SILC vs CSCO vs AAOI Stock Comparison

Silicom, Cisco Systems and Applied Optoelectronics Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SILC Silicom Ltd.
$42.00 -20.4% 1M +141.4% 1Y
Market cap
$246.37M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$75.43M
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
1 win
CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc.
$111.38 +4.4% 1M +56.0% 1Y
Market cap
$434.70B
P/E
32.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.33B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
7 wins

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.

QuestionSILCCSCOAAOILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $246.37M $434.70B $6.48B CSCO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -25.2x 32.8x -113.7x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 23.5x 108.4x CSCO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +28.6% +11.8% +61.8% AAOI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -13.0% 21.0% -9.6% CSCO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 15.9% -4.2% CSCO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.8x 13.8x CSCO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +141.4% +56.0% +106.7% SILC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years 0.0%/yr +14.7%/yr +58.7%/yr AAOI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 90.3% 35.5% 138.8% CSCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 36/100 54/100 33/100 CSCO

Percentile Scorecard

SILCCSCOAAOI

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

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

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

Risk

MeasureSILCCSCOAAOISPY
Volatility, 1Y 90.3%35.5%138.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 79.5%37.3%126.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.011.114.31 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.571.580.77 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -77.3%-38.6%-82.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -31.9%-14.3%-65.5% -1.2%
52-week high $61.65$130.00$223.10 $779.14
52-week low $13.50$71.04$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.

MultipleSILCCSCOAAOI
P/E now vs peer median -24.5xmedian 33.2x 33.2xmedian 33.2x -110.1xmedian 33.2x
P/S now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 2.8x 6.9xmedian 2.8x 10.9xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 20.0x 25.3xmedian 20.0x -188.5xmedian 20.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 29.8x 34.4xmedian 29.8x -10.8xmedian 29.8x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 3.0x 8.7xmedian 3.0x 3.9xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 0.65median 1.17 12.32median 1.17 -3.32median 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 monthsSILCCSCOAAOI
Revenue $75.43M $63.33B $595.97M
Gross profit $22.75M $40.86B $172.33M
Operating income -$10.69M $15.37B -$67.41M
Net income -$9.79M $13.27B -$57.02M
Free cash flow – $12.77B -$600.81M
R&D $21.03M $9.56B $107.61M
EPS (diluted) $-1.72 $3.33 $-0.70
Cash & equivalents $25.15M $7.22B $499.74M
Total debt – $29.53B $57.26M
Shares (diluted) 5.71M 3.99B 81.57M
Enterprise value $107.07M $370.63B $5.20B

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

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSILCCSCOAAOI
Debt / assets – 22.8% 2.5%
Debt / equity – 0.6x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.8x 13.8x
Debt / FCF – 2.3x -0.1x
Liabilities / assets 29.5% 61.2% 27.5%
Equity / assets 70.5% 38.8% 72.5%
Interest coverage – 10.5x -19.1x
Current ratio 3.1x 0.9x 2.8x
Quick ratio 1.3x 0.6x 1.9x
Cash ratio 0.8x 0.4x 1.2x
Altman Z-score 4.64 4.19 6.39

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSILCCSCOAAOI
Dividend yield – 1.5% –
Net buyback yield – 1.3% -20.8%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 2.8% -20.8%
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.

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

Institutional Ownership

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

SILCCSCOAAOI
SILC 1.00 0.36 0.36
CSCO 0.36 1.00 0.34
AAOI 0.36 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SILC, CSCO and AAOI?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Silicom (SILC) $246.37M, Cisco Systems (CSCO) $434.70B, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) $6.48B.

Which company is growing faster?

Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Silicom (SILC) +28.6%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +11.8%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +61.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) has the highest net margin (Silicom (SILC) -13.0%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.0%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -9.6%). On return on invested capital, Cisco Systems (CSCO) leads (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 15.9%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -4.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Silicom (SILC) returned the most: Silicom (SILC) +141.4%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +56.0%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +106.7%. Over five years, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) compounded fastest (Silicom (SILC) 0.0%/yr, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +14.7%/yr, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +58.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cisco Systems (CSCO) has been the steadiest (Silicom (SILC) 90.3%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 35.5%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 138.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SILC, CSCO 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, 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.