AAOI vs DOX vs NOW Stock Comparison

Applied Optoelectronics, Amdocs and ServiceNow Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DOX Amdocs Ltd
$62.21 +8.3% 1M -26.3% 1Y
Market cap
$6.75B
P/E
15.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.65B
Div. yield
3.60%
Networking Equipment Technology
5 wins
NOW ServiceNow, Inc.
$149.85 +14.0% 1M -20.1% 1Y
Market cap
$155.54B
P/E
107.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$15.43B
Div. yield
–
Business Process Automation Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionAAOIDOXNOWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.94B $6.75B $155.54B NOW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -117.6x 15.1x 107.3x DOX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 115.8x 7.9x 38.9x DOX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +61.8% +0.1% +21.8% AAOI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -9.6% 9.8% 9.4% DOX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -4.2% — 5.2% NOW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 13.8x 0.9x 0.8x NOW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 3.60% — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +123.0% -26.3% -20.1% AAOI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +60.8%/yr -4.4%/yr +1.4%/yr AAOI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 139.0% 29.8% 58.8% DOX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 33/100 64/100 51/100 DOX

Percentile Scorecard

AAOIDOXNOW

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

AxisAAOIDOXNOW
Valuation 12 #98 of 111 92 #10 of 111 33 #68 of 101
Growth 54 #50 of 108 14 #93 of 108 50 #49 of 97
Profitability 17 #87 of 104 83 #19 of 104 80 #20 of 94
Financial Health 72 #33 of 115 37 #73 of 115 53 #51 of 108
Shareholder Returns 9 #71 of 78 95 #5 of 78 38 #40 of 64
Overall 33 64 51
  • AAOI ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • DOX ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • NOW ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAAOIDOXNOWSPY
1 month -15.1%+8.3%+14.0% +0.9%
3 months +7.4%+9.5%+29.4% +5.9%
6 months -46.2%-2.7%+68.6% +8.5%
Year to date +135.9%-22.7%-2.2% +13.3%
1 year +123.0%-26.3%-20.1% +12.4%
3 years +1,067.9%-20.9%+35.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year +127.0%-7.5%+10.6% +23.5%
5 years +974.8%-20.1%+7.4% +68.2%
5 years, per year +60.8%-4.4%+1.4% +11.0%
10 years +317.6%+6.3%+770.2% +263.4%
10 years, per year +15.4%+0.6%+24.2% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureAAOIDOXNOWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 139.0%29.8%58.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 127.1%32.5%61.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 4.320.250.60 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.89-0.88-0.34 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.6%-49.5%-64.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -63.1%-27.2%-20.1% -0.9%
52-week high $223.10$85.49$187.58 $779.14
52-week low $19.49$49.87$83.00 $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.

MultipleAAOIDOXNOW
P/E now vs peer median -117.6xmedian 33.5x 15.1xmedian 33.5x 107.3xmedian 27.6x
P/S now vs peer median 11.6xmedian 2.8x 1.4xmedian 2.8x 10.1xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -202.3xmedian 19.6x 8.9xmedian 19.6x 46.0xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median -11.5xmedian 29.8x 7.9xmedian 29.8x 32.7xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 2.9x 2.0xmedian 2.9x 11.9xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median -3.54median 1.10 -4.14median 1.10 -31.41median 0.84

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 monthsAAOIDOXNOW
Revenue $595.97M $4.65B $15.43B
Gross profit $172.33M $1.78B $11.28B
Operating income -$67.41M $626.70M $1.49B
Net income -$57.02M $457.53M $1.45B
Free cash flow -$600.81M $858.80M $4.75B
R&D $107.61M $343.21M $3.47B
EPS (diluted) $-0.70 $4.17 $1.39
Cash & equivalents $499.74M $206.45M $2.39B
Total debt $57.26M $3.25B $7.52B
Shares (diluted) 81.57M 109.66M 1.04B
Enterprise value $5.66B $5.79B $134.81B

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
MetricAAOIDOXNOW
P/E -117.6x 15.1x 107.3x
P/FCF -11.5x 7.9x 32.7x
P/Operating cash flow -52.6x 9.0x 29.2x
P/S 11.6x 1.4x 10.1x
P/B 4.2x 2.0x 11.9x
P/Tangible book 4.2x 2.2x 16.4x
EV/EBITDA -202.3x 8.9x 46.0x
EV/EBIT -96.4x 11.9x 106.1x
EV/Revenue 10.9x 1.6x 10.3x
EV/FCF -10.8x 8.7x 33.4x
EV/Operating cash flow -49.3x 10.0x 29.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.54 -4.14 -31.41

