 years +284.9%+266.6%+508.4% +261.1%
10 years, per year +14.4%+13.9%+19.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAAOICSCOCALXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 138.8%35.5%41.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 126.6%37.3%44.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 4.311.110.88 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.771.58-0.89 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.6%-38.6%-65.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -65.5%-14.3%-44.0% -1.2%
52-week high $223.10$130.00$68.42 $779.14
52-week low $19.49$71.04$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.

MultipleAAOICSCOCALX
P/E now vs peer median -110.1xmedian 33.2x 33.2xmedian 33.2x 47.6xmedian 33.2x
P/S now vs peer median 10.9xmedian 2.8x 6.9xmedian 2.8x 2.2xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -188.5xmedian 20.0x 25.3xmedian 20.0x 28.0xmedian 20.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -10.8xmedian 29.8x 34.4xmedian 29.8x 28.3xmedian 29.8x
P/B now vs peer median 3.9xmedian 3.0x 8.7xmedian 3.0x 3.4xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median -3.32median 1.17 12.32median 1.17 6.72median 1.17

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 monthsAAOICSCOCALX
Revenue $595.97M $63.33B $1.11B
Gross profit $172.33M $40.86B $628.73M
Operating income -$67.41M $15.37B $61.25M
Net income -$57.02M $13.27B $51.19M
Free cash flow -$600.81M $12.77B $85.42M
R&D $107.61M $9.56B $207.99M
EPS (diluted) $-0.70 $3.33 $0.78
Cash & equivalents $499.74M $7.22B $68.91M
Total debt $57.26M $29.53B –
Shares (diluted) 81.57M 3.99B 65.51M
Enterprise value $5.20B $370.61B $1.22B

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
MetricAAOICSCOCALX
P/E -110.1x 33.2x 47.6x
P/FCF -10.8x 34.4x 28.3x
P/Operating cash flow -49.3x 31.0x 22.0x
P/S 10.9x 6.9x 2.2x
P/B 3.9x 8.7x 3.4x
P/Tangible book 3.9x 10.3x 3.4x
EV/EBITDA -188.5x 25.3x 28.0x
EV/EBIT -89.8x 29.5x 36.2x
EV/Revenue 10.2x 7.2x 2.0x
EV/FCF -10.1x 35.5x 26.0x
EV/Operating cash flow -45.9x 32.0x 20.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.32 12.32 6.72

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOCALX
Revenue growth (1Y) 61.8% 11.8% 27.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 40.9% 3.6% 3.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 62.0% 11.1% 30.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 73.3% 4.6% 7.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -40.6% 30.7% 273.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -2.8% 0.7% 3.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 63.4% 30.3% 290.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 1.7% 4.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 74.5% 30.7% 287.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.2% 2.7% 7.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.2% -0.1% 24.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -168.6% -10.7% 41.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -146.3% -3.9% 19.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -294.2% -12.5% 62.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOCALX
Gross margin 28.9% 64.5% 56.6%
EBITDA margin -5.4% 28.3% 7.1%
Operating margin -11.3% 24.3% 5.5%
Pretax margin -10.6% 25.3% 6.5%
Net margin -9.6% 21.0% 4.6%
FCF margin -100.8% 20.2% 7.7%
Operating cash flow margin -22.1% 22.4% 9.9%
Return on equity -4.1% 26.8% 7.1%
Return on assets -2.9% 10.4% 5.4%
Return on invested capital -4.2% 15.9% –
Return on capital employed -4.5% 17.9% 8.2%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.5x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 1.1x 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue 2.6% 6.0% 7.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOCALX
Debt / assets 2.5% 22.8% –
Debt / equity 0.0x 0.6x –
Net debt / EBITDA 13.8x 0.8x –
Debt / FCF -0.1x 2.3x –
Liabilities / assets 27.5% 61.2% 25.6%
Equity / assets 72.5% 38.8% 74.4%
Interest coverage -19.1x 10.5x –
Current ratio 2.8x 0.9x 2.8x
Quick ratio 1.9x 0.6x 1.6x
Cash ratio 1.2x 0.4x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 6.39 4.19 7.28

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOCALX
Dividend yield – 1.5% –
Net buyback yield -20.8% 1.3% 7.9%
Shareholder yield -20.8% 2.8% 7.9%
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.

ConsensusAAOICSCOCALX
Forward P/E 108.4xFY2026 23.5xFY2027 23.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.71FY2026 $4.74FY2027 $1.62FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +9.5%FY2027 +20.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +646.5% +20.7% +48.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $994.70MFY2026 $74.93BFY2027 $1.11BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +118.3%FY2026 +18.3%FY2027 +11.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +185.6% +0.6% +18.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAAOICSCOCALX
Held by institutions 60.5% 80.1% 94.5%
Institutions holding 481 4,046 288
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.5% +5.0% +0.5%
Institutions buying 313 1,847 148
Institutions selling 143 1,817 111
Buyers to sellers 2.19 1.02 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.

AAOICSCOCALX
AAOI 1.00 0.34 0.24
CSCO 0.34 1.00 0.22
CALX 0.24 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AAOI, CSCO and CALX?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) $6.48B, Cisco Systems (CSCO) $434.69B, Calix (CALX) $2.39B.

Which stock is cheaper, AAOI, CSCO and CALX?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -113.6x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 32.8x, Calix (CALX) 46.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cisco Systems (CSCO) is cheapest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 108.4x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 23.5x, Calix (CALX) 23.7x). 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%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +11.8%, Calix (CALX) +27.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) has the highest net margin (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -9.6%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.0%, Calix (CALX) 4.6%). On return on invested capital, Cisco Systems (CSCO) leads (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -4.2%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) returned the most: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +106.7%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +56.0%, Calix (CALX) -37.2%. Over five years, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) compounded fastest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +58.7%/yr, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +14.7%/yr, Calix (CALX) -8.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cisco Systems (CSCO) has been the steadiest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 138.8%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 35.5%, Calix (CALX) 41.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AAOI, CSCO 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, Cisco Systems (CSCO) leads on 7. 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.