ERIC vs AAOI vs CSCO Stock Comparison

Ericsson Lm Telephone, Applied Optoelectronics and Cisco Systems Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ERIC Ericsson Lm Telephone Co
$10.66 +9.6% 1M +12.4% 1Y
Market cap
$36.28B
P/E
17.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$24.56B
Div. yield
-0.03%
Networking Equipment Technology
5 wins
CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc.
$106.50 +0.1% 1M +51.6% 1Y
Market cap
$436.07B
P/E
32.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.33B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionERICAAOICSCOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $36.28B $5.87B $436.07B CSCO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.8x -102.9x 32.9x ERIC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.7x 95.1x 22.5x ERIC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -38.5% +61.8% +11.8% AAOI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.3% -9.6% 21.0% CSCO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 20.0% -4.2% 15.9% ERIC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.6x 13.8x 0.8x ERIC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield -0.03% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.4% +115.0% +51.6% AAOI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -1.6%/yr +55.2%/yr +14.1%/yr AAOI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.4% 139.0% 35.4% CSCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 33/100 53/100 ERIC

Percentile Scorecard

ERICAAOICSCO

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

AxisERICAAOICSCO
Valuation 88 #14 of 112 13 #98 of 112 32 #77 of 112
Growth 46 #59 of 109 56 #49 of 109 40 #66 of 109
Profitability 87 #15 of 105 16 #88 of 105 88 #14 of 105
Financial Health 41 #70 of 117 72 #33 of 117 28 #84 of 117
Shareholder Returns 37 #52 of 82 7 #76 of 82 77 #20 of 82
Overall 60 33 53
  • ERIC ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • AAOI ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • CSCO ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodERICAAOICSCOSPY
1 month +9.6%-33.2%+0.1% -1.0%
3 months +14.1%-32.6%-6.7% +2.9%
6 months -5.4%-58.4%+19.6% +6.4%
Year to date +10.5%+93.7%+38.3% +11.4%
1 year +12.4%+115.0%+51.6% +13.1%
3 years +140.6%+807.4%+100.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year +34.0%+108.7%+26.2% +21.5%
5 years -7.9%+800.1%+93.2% +67.7%
5 years, per year -1.6%+55.2%+14.1% +10.9%
10 years +109.0%+228.3%+253.2% +255.2%
10 years, per year +7.7%+12.6%+13.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureERICAAOICSCOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.4%139.0%35.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 36.4%126.6%37.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.014.331.09 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.340.831.46 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.8%-82.6%-38.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -22.4%-69.7%-18.1% -2.5%
52-week high $13.74$223.10$130.00 $779.14
52-week low $9.15$19.49$70.27 $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.

MultipleERICAAOICSCO
P/E now vs peer median 17.4xmedian 31.3x -96.6xmedian 31.3x 31.7xmedian 31.3x
P/S now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 2.6x 9.6xmedian 2.6x 6.6xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.9xmedian 19.6x -163.7xmedian 19.6x 24.2xmedian 19.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.6xmedian 28.3x -9.5xmedian 28.3x 32.9xmedian 28.3x
P/B now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 2.9x 3.4xmedian 2.9x 8.4xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 0.40median 1.15 -2.91median 1.15 11.78median 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 monthsERICAAOICSCO
Revenue $24.56B $595.97M $63.33B
Gross profit $11.51B $172.33M $40.86B
Operating income $2.90B -$67.41M $15.37B
Net income $2.04B -$57.02M $13.27B
Free cash flow $3.76B -$600.81M $12.77B
R&D $5.22B $107.61M $9.56B
EPS (diluted) $0.61 $-0.70 $3.33
Cash & equivalents $5.11B $499.74M $7.22B
Total debt $14.14B $160.44M $29.53B
Shares (diluted) 3.34B 81.57M 3.99B
Enterprise value $13.89B $4.59B $371.99B

