AAOI vs CSCO vs PLTR Stock Comparison

Applied Optoelectronics, Cisco Systems and Palantir Technologies Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc.
$111.38 +4.4% 1M +56.0% 1Y
Market cap
$439.51B
P/E
33.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.33B
Div. yield
1.50%
Networking Equipment Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Cisco Systems leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Cisco Systems 5, Palantir Technologies 4, Applied Optoelectronics 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAAOICSCOPLTRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.49B $439.51B $477.53B PLTR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -110.1x 33.2x 158.1x CSCO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 108.4x 23.5x 119.7x CSCO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +61.8% +11.8% +78.9% PLTR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -9.6% 21.0% 49.0% PLTR
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 — 1.50% — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +106.7% +56.0% +5.0% AAOI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +58.7%/yr +14.7%/yr +50.7%/yr AAOI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 138.8% 35.5% 59.4% CSCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 33/100 54/100 69/100 PLTR

Percentile Scorecard

AAOICSCOPLTR

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

AxisAAOICSCOPLTR
Valuation 13 #98 of 112 32 #76 of 112 22 #79 of 101
Growth 56 #49 of 109 41 #65 of 109 100 #1 of 97
Profitability 17 #87 of 104 87 #14 of 104 96 #5 of 94
Financial Health 72 #33 of 116 30 #82 of 116 98 #3 of 108
Shareholder Returns 9 #74 of 81 79 #18 of 81 27 #47 of 64
Overall 33 54 69
  • AAOI ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • CSCO ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • PLTR ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAAOICSCOPLTRSPY
1 month -24.1%+4.4%+4.8% -0.2%
3 months -12.7%-3.6%+60.9% +3.9%
6 months -43.9%+28.2%+40.8% +8.2%
Year to date +120.7%+44.6%+11.8% +12.9%
1 year +106.7%+56.0%+5.0% +12.3%
3 years +993.0%+116.0%+1,218.7% +87.4%
3 years, per year +122.0%+29.3%+136.4% +23.3%
5 years +904.6%+98.0%+675.1% +67.9%
5 years, per year +58.7%+14.7%+50.7% +10.9%
10 years +284.9%+266.6%— +261.1%
10 years, per year +14.4%+13.9%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAAOICSCOPLTRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 138.8%35.5%59.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 126.6%37.3%55.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 4.311.111.97 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.771.580.08 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.6%-38.6%-77.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -65.5%-14.3%-4.9% -1.2%
52-week high $223.10$130.00$209.05 $779.14
52-week low $19.49$71.04$107.27 $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.

MultipleAAOICSCOPLTR
P/E now vs peer median -110.1xmedian 33.2x 33.2xmedian 33.2x 158.1xmedian 28.3x
P/S now vs peer median 10.9xmedian 2.8x 6.9xmedian 2.8x 77.6xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -188.5xmedian 20.0x 25.3xmedian 20.0x 175.8xmedian 17.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median -10.8xmedian 29.8x 34.4xmedian 29.8x 142.2xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 3.9xmedian 3.0x 8.7xmedian 3.0x 48.3xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median -3.32median 1.17 12.32median 1.17 0.55median 0.85

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 monthsAAOICSCOPLTR
Revenue $595.97M $63.33B $6.16B
Gross profit $172.33M $40.86B $5.22B
Operating income -$67.41M $15.37B $2.63B
Net income -$57.02M $13.27B $3.03B
Free cash flow -$600.81M $12.77B $3.36B
R&D $107.61M $9.56B $641.24M
EPS (diluted) $-0.70 $3.33 $1.17
Cash & equivalents $499.74M $7.22B $2.03B
Total debt $57.26M $29.53B –
Shares (diluted) 81.57M 3.99B 2.57B
Enterprise value $5.21B $375.43B $446.59B

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
MetricAAOICSCOPLTR
P/E -110.1x 33.2x 158.1x
P/FCF -10.8x 34.4x 142.2x
P/Operating cash flow -49.3x 31.0x 140.4x
P/S 10.9x 6.9x 77.6x
P/B 3.9x 8.7x 48.3x
P/Tangible book 3.9x 10.3x 48.3x
EV/EBITDA -188.5x 25.3x 175.8x
EV/EBIT -89.8x 29.5x 177.7x
EV/Revenue 10.2x 7.2x 76.0x
EV/FCF -10.1x 35.5x 139.4x
EV/Operating cash flow -45.9x 32.0x 137.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.32 12.32 0.55

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOPLTR
Revenue growth (1Y) 61.8% 11.8% 78.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 40.9% 3.6% 44.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 62.0% 11.1% 89.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 73.3% 4.6% 47.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -40.6% 30.7% 362.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -2.8% 0.7% 247.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 63.4% 30.3% 292.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 1.7% 308.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 74.5% 30.7% 294.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.2% 2.7% 286.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.2% -0.1% 96.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -168.6% -10.7% 103.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -146.3% -3.9% 96.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -294.2% -12.5% 107.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOPLTR
Gross margin 28.9% 64.5% 84.8%
EBITDA margin -5.4% 28.3% 43.3%
Operating margin -11.3% 24.3% 42.8%
Pretax margin -10.6% 25.3% 49.9%
Net margin -9.6% 21.0% 49.0%
FCF margin -100.8% 20.2% 54.6%
Operating cash flow margin -22.1% 22.4% 55.2%
Return on equity -4.1% 26.8% 32.9%
Return on assets -2.9% 10.4% 27.7%
Return on invested capital -4.2% 15.9% –
Return on capital employed -4.5% 17.9% 28.0%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.5x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 1.1x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 2.6% 6.0% 13.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOPLTR
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% 15.4%
Equity / assets 72.5% 38.8% 84.6%
Interest coverage -19.1x 10.5x –
Current ratio 2.8x 0.9x 7.2x
Quick ratio 1.9x 0.6x 7.1x
Cash ratio 1.2x 0.4x 6.1x
Altman Z-score 6.39 4.19 161.80

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOPLTR
Dividend yield – 1.5% –
Net buyback yield -20.8% 1.3% 0.0%
Shareholder yield -20.8% 2.8% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusAAOICSCOPLTR
Forward P/E 108.4xFY2026 23.5xFY2027 119.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.71FY2026 $4.74FY2027 $1.66FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +9.5%FY2027 +121.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +646.5% +20.7% +47.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $994.70MFY2026 $74.93BFY2027 $8.41BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +118.3%FY2026 +18.3%FY2027 +87.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +185.6% +0.6% +37.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAAOICSCOPLTR
Held by institutions 60.5% 80.1% 60.3%
Institutions holding 481 4,046 2,837
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.5% +5.0% +10.9%
Institutions buying 313 1,847 1,481
Institutions selling 143 1,817 1,093
Buyers to sellers 2.19 1.02 1.35

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.

AAOICSCOPLTR
AAOI 1.00 0.34 0.19
CSCO 0.34 1.00 0.18
PLTR 0.19 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AAOI, CSCO and PLTR?

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) $6.49B, Cisco Systems (CSCO) $439.51B, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) $477.53B.

Which stock is cheaper, AAOI, CSCO and PLTR?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -110.1x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 33.2x, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 158.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cisco Systems (CSCO) is cheapest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 108.4x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 23.5x, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 119.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +61.8%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +11.8%, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) +78.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) has the highest net margin (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -9.6%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.0%, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 49.0%). 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) +106.7%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +56.0%, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) +5.0%. Over five years, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) compounded fastest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +58.7%/yr, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +14.7%/yr, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) +50.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Cisco Systems (CSCO) 1.50%. Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) and Palantir Technologies (PLTR) pays no regular dividend.

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%, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 59.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.