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAAOIDOXNOW
Revenue growth (1Y) 61.8% 0.1% 21.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 40.9% -1.1% 22.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 62.0% 2.9% 14.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 73.3% 1.5% 19.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -40.6% -11.9% -14.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -2.8% -3.0% 32.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 63.4% -18.0% -16.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.2% -7.0% -3.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 74.5% -14.5% -16.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.2% -3.7% -3.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.2% 1.6% 10.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -168.6% -0.8% 21.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -146.3% 2.8% 20.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -294.2% -3.2% 25.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAAOIDOXNOW
Gross margin 28.9% 38.3% 73.1%
EBITDA margin -5.4% 17.9% 22.3%
Operating margin -11.3% 13.5% 9.7%
Pretax margin -10.6% 12.5% 13.1%
Net margin -9.6% 9.8% 9.4%
FCF margin -100.8% 18.5% 30.8%
Operating cash flow margin -22.1% 16.1% 34.6%
Return on equity -4.1% – 11.3%
Return on assets -2.9% 7.2% 4.6%
Return on invested capital -4.2% – 5.2%
Return on capital employed -4.5% 13.4% 7.5%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.7x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 1.6x 3.7x
Stock comp / revenue 2.6% 2.4% 10.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAAOIDOXNOW
Debt / assets 2.5% 14.5% 23.6%
Debt / equity 0.0x 0.3x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 13.8x 0.9x 0.8x
Debt / FCF -0.1x 1.1x 1.6x
Liabilities / assets 27.5% 48.1% 58.9%
Equity / assets 72.5% 51.9% 41.1%
Interest coverage -19.1x – 14.6x
Current ratio 2.8x 0.9x 0.7x
Quick ratio 1.9x 1.0x 0.6x
Cash ratio 1.2x 0.1x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 6.81 3.94 5.77

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAAOIDOXNOW
Dividend yield – 3.6% –
Net buyback yield -19.5% 7.8% 1.7%
Shareholder yield -19.5% 11.4% 1.7%
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.

ConsensusAAOIDOXNOW
Forward P/E 115.8xFY2026 7.9xFY2026 38.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.71FY2026 $7.92FY2026 $3.85FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +13.3%FY2026 +9.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +646.5% +4.0% +27.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $994.70MFY2026 $4.46BFY2026 $15.25BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +118.3%FY2026 -1.6%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +185.6% +5.0% +17.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAAOIDOXNOW
Held by institutions 60.5% 93.0% 81.6%
Institutions holding 481 446 2,224
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.5% +0.5% -2.1%
Institutions buying 313 250 1,285
Institutions selling 143 151 779
Buyers to sellers 2.19 1.66 1.65

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.

AAOIDOXNOW
AAOI 1.00 -0.19 -0.08
DOX -0.19 1.00 0.51
NOW -0.08 0.51 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AAOI, DOX and NOW?

ServiceNow (NOW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) $6.94B, Amdocs (DOX) $6.75B, ServiceNow (NOW) $155.54B.

Which stock is cheaper, AAOI, DOX and NOW?

Amdocs (DOX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -117.6x, Amdocs (DOX) 15.1x, ServiceNow (NOW) 107.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Amdocs (DOX) is cheapest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 115.8x, Amdocs (DOX) 7.9x, ServiceNow (NOW) 38.9x). 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%, Amdocs (DOX) +0.1%, ServiceNow (NOW) +21.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Amdocs (DOX) has the highest net margin (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -9.6%, Amdocs (DOX) 9.8%, ServiceNow (NOW) 9.4%). On return on invested capital, ServiceNow (NOW) leads (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -4.2%, ServiceNow (NOW) 5.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) returned the most: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +123.0%, Amdocs (DOX) -26.3%, ServiceNow (NOW) -20.1%. Over five years, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) compounded fastest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +60.8%/yr, Amdocs (DOX) -4.4%/yr, ServiceNow (NOW) +1.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Amdocs (DOX) 3.60%. Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) and ServiceNow (NOW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Amdocs (DOX) has been the steadiest (Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 139.0%, Amdocs (DOX) 29.8%, ServiceNow (NOW) 58.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AAOI, DOX and NOW?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Amdocs (DOX) 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.