AAOIAPPLIED OPTOELECTRONICS, INC.

Semiconductors & Related Devices

Revenue: $456M; 83% YoY
Operating margin: -12.0%; 58% YoY
EBITDA: −$27M; 46% YoY
Market cap: $5.8B
Employees: 425; $1M revenue each
Net debt / EBITDA: —; −$466M net debt
AI in 10-K: 4.7; mentions per 10K words

Takeover score 1 of 13

Fixable underperformance 0 of 7

TSR below peersNo
2 of 5 years
3+ of last 5 years
High CEO pay despite TSRNo
$4M median
Median CEO pay ≥ $15M while TSR trails
Earnings not backed by cashNo
—
Cash flow under 80% of net income
Dilutive SBCNo
3% of revenue
Over 10% of revenue
Payouts exceed cash flowNo
0% of cash flow
Buybacks + dividends over cash flow
Goodwill-heavyNo
—
Over 40% of assets
Shareholder dissentNo
92% lowest support
Any vote under 80% support

Buyer economics 0 of 4

Low revenue per employeeNo
$1M · 79th pct
Bottom quartile of its SIC industry
Quiet on AINo
4.7 per 10K words · 81st pct
Bottom quartile of AI mentions in 10-Ks
Net cashNo
—
More cash than debt, positive EBITDA
Buyout-sizedNo
$5.8B market cap
Market cap $500M–$5B

Catalysts 1 of 2

Active 13DNo
0 filings
Active-intent 13D in 18 months
Net insider sellingYes
−$126M net
Net sales over $10M in 12 months

Financials

Metric	FY2021	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025	YoY	Trend
Revenue	$212M	$223M	$218M	$249M	$456M	83%
Operating income	−$57M	−$59M	−$41M	−$71M	−$55M	23%
Net income	−$54M	−$66M	−$56M	−$187M	−$38M	80%
Operating cash flow	−$12M	−$14M	−$8M	−$70M	−$174M	151%
Capex	$8M	$3M	$9M	$43M	$179M	313%
Stock-based comp	$12M	$10M	$12M	$15M	$12M	21%

Deal filings

None.

13D filers

None on file.

Insider trading

Open-market buys, 12 mo: $0 · 0
Open-market sells, 12 mo: $126M · 53
Net: −$126M

Pay vs performance

Year	CEO total comp	Comp actually paid	TSR (indexed)	Peer TSR
FY2025	$5M	−$3M	410	113
FY2024	$4M	$33M	433	92
FY2023	$6M	$38M	227	89
FY2022	$2M	$457K	22	95
FY2021	$4M	$3M	60	138