AAOI vs CSCO vs ERIC Stock Comparison

Applied Optoelectronics, Cisco Systems and Ericsson Lm Telephone Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc.
$106.50 +0.1% 1M +51.6% 1Y
Market cap
$436.07B
P/E
32.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.33B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
3 wins
ERIC Ericsson Lm Telephone Co
$10.66 +9.6% 1M +12.4% 1Y
Market cap
$36.28B
P/E
17.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$24.56B
Div. yield
-0.03%
Networking Equipment Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ericsson Lm Telephone leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Ericsson Lm Telephone 5, Cisco Systems 3, Applied Optoelectronics 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAAOICSCOERICLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.87B $436.07B $36.28B CSCO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -102.9x 32.9x 17.8x ERIC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 95.1x 22.5x 16.7x ERIC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +61.8% +11.8% -38.5% AAOI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -9.6% 21.0% 8.3% CSCO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -4.2% 15.9% 20.0% ERIC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 13.8x 0.8x -0.6x ERIC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% -0.03% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +115.0% +51.6% +12.4% AAOI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +55.2%/yr +14.1%/yr -1.6%/yr AAOI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 139.0% 35.4% 36.4% CSCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 33/100 53/100 60/100 ERIC

Percentile Scorecard

AAOICSCOERIC

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

AxisAAOICSCOERIC
Valuation 13 #98 of 112 32 #77 of 112 88 #14 of 112
Growth 56 #49 of 109 40 #66 of 109 46 #59 of 109
Profitability 16 #88 of 105 88 #14 of 105 87 #15 of 105
Financial Health 72 #33 of 117 28 #84 of 117 41 #70 of 117
Shareholder Returns 7 #76 of 82 77 #20 of 82 37 #52 of 82
Overall 33 53 60
  • AAOI ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • CSCO ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • ERIC ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAAOICSCOERICSPY
1 month -33.2%+0.1%+9.6% -1.0%
3 months -32.6%-6.7%+14.1% +2.9%
6 months -58.4%+19.6%-5.4% +6.4%
Year to date +93.7%+38.3%+10.5% +11.4%
1 year +115.0%+51.6%+12.4% +13.1%
3 years +807.4%+100.9%+140.6% +79.4%
3 years, per year +108.7%+26.2%+34.0% +21.5%
5 years +800.1%+93.2%-7.9% +67.7%
5 years, per year +55.2%+14.1%-1.6% +10.9%
10 years +228.3%+253.2%+109.0% +255.2%
10 years, per year +12.6%+13.5%+7.7% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAAOICSCOERICSPY
Volatility, 1Y 139.0%35.4%36.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 126.6%37.3%36.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 4.331.091.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.831.460.34 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.6%-38.6%-65.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -69.7%-18.1%-22.4% -2.5%
52-week high $223.10$130.00$13.74 $779.14
52-week low $19.49$70.27$9.15 $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.

MultipleAAOICSCOERIC
P/E now vs peer median -96.6xmedian 31.3x 31.7xmedian 31.3x 17.4xmedian 31.3x
P/S now vs peer median 9.6xmedian 2.6x 6.6xmedian 2.6x 1.5xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -163.7xmedian 19.6x 24.2xmedian 19.6x 8.9xmedian 19.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median -9.5xmedian 28.3x 32.9xmedian 28.3x 9.6xmedian 28.3x
P/B now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 2.9x 8.4xmedian 2.9x 3.2xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median -2.91median 1.15 11.78median 1.15 0.40median 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 monthsAAOICSCOERIC
Revenue $595.97M $63.33B $24.56B
Gross profit $172.33M $40.86B $11.51B
Operating income -$67.41M $15.37B $2.90B
Net income -$57.02M $13.27B $2.04B
Free cash flow -$600.81M $12.77B $3.76B
R&D $107.61M $9.56B $5.22B
EPS (diluted) $-0.70 $3.33 $0.61
Cash & equivalents $499.74M $7.22B $5.11B
Total debt $160.44M $29.53B $14.14B
Shares (diluted) 81.57M 3.99B 3.34B
Enterprise value $4.59B $371.99B $13.89B

