CSCO vs ADBE vs AAOI Stock Comparison

Cisco Systems, Adobe and Applied Optoelectronics Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (CIEN) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc.
$95.72 -18.8% 1M +32.8% 1Y
Market cap
$371.11B
P/E
28.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.33B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
2 wins
ADBE Adobe Inc.
$246.44 +3.5% 1M -26.6% 1Y
Market cap
$94.52B
P/E
13.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.97B
Div. yield
–
Creative Software Technology
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Adobe leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Adobe 6, Applied Optoelectronics 3, Cisco Systems 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCSCOADBEAAOILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $371.11B $94.52B $4.29B CSCO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 28.0x 13.0x -130.7x ADBE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.1x 9.8x 66.0x ADBE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.8% +12.0% +77.2% AAOI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.0% 28.0% -4.4% ADBE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% 44.3% -2.3% ADBE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x -0.1x 68.1x ADBE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +32.8% -26.6% +48.8% AAOI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.9%/yr -18.0%/yr +51.6%/yr AAOI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.6% 41.8% 141.5% CSCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 67/100 33/100 ADBE

Percentile Scorecard

CSCOADBEAAOI

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

AxisCSCOADBEAAOI
Valuation 28 #81 of 112 64 #11 of 29 14 #96 of 112
Growth 37 #68 of 108 26 #21 of 28 64 #40 of 108
Profitability 87 #14 of 104 100 #1 of 27 18 #85 of 104
Financial Health 30 #82 of 116 57 #14 of 31 63 #44 of 116
Shareholder Returns 78 #19 of 83 91 #3 of 22 4 #80 of 83
Overall 52 67 33
  • CSCO ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • ADBE ranked among 31 companies in Workplace Software
  • AAOI ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCSCOADBEAAOISPY
1 month -18.8%+3.5%-64.0% -5.9%
3 months -20.8%-5.3%-62.3% -4.6%
6 months +3.9%-3.9%-70.2% +0.2%
Year to date +24.3%-29.6%+34.5% +7.5%
1 year +32.8%-26.6%+48.8% +8.2%
3 years +79.6%-56.4%+383.9% +68.3%
3 years, per year +21.6%-24.2%+69.2% +19.0%
5 years +67.7%-62.8%+700.2% +56.5%
5 years, per year +10.9%-18.0%+51.6% +9.4%
10 years +217.1%+132.1%+116.6% +251.5%
10 years, per year +12.2%+8.8%+8.0% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureCSCOADBEAAOISPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.6%41.8%141.5% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.3%43.4%132.3% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.210.204.37 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.90-0.630.34 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.6%-71.9%-79.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -26.4%-31.1%-79.0% -5.9%
52-week high $130.00$357.53$223.10 $779.14
52-week low $71.04$193.41$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.

MultipleCSCOADBEAAOI
P/E now vs peer median 28.5xmedian 25.2x 13.4xmedian 34.8x -122.1xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 6.0xmedian 2.4x 3.7xmedian 2.1x 5.7xmedian 2.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.9xmedian 16.2x 9.5xmedian 11.9x -463.5xmedian 16.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.6xmedian 23.4x 9.1xmedian 13.6x -4.8xmedian 23.4x
P/B now vs peer median 7.5xmedian 2.3x 8.2xmedian 3.1x 1.9xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 10.59median 0.98 0.73median 0.73 -2.91median 0.98

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 monthsCSCOADBEAAOI
Revenue $63.33B $25.97B $747.22M
Gross profit $40.86B $23.18B $215.22M
Operating income $15.37B $9.27B -$50.66M
Net income $13.27B $7.28B -$32.78M
Free cash flow $12.77B $10.59B -$883.41M
R&D $9.56B $4.69B $124.46M
EPS (diluted) $3.33 $18.42 $-0.37
Cash & equivalents $7.22B $4.36B $605.41M
Total debt $29.53B $4.77B $59.99M
Shares (diluted) 3.99B 395.50M 87.84M
Enterprise value $307.04B $69.77B $2.53B

