AAOI vs CSCO vs FKWL Stock Comparison

Applied Optoelectronics, Cisco Systems and Franklin Wireless Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc.
$103.61 -8.2% 1M +43.3% 1Y
Market cap
$379.24B
P/E
28.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.33B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
6 wins
FKWL Franklin Wireless Corp
$2.12 -8.2% 1M -58.1% 1Y
Market cap
$25.05M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$36.51M
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Cisco Systems leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Cisco Systems 6, Applied Optoelectronics 3, Franklin Wireless 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAAOICSCOFKWLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.90B $379.24B $25.05M CSCO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -68.4x 28.6x -5.3x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 83.5x 21.9x 53.0x CSCO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +61.8% +11.8% -20.8% AAOI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -9.6% 21.0% -13.0% 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 +100.9% +43.3% -58.1% AAOI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +58.9%/yr +12.7%/yr -16.5%/yr AAOI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 139.7% 35.7% 32.3% FKWL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 32/100 53/100 37/100 CSCO

Percentile Scorecard

AAOICSCOFKWL

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

AxisAAOICSCOFKWL
Valuation 13 #98 of 112 32 #77 of 112 31 #78 of 112
Growth 53 #51 of 108 37 #68 of 108 1 #107 of 108
Profitability 17 #87 of 104 86 #15 of 104 16 #88 of 104
Financial Health 70 #35 of 116 29 #83 of 116 63 #44 of 116
Shareholder Returns 7 #79 of 85 81 #17 of 85 77 #20 of 85
Overall 32 53 37
  • AAOI ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • CSCO ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • FKWL ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAAOICSCOFKWLSPY
1 month -51.2%-8.2%-8.2% -1.0%
3 months -53.9%-14.7%-5.8% -0.4%
6 months -66.8%+13.1%-39.6% +4.5%
Year to date +70.0%+34.5%-51.5% +12.4%
1 year +100.9%+43.3%-58.1% +13.6%
3 years +525.9%+95.5%-26.9% +76.4%
3 years, per year +84.4%+25.0%-9.9% +20.8%
5 years +911.4%+81.5%-59.4% +63.7%
5 years, per year +58.9%+12.7%-16.5% +10.4%
10 years +173.8%+243.2%-9.0% +267.7%
10 years, per year +10.6%+13.1%-0.9% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureAAOICSCOFKWLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 139.7%35.7%32.3% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 128.5%37.5%36.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 4.281.14-0.15 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.721.21-1.80 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -77.2%-38.6%-69.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -73.4%-20.3%-59.1% -1.6%
52-week high $223.10$130.00$5.18 $779.14
52-week low $19.49$71.04$2.12 $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.

MultipleAAOICSCOFKWL
P/E now vs peer median -84.8xmedian 28.1x 30.9xmedian 28.1x -5.3xmedian 28.1x
P/S now vs peer median 8.4xmedian 2.6x 6.5xmedian 2.6x 0.7xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -142.0xmedian 18.4x 23.6xmedian 18.4x —median 18.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median -8.3xmedian 26.6x 32.0xmedian 26.6x -3.9xmedian 26.6x
P/B now vs peer median 3.0xmedian 2.8x 8.1xmedian 2.8x 0.8xmedian 2.8x
PEG now vs peer median -2.55median 1.11 11.46median 1.11 0.29median 1.11

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 monthsAAOICSCOFKWL
Revenue $595.97M $63.33B $36.51M
Gross profit $172.33M $40.86B $6.26M
Operating income -$67.41M $15.37B -$2.68M
Net income -$57.02M $13.27B -$6.92M
Free cash flow -$600.81M $12.77B -$6.33M
R&D $107.61M $9.56B $3.23M
EPS (diluted) $-0.70 $3.33 $-0.40
Cash & equivalents $499.74M $7.22B –
Total debt $57.26M $29.53B –
Shares (diluted) 81.57M 3.99B 11.78M
Enterprise value $2.62B $315.17B -$98.78M