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
MetricAAOICSCOERIC
P/E -96.6x 31.7x 17.4x
P/FCF -9.5x 32.9x 9.6x
P/Operating cash flow -43.2x 29.6x 10.4x
P/S 9.6x 6.6x 1.5x
P/B 3.4x 8.4x 3.2x
P/Tangible book 3.4x 9.8x 3.2x
EV/EBITDA -163.7x 24.2x 8.9x
EV/EBIT -78.0x 28.2x 11.7x
EV/Revenue 8.8x 6.9x 1.4x
EV/FCF -8.7x 34.0x 9.0x
EV/Operating cash flow -39.9x 30.6x 9.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.91 11.78 0.40

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOERIC
Revenue growth (1Y) 61.8% 11.8% -38.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 40.9% 3.6% -2.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 62.0% 11.1% 3.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 73.3% 4.6% 4.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) -40.6% 30.7% -18.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -2.8% 0.7% 55.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 63.4% 30.3% -18.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 1.7% 43.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 74.5% 30.7% -17.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.2% 2.7% 43.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.2% -0.1% 4.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -168.6% -10.7% 44.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -146.3% -3.9% 6.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -294.2% -12.5% 34.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOERIC
Gross margin 28.9% 64.5% 46.8%
EBITDA margin -5.4% 28.3% 15.4%
Operating margin -11.3% 24.3% 11.8%
Pretax margin -10.6% 25.3% 11.2%
Net margin -9.6% 21.0% 8.3%
FCF margin -100.8% 20.2% 15.3%
Operating cash flow margin -22.1% 22.4% 14.0%
Return on equity -4.1% 26.8% 18.7%
Return on assets -2.9% 10.4% 6.8%
Return on invested capital -4.2% 15.9% 20.0%
Return on capital employed -4.5% 17.9% 17.8%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.5x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 1.1x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue 2.6% 6.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOERIC
Debt / assets 2.5% 22.8% 12.4%
Debt / equity 0.0x 0.6x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 13.8x 0.8x -0.6x
Debt / FCF -0.1x 2.3x 1.0x
Liabilities / assets 27.5% 61.2% 63.1%
Equity / assets 72.5% 38.8% 36.9%
Interest coverage -19.1x 10.5x –
Current ratio 2.8x 0.9x 1.2x
Quick ratio 1.9x 0.6x 0.8x
Cash ratio 1.2x 0.4x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 5.64 4.05 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOERIC
Dividend yield – 1.6% 2.9%
Net buyback yield -23.7% 1.3% -2.3%
Shareholder yield -23.7% 2.9% 0.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 50.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 27.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – -13.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – -7.7%

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.

ConsensusAAOICSCOERIC
Forward P/E 95.1xFY2026 22.5xFY2027 16.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.71FY2026 $4.74FY2027 $0.64FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +9.5%FY2027 -31.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +646.5% +20.7% 0.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $994.70MFY2026 $74.93BFY2027 $24.06BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +118.3%FY2026 +18.3%FY2027 -8.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +185.6% +0.6% +0.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAAOICSCOERIC
Held by institutions 60.5% 80.1% 9.5%
Institutions holding 481 4,044 388
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.5% +5.0% +0.4%
Institutions buying 313 1,846 219
Institutions selling 143 1,816 110
Buyers to sellers 2.19 1.02 1.99

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.

AAOICSCOERIC
AAOI 1.00 0.33 0.23
CSCO 0.33 1.00 0.32
ERIC 0.23 0.32 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AAOI, CSCO and ERIC?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) $5.87B, Cisco Systems (CSCO) $436.07B, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) $36.28B.

Which stock is cheaper, AAOI, CSCO and ERIC?

Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -102.9x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 32.9x, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 17.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) is cheapest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 95.1x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 22.5x, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 16.7x). 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%, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) -38.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) has the highest net margin (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -9.6%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.0%, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 8.3%). On return on invested capital, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) leads (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -4.2%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 15.9%, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 20.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) returned the most: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +115.0%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +51.6%, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) +12.4%. Over five years, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) compounded fastest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +55.2%/yr, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +14.1%/yr, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) -1.6%/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) 139.0%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 35.4%, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 36.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AAOI, CSCO and ERIC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) leads on 5. 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.