Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Issues Q3 2026 Earnings Guidance

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) updated its third quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.110-0.260 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 0.270. The company issued revenue guidance of $255.0 million-$290.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $265.7 million.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Optoelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.80.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 3.4%

NASDAQ:AAOI opened at $124.22 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $137.79 and a 200-day moving average of $118.02. The stock has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -188.21 and a beta of 3.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a current ratio of 3.83. Applied Optoelectronics has a 1 year low of $18.50 and a 1 year high of $233.67.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.04. Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 8.55% and a negative return on equity of 4.64%. The firm had revenue of $191.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. Applied Optoelectronics’s quarterly revenue was up 86.3% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.110-0.260 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Applied Optoelectronics will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Chih-Hsiang (Thompson) Lin sold 59,000 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.53, for a total value of $9,825,270.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,302,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $216,894,667.08. This trade represents a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 40,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.60, for a total value of $6,880,127.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 286,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,812,754.40. The trade was a 12.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 506,215 shares of company stock valued at $87,409,447 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

More Applied Optoelectronics News

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Optoelectronics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AAOI reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.06 per share, above estimates of approximately $0.02-$0.03 and significantly better than the $0.16-per-share loss recorded a year earlier. Revenue rose 86.3% year over year to $191.92 million, modestly exceeding the $190.48 million consensus. Applied Optoelectronics Surpasses Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management expects demand for its optical networking products to exceed production capacity through at least mid-2027. This signals strong order visibility tied to AI infrastructure and data-center expansion, although it also highlights the need to increase manufacturing capacity. Applied Optoelectronics Beats Q2 Estimates and Expects Demand to Outpace Capacity
• Positive Sentiment: A potential Federal Communications Commission restriction on new Chinese optical-transceiver imports could benefit U.S.-based suppliers such as AAOI by redirecting demand toward domestic alternatives. The proposal remains uncertain and has not yet become final policy. Potential AI Infrastructure Bottleneck
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue guidance of $255 million-$290 million brackets the $265.7 million analyst forecast, indicating continued rapid growth but a wide range around expectations. AAOI Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: AAOI forecast third-quarter EPS of $0.11-$0.26, below the $0.27 consensus estimate at the midpoint and upper end. That cautious profit outlook may outweigh the second-quarter beat, particularly because the company remains unprofitable on a GAAP basis.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,579 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 2,415 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the second quarter valued at $377,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 36.0% in the second quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 17,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Applied Optoelectronics by 50.0% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 60,817 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,562,000 after buying an additional 20,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the second quarter valued at approximately $952,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.70% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Optoelectronics

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc develops and manufactures high-speed fiber-optic networking products designed to support the growing bandwidth demands of data centers, telecommunications carriers and internet content providers. The company’s core offerings include pluggable optical transceiver modules, transponders and optical components that enable data transmission at rates ranging from 1G to 400G. These products are used to facilitate long-haul, metro and intra-data center connectivity, addressing the need for scalable, low-latency and energy-efficient solutions in modern network infrastructures.

The company’s product portfolio spans small-form factor pluggable modules such as SFP+, QSFP+ and QSFP28 units, as well as more advanced form factors like CFP2 and OSFP for ultra-high-speed applications.