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
MetricAAOICSCOFKWL
P/E -84.8x 30.9x -5.3x
P/FCF -8.3x 32.0x -3.9x
P/Operating cash flow -37.9x 28.8x -4.0x
P/S 8.4x 6.5x 0.7x
P/B 3.0x 8.1x 0.8x
P/Tangible book 3.0x 9.6x 0.8x
EV/EBITDA -142.0x 23.6x –
EV/EBIT -67.6x 27.5x -2.4x
EV/Revenue 7.6x 6.7x 0.2x
EV/FCF -7.6x 33.1x -1.0x
EV/Operating cash flow -34.6x 29.8x -1.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.55 11.46 0.29

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOFKWL
Revenue growth (1Y) 61.8% 11.8% -20.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 40.9% 3.6% -7.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 62.0% 11.1% -21.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 73.3% 4.6% -3.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) -40.6% 30.7% 6.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -2.8% 0.7% -4.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 63.4% 30.3% -4,827%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 1.7% -32.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 74.5% 30.7% -1,851%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.2% 2.7% -18.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.2% -0.1% -441.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -168.6% -10.7% -49.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -146.3% -3.9% -449.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -294.2% -12.5% -48.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOFKWL
Gross margin 28.9% 64.5% 17.1%
EBITDA margin -5.4% 28.3% –
Operating margin -11.3% 24.3% -7.3%
Pretax margin -10.6% 25.3% -19.3%
Net margin -9.6% 21.0% -13.0%
FCF margin -100.8% 20.2% -17.3%
Operating cash flow margin -22.1% 22.4% -17.2%
Return on equity -4.1% 26.8% -20.7%
Return on assets -2.9% 10.4% -14.3%
Return on invested capital -4.2% 15.9% –
Return on capital employed -4.5% 17.9% -8.1%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.5x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 1.1x 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue 2.6% 6.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOFKWL
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% 34.2%
Equity / assets 72.5% 38.8% 65.8%
Interest coverage -19.1x 10.5x –
Current ratio 2.8x 0.9x 2.7x
Quick ratio 1.9x 0.6x 1.4x
Cash ratio 1.2x 0.4x 1.2x
Altman Z-score 4.98 3.96 2.79

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOFKWL
Dividend yield – 1.6% 1.9%
Net buyback yield -27.0% 1.4% –
Shareholder yield -27.0% 3.0% 1.9%
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.

ConsensusAAOICSCOFKWL
Forward P/E 83.5xFY2026 21.9xFY2027 53.0xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $0.71FY2026 $4.74FY2027 $0.04FY2027
EPS growth, next FY – +9.5%FY2027 –
EPS growth, the year after +646.5% +20.7% -50.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $994.70MFY2026 $74.93BFY2027 $46.08MFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +118.3%FY2026 +18.3%FY2027 +26.2%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +185.6% +0.6% +19.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAAOICSCOFKWL
Held by institutions 60.5% 80.1% 13.1%
Institutions holding 482 4,050 19
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.5% +5.0% +38.6%
Institutions buying 313 1,850 9
Institutions selling 144 1,818 3
Buyers to sellers 2.17 1.02 3.00

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.

AAOICSCOFKWL
AAOI 1.00 0.35 0.05
CSCO 0.35 1.00 0.00
FKWL 0.05 0.00 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AAOI, CSCO and FKWL?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) $3.90B, Cisco Systems (CSCO) $379.24B, Franklin Wireless (FKWL) $25.05M.

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%, Franklin Wireless (FKWL) -20.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) has the highest net margin (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -9.6%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.0%, Franklin Wireless (FKWL) -13.0%). 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) +100.9%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +43.3%, Franklin Wireless (FKWL) -58.1%. Over five years, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) compounded fastest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +58.9%/yr, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +12.7%/yr, Franklin Wireless (FKWL) -16.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Franklin Wireless (FKWL) has been the steadiest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 139.7%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 35.7%, Franklin Wireless (FKWL) 32.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.