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
MetricCSCOADBEAAOI
P/E 28.5x 13.4x -122.1x
P/FCF 29.6x 9.1x -4.8x
P/Operating cash flow 26.6x 8.9x -40.1x
P/S 6.0x 3.7x 5.7x
P/B 7.5x 8.2x 1.9x
P/Tangible book 8.8x 8.9x 1.9x
EV/EBITDA 21.9x 9.5x -463.5x
EV/EBIT 25.5x 10.3x -73.2x
EV/Revenue 6.2x 3.7x 5.0x
EV/FCF 30.7x 9.0x -4.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.6x 8.8x -34.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 10.59 0.73 -2.91

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCSCOADBEAAOI
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.8% 12.0% 77.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.6% 11.2% 50.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.1% 12.2% 74.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 11.8% 70.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 30.7% 10.3% -2.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.7% 13.1% 2.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 30.3% 4.7% 79.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.7% 12.5% 19.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 30.7% 12.3% 84.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 18.2% 41.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -0.1% 10.4% 37.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -10.7% 10.4% -101.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -3.9% 10.3% -192.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.5% 11.6% -275.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCSCOADBEAAOI
Gross margin 64.5% 89.3% 28.8%
EBITDA margin 28.3% 38.6% -1.1%
Operating margin 24.3% 35.7% -6.8%
Pretax margin 25.3% 35.7% -4.9%
Net margin 21.0% 28.0% -4.4%
FCF margin 20.2% 40.8% -118.2%
Operating cash flow margin 22.4% 41.6% -14.2%
Return on equity 26.8% 62.6% -1.7%
Return on assets 10.4% 24.3% -1.2%
Return on invested capital 15.9% 44.3% -2.3%
Return on capital employed 17.9% 51.3% -2.5%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.9x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 1.5x 3.2x
Stock comp / revenue 6.0% 8.0% 2.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCSCOADBEAAOI
Debt / assets 22.8% 15.9% 1.9%
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.4x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x -0.1x 68.1x
Debt / FCF 2.3x 0.4x -0.1x
Liabilities / assets 61.2% 60.8% 28.5%
Equity / assets 38.8% 39.2% 71.5%
Interest coverage 10.5x 35.7x -13.1x
Current ratio 0.9x 0.8x 2.3x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.7x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.5x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 3.73 7.31 3.15

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCSCOADBEAAOI
Dividend yield 1.7% – –
Net buyback yield 1.5% 9.4% -41.5%
Shareholder yield 3.2% 9.4% -41.5%
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.

ConsensusCSCOADBEAAOI
Forward P/E 20.1xFY2027 9.8xFY2026 66.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.76FY2027 $25.10FY2026 $0.71FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.9%FY2027 +19.9%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +21.2% +5.3% +646.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $75.08BFY2027 $24.94BFY2026 $994.70MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.6%FY2027 +4.9%FY2026 +118.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.1% +21.1% +185.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCSCOADBEAAOI
Held by institutions 80.1% 82.5% 60.5%
Institutions holding 4,051 1,985 482
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.0% +3.7% -3.5%
Institutions buying 1,850 838 313
Institutions selling 1,819 931 144
Buyers to sellers 1.02 0.90 2.17

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.

CSCOADBEAAOI
CSCO 1.00 -0.09 0.37
ADBE -0.09 1.00 -0.19
AAOI 0.37 -0.19 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CSCO, ADBE and AAOI?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cisco Systems (CSCO) $371.11B, Adobe (ADBE) $94.52B, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) $4.29B.

Which stock is cheaper, CSCO, ADBE and AAOI?

Adobe (ADBE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 28.0x, Adobe (ADBE) 13.0x, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -130.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Adobe (ADBE) is cheapest (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 20.1x, Adobe (ADBE) 9.8x, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 66.0x). 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: Cisco Systems (CSCO) +11.8%, Adobe (ADBE) +12.0%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +77.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Adobe (ADBE) has the highest net margin (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.0%, Adobe (ADBE) 28.0%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -4.4%). On return on invested capital, Adobe (ADBE) leads (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 15.9%, Adobe (ADBE) 44.3%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -2.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) returned the most: Cisco Systems (CSCO) +32.8%, Adobe (ADBE) -26.6%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +48.8%. Over five years, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) compounded fastest (Cisco Systems (CSCO) +10.9%/yr, Adobe (ADBE) -18.0%/yr, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +51.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cisco Systems (CSCO) has been the steadiest (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 36.6%, Adobe (ADBE) 41.8%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 141.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CSCO, ADBE 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, Adobe (ADBE) 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.