Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Releases Q2 2026 Earnings Guidance

Key Points

• Q2 2026 guidance: AAOI guided to EPS of -0.030 to 0.030 and revenue of $180.0M–$198.0M, both below Wall Street consensus (EPS 0.07; revenue $194.1M), signaling a softer outlook.
• Market reaction: Shares slid about 11.8% to $157.55 on heavy volume (~13.6M), even as the stock trades far above the consensus analyst price target (~$52.80) and carries a $12.6B market cap.
• Operational and insider signals: The company recently missed the prior quarter (EPS -$0.07 vs -$0.05 expected), and insiders sold roughly 314,333 shares (~$29.3M) over three months, with insider ownership at about 3.8%.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) issued an update on its second quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of -0.030-0.030 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 0.070. The company issued revenue guidance of $180.0 million-$198.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $194.1 million.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 11.8%

Shares of AAOI stock traded down $20.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $157.55. The stock had a trading volume of 13,604,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,438,592. The company has a current ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $117.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a PE ratio of -242.38 and a beta of 3.76. Applied Optoelectronics has a 52-week low of $12.56 and a 52-week high of $191.87.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.02). Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 8.39% and a negative return on equity of 5.29%. The company had revenue of $151.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.98 million. Applied Optoelectronics has set its Q2 2026 guidance at -0.030-0.030 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Optoelectronics will post 0.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on AAOI shares. Northland Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Optoelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, B. Riley Financial upgraded Applied Optoelectronics from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other news, insider Shu-Hua (Joshua) Yeh sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.10, for a total value of $4,855,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 322,051 shares in the company, valued at $31,271,152.10. The trade was a 13.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth G. Loboa sold 102,347 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.76, for a total value of $9,800,748.72. Following the sale, the director owned 20,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,965,282.48. This represents a 83.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 314,333 shares of company stock valued at $29,262,106. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at $237,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the 4th quarter worth about $238,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 14,222.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 7,161 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 7,111 shares during the period. Creative Planning bought a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 43.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,128 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 2,762 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.70% of the company's stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.