AAOI vs CSCO vs SILC Stock Comparison

Applied Optoelectronics, Cisco Systems and Silicom 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
7 wins
SILC Silicom Ltd.
$42.00 -20.4% 1M +141.4% 1Y
Market cap
$239.66M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$75.43M
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Cisco Systems leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Cisco Systems 7, Applied Optoelectronics 2, Silicom 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAAOICSCOSILCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.49B $439.51B $239.66M CSCO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -110.1x 33.2x -24.5x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 108.4x 23.5x — CSCO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +61.8% +11.8% +28.6% 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 — 1.50% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +106.7% +56.0% +141.4% SILC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +58.7%/yr +14.7%/yr 0.0%/yr AAOI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 138.8% 35.5% 90.3% CSCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 33/100 54/100 36/100 CSCO

Percentile Scorecard

AAOICSCOSILC

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

AxisAAOICSCOSILC
Valuation 13 #98 of 112 32 #76 of 112 41 #67 of 112
Growth 56 #49 of 109 41 #65 of 109 21 #86 of 109
Profitability 17 #87 of 104 87 #14 of 104 18 #85 of 104
Financial Health 72 #33 of 116 30 #82 of 116 65 #41 of 116
Shareholder Returns 9 #74 of 81 79 #18 of 81 –
Overall 33 54 36
  • AAOI ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • CSCO ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • SILC ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAAOICSCOSILCSPY
1 month -24.1%+4.4%-20.4% -0.2%
3 months -12.7%-3.6%+10.5% +3.9%
6 months -43.9%+28.2%+52.5% +8.2%
Year to date +120.7%+44.6%+185.7% +12.9%
1 year +106.7%+56.0%+141.4% +12.3%
3 years +993.0%+116.0%+180.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year +122.0%+29.3%+41.0% +23.3%
5 years +904.6%+98.0%0.0% +67.9%
5 years, per year +58.7%+14.7%0.0% +10.9%
10 years +284.9%+266.6%+15.1% +261.1%
10 years, per year +14.4%+13.9%+1.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAAOICSCOSILCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 138.8%35.5%90.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 126.6%37.3%79.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 4.311.113.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.771.581.57 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.6%-38.6%-77.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -65.5%-14.3%-31.9% -1.2%
52-week high $223.10$130.00$61.65 $779.14
52-week low $19.49$71.04$13.50 $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.

MultipleAAOICSCOSILC
P/E now vs peer median -110.1xmedian 33.2x 33.2xmedian 33.2x -24.5xmedian 33.2x
P/S now vs peer median 10.9xmedian 2.8x 6.9xmedian 2.8x 3.2xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -188.5xmedian 20.0x 25.3xmedian 20.0x —median 20.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -10.8xmedian 29.8x 34.4xmedian 29.8x —median 29.8x
P/B now vs peer median 3.9xmedian 3.0x 8.7xmedian 3.0x 2.1xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median -3.32median 1.17 12.32median 1.17 0.65median 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 monthsAAOICSCOSILC
Revenue $595.97M $63.33B $75.43M
Gross profit $172.33M $40.86B $22.75M
Operating income -$67.41M $15.37B -$10.69M
Net income -$57.02M $13.27B -$9.79M
Free cash flow -$600.81M $12.77B –
R&D $107.61M $9.56B $21.03M
EPS (diluted) $-0.70 $3.33 $-1.72
Cash & equivalents $499.74M $7.22B $25.15M
Total debt $57.26M $29.53B –
Shares (diluted) 81.57M 3.99B 5.71M
Enterprise value $5.21B $375.43B $100.35M

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
MetricAAOICSCOSILC
P/E -110.1x 33.2x -24.5x
P/FCF -10.8x 34.4x –
P/Operating cash flow -49.3x 31.0x –
P/S 10.9x 6.9x 3.2x
P/B 3.9x 8.7x 2.1x
P/Tangible book 3.9x 10.3x 2.2x
EV/EBITDA -188.5x 25.3x –
EV/EBIT -89.8x 29.5x -19.5x
EV/Revenue 10.2x 7.2x 2.8x
EV/FCF -10.1x 35.5x –
EV/Operating cash flow -45.9x 32.0x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.32 12.32 0.65

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOSILC
Revenue growth (1Y) 61.8% 11.8% 28.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 40.9% 3.6% -22.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 62.0% 11.1% 31.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 73.3% 4.6% -24.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -40.6% 30.7% 18.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -2.8% 0.7% -35.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 63.4% 30.3% 34.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 1.7% -36.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 74.5% 30.7% 30.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.2% 2.7% -37.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.2% -0.1% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -168.6% -10.7% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -146.3% -3.9% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -294.2% -12.5% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOSILC
Gross margin 28.9% 64.5% 30.2%
EBITDA margin -5.4% 28.3% –
Operating margin -11.3% 24.3% -14.2%
Pretax margin -10.6% 25.3% -12.3%
Net margin -9.6% 21.0% -13.0%
FCF margin -100.8% 20.2% –
Operating cash flow margin -22.1% 22.4% –
Return on equity -4.1% 26.8% -8.5%
Return on assets -2.9% 10.4% -6.1%
Return on invested capital -4.2% 15.9% –
Return on capital employed -4.5% 17.9% -8.9%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 1.1x –
Stock comp / revenue 2.6% 6.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOSILC
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% 29.5%
Equity / assets 72.5% 38.8% 70.5%
Interest coverage -19.1x 10.5x –
Current ratio 2.8x 0.9x 3.1x
Quick ratio 1.9x 0.6x 1.3x
Cash ratio 1.2x 0.4x 0.8x
Altman Z-score 6.39 4.19 4.64

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAAOICSCOSILC
Dividend yield – 1.5% –
Net buyback yield -20.8% 1.3% –
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.

ConsensusAAOICSCOSILC
Forward P/E 108.4xFY2026 23.5xFY2027 –
EPS, next fiscal year $0.71FY2026 $4.74FY2027 $-0.43FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +9.5%FY2027 –
EPS growth, the year after +646.5% +20.7% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $994.70MFY2026 $74.93BFY2027 $91.18MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +118.3%FY2026 +18.3%FY2027 +47.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +185.6% +0.6% +29.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAAOICSCOSILC
Held by institutions 60.5% 80.1% 43.1%
Institutions holding 481 4,046 51
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.5% +5.0% +42.4%
Institutions buying 313 1,847 32
Institutions selling 143 1,817 12
Buyers to sellers 2.19 1.02 2.67

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.

AAOICSCOSILC
AAOI 1.00 0.34 0.36
CSCO 0.34 1.00 0.36
SILC 0.36 0.36 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AAOI, CSCO and SILC?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) $6.49B, Cisco Systems (CSCO) $439.51B, Silicom (SILC) $239.66M.

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%, Silicom (SILC) +28.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) has the highest net margin (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -9.6%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.0%, Silicom (SILC) -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 Silicom (SILC) returned the most: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +106.7%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +56.0%, Silicom (SILC) +141.4%. Over five years, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) compounded fastest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +58.7%/yr, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +14.7%/yr, Silicom (SILC) 0.0%/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%, Silicom (SILC) 0.00%. Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) and Silicom (SILC) 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%, Silicom (SILC) 90.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.