CALX vs AAOI Stock Comparison

Calix and Applied Optoelectronics Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CALX Calix, Inc
$36.50 +5.7% 1M -39.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.40B
P/E
46.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.11B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
4 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

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

QuestionCALXAAOILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.40B $5.87B AAOI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 46.8x -102.9x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.5x 95.1x CALX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +27.8% +61.8% AAOI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.6% -9.6% CALX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — -4.2% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 13.8x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -39.3% +115.0% AAOI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.5%/yr +55.2%/yr AAOI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.5% 139.0% CALX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 76/100 33/100 CALX

Percentile Scorecard

CALXAAOI

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

AxisCALXAAOI
Valuation 60 #45 of 112 13 #98 of 112
Growth 82 #21 of 109 56 #49 of 109
Profitability 64 #38 of 105 16 #88 of 105
Financial Health 76 #29 of 117 72 #33 of 117
Shareholder Returns 98 #3 of 82 7 #76 of 82
Overall 76 33
  • CALX ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • AAOI ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCALXAAOISPY
1 month +5.7%-33.2% -1.0%
3 months +1.4%-32.6% +2.9%
6 months -15.9%-58.4% +6.4%
Year to date -31.0%+93.7% +11.4%
1 year -39.3%+115.0% +13.1%
3 years +4.9%+807.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year +1.6%+108.7% +21.5%
5 years -32.2%+800.1% +67.7%
5 years, per year -7.5%+55.2% +10.9%
10 years +453.0%+228.3% +255.2%
10 years, per year +18.7%+12.6% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCALXAAOISPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.5%139.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 43.8%126.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.864.33 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.950.83 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.3%-82.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -46.7%-69.7% -2.5%
52-week high $68.42$223.10 $779.14
52-week low $33.15$19.49 $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.

MultipleCALXAAOI
P/E now vs peer median 45.3xmedian 31.3x -96.6xmedian 31.3x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 2.6x 9.6xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 26.6xmedian 19.6x -163.7xmedian 19.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.9xmedian 28.3x -9.5xmedian 28.3x
P/B now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 2.9x 3.4xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 6.40median 1.15 -2.91median 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 monthsCALXAAOI
Revenue $1.11B $595.97M
Gross profit $628.73M $172.33M
Operating income $61.25M -$67.41M
Net income $51.19M -$57.02M
Free cash flow $85.42M -$600.81M
R&D $207.99M $107.61M
EPS (diluted) $0.78 $-0.70
Cash & equivalents $68.91M $499.74M
Total debt – $160.44M
Shares (diluted) 65.51M 81.57M
Enterprise value $1.23B $4.59B

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
MetricCALXAAOI
P/E 45.3x -96.6x
P/FCF 26.9x -9.5x
P/Operating cash flow 21.0x -43.2x
P/S 2.1x 9.6x
P/B 3.2x 3.4x
P/Tangible book 3.2x 3.4x
EV/EBITDA 26.6x -163.7x
EV/EBIT 34.4x -78.0x
EV/Revenue 1.9x 8.8x
EV/FCF 24.6x -8.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.2x -39.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 6.40 -2.91

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCALXAAOI
Revenue growth (1Y) 27.8% 61.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.9% 40.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 30.3% 62.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 73.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 273.3% -40.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.8% -2.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 290.5% 63.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 6.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 287.6% 74.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.1% 33.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 24.5% 15.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 41.8% -168.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 19.4% -146.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 62.0% -294.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCALXAAOI
Gross margin 56.6% 28.9%
EBITDA margin 7.1% -5.4%
Operating margin 5.5% -11.3%
Pretax margin 6.5% -10.6%
Net margin 4.6% -9.6%
FCF margin 7.7% -100.8%
Operating cash flow margin 9.9% -22.1%
Return on equity 7.1% -4.1%
Return on assets 5.4% -2.9%
Return on invested capital – -4.2%
Return on capital employed 8.2% -4.5%
Asset turnover 1.2x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue 7.2% 2.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCALXAAOI
Debt / assets – 2.5%
Debt / equity – 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – 13.8x
Debt / FCF – -0.1x
Liabilities / assets 25.6% 27.5%
Equity / assets 74.4% 72.5%
Interest coverage – -19.1x
Current ratio 2.8x 2.8x
Quick ratio 1.6x 1.9x
Cash ratio 0.9x 1.2x
Altman Z-score 7.00 5.64

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCALXAAOI
Dividend yield – –
Net buyback yield 8.3% -23.7%
Shareholder yield 8.3% -23.7%
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.

ConsensusCALXAAOI
Forward P/E 22.5xFY2026 95.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.62FY2026 $0.71FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +20.9%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +48.1% +646.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.11BFY2026 $994.70MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.0%FY2026 +118.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.8% +185.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCALXAAOI
Held by institutions 94.5% 60.5%
Institutions holding 288 481
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% -3.5%
Institutions buying 148 313
Institutions selling 111 143
Buyers to sellers 1.33 2.19

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.

CALXAAOI
CALX 1.00 0.23
AAOI 0.23 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CALX and AAOI?

Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Calix (CALX) $2.40B, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) $5.87B.

Which company is growing faster?

Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Calix (CALX) +27.8%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +61.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Calix (CALX) has the highest net margin (Calix (CALX) 4.6%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -9.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) returned the most: Calix (CALX) -39.3%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +115.0%. Over five years, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) compounded fastest (Calix (CALX) -7.5%/yr, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +55.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Calix (CALX) has been the steadiest (Calix (CALX) 41.5%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 139.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do CALX and AAOI move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.23, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, CALX and AAOI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) leads on 4. 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.