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
MetricERICAAOICSCO
P/E 17.4x -96.6x 31.7x
P/FCF 9.6x -9.5x 32.9x
P/Operating cash flow 10.4x -43.2x 29.6x
P/S 1.5x 9.6x 6.6x
P/B 3.2x 3.4x 8.4x
P/Tangible book 3.2x 3.4x 9.8x
EV/EBITDA 8.9x -163.7x 24.2x
EV/EBIT 11.7x -78.0x 28.2x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 8.8x 6.9x
EV/FCF 9.0x -8.7x 34.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 9.8x -39.9x 30.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.40 -2.91 11.78

Growth

14 metrics
MetricERICAAOICSCO
Revenue growth (1Y) -38.5% 61.8% 11.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.0% 40.9% 3.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 3.7% 62.0% 11.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.0% 73.3% 4.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -18.4% -40.6% 30.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 55.0% -2.8% 0.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -18.7% 63.4% 30.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 43.4% 6.2% 1.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -17.7% 74.5% 30.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 43.1% 33.2% 2.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 4.3% 15.2% -0.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 44.0% -168.6% -10.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 6.1% -146.3% -3.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 34.7% -294.2% -12.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricERICAAOICSCO
Gross margin 46.8% 28.9% 64.5%
EBITDA margin 15.4% -5.4% 28.3%
Operating margin 11.8% -11.3% 24.3%
Pretax margin 11.2% -10.6% 25.3%
Net margin 8.3% -9.6% 21.0%
FCF margin 15.3% -100.8% 20.2%
Operating cash flow margin 14.0% -22.1% 22.4%
Return on equity 18.7% -4.1% 26.8%
Return on assets 6.8% -2.9% 10.4%
Return on invested capital 20.0% -4.2% 15.9%
Return on capital employed 17.8% -4.5% 17.9%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.3x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 2.3x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue – 2.6% 6.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricERICAAOICSCO
Debt / assets 12.4% 2.5% 22.8%
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.0x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.6x 13.8x 0.8x
Debt / FCF 1.0x -0.1x 2.3x
Liabilities / assets 63.1% 27.5% 61.2%
Equity / assets 36.9% 72.5% 38.8%
Interest coverage – -19.1x 10.5x
Current ratio 1.2x 2.8x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.9x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.4x 1.2x 0.4x
Altman Z-score – 5.64 4.05

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricERICAAOICSCO
Dividend yield 2.9% – 1.6%
Net buyback yield -2.3% -23.7% 1.3%
Shareholder yield 0.6% -23.7% 2.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) 50.9% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 27.7% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) -13.4% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -7.7% – –

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.

ConsensusERICAAOICSCO
Forward P/E 16.7xFY2026 95.1xFY2026 22.5xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $0.64FY2026 $0.71FY2026 $4.74FY2027
EPS growth, next FY -31.9%FY2026 – +9.5%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after 0.0% +646.5% +20.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $24.06BFY2026 $994.70MFY2026 $74.93BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY -8.5%FY2026 +118.3%FY2026 +18.3%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +0.7% +185.6% +0.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersERICAAOICSCO
Held by institutions 9.5% 60.5% 80.1%
Institutions holding 388 481 4,044
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.4% -3.5% +5.0%
Institutions buying 219 313 1,846
Institutions selling 110 143 1,816
Buyers to sellers 1.99 2.19 1.02

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.

ERICAAOICSCO
ERIC 1.00 0.23 0.32
AAOI 0.23 1.00 0.33
CSCO 0.32 0.33 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ERIC, AAOI and CSCO?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) $36.28B, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) $5.87B, Cisco Systems (CSCO) $436.07B.

Which stock is cheaper, ERIC, AAOI and CSCO?

Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 17.8x, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -102.9x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 32.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) is cheapest (Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 16.7x, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 95.1x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 22.5x). 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: Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) -38.5%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +61.8%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +11.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) has the highest net margin (Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 8.3%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -9.6%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.0%). On return on invested capital, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) leads (Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 20.0%, 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: Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) +12.4%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +115.0%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +51.6%. Over five years, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) compounded fastest (Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) -1.6%/yr, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +55.2%/yr, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +14.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cisco Systems (CSCO) has been the steadiest (Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 36.4%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 139.0%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 35.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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