vs

Side-by-side financial comparison of APPLIED OPTOELECTRONICS, INC. (AAOI) and Rocket Lab Corp (RKLB). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Rocket Lab Corp is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($179.7M vs $134.3M, roughly 1.3× APPLIED OPTOELECTRONICS, INC.). On growth, Rocket Lab Corp posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (35.7% vs 33.9%). APPLIED OPTOELECTRONICS, INC. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($-104.6M vs $-114.2M). Over the past eight quarters, APPLIED OPTOELECTRONICS, INC.'s revenue compounded faster (81.7% CAGR vs 39.2%).

Applied Optoelectronics Inc. is an American semiconductor company that focuses on optical devices. It was founded in 1997 at the University of Houston and is headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas.

Rocket Lab Corporation is a publicly traded aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider. Its Electron orbital rocket launches small satellites and has successfully completed over 75 missions as of January 2026, making it the most prolific small-lift launch vehicle in operation globally. A suborbital variant of Electron, called HASTE, was developed as a testbed to advance hypersonic technology development, while the next-generation reusable Neutron medium-lift launch vehicle is in devel...

AAOI vs RKLB — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
RKLB
RKLB
1.3× larger
RKLB
$179.7M
$134.3M
AAOI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
RKLB
RKLB
+1.8% gap
RKLB
35.7%
33.9%
AAOI
More free cash flow
AAOI
AAOI
$9.6M more FCF
AAOI
$-104.6M
$-114.2M
RKLB
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
AAOI
AAOI
Annualised
AAOI
81.7%
39.2%
RKLB

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Revenue
$134.3M
$179.7M
Net Profit
$-52.9M
Gross Margin
31.2%
38.0%
Operating Margin
-8.6%
-28.4%
Net Margin
-29.5%
Revenue YoY
33.9%
35.7%
Net Profit YoY
-1.1%
EPS (diluted)
$-0.02
$-0.09

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Q4 25
$134.3M
$179.7M
Q3 25
$118.6M
$155.1M
Q2 25
$103.0M
$144.5M
Q1 25
$99.9M
$122.6M
Q4 24
$100.3M
$132.4M
Q3 24
$65.2M
$104.8M
Q2 24
$43.3M
$106.3M
Q1 24
$40.7M
$92.8M
Net Profit
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Q4 25
$-52.9M
Q3 25
$-17.9M
$-18.3M
Q2 25
$-9.1M
$-66.4M
Q1 25
$-9.2M
$-60.6M
Q4 24
$-52.3M
Q3 24
$-17.8M
$-51.9M
Q2 24
$-26.1M
$-41.6M
Q1 24
$-23.2M
$-44.3M
Gross Margin
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Q4 25
31.2%
38.0%
Q3 25
28.0%
37.0%
Q2 25
30.3%
32.1%
Q1 25
30.6%
28.8%
Q4 24
28.7%
27.8%
Q3 24
24.4%
26.7%
Q2 24
22.1%
25.6%
Q1 24
18.7%
26.1%
Operating Margin
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Q4 25
-8.6%
-28.4%
Q3 25
-15.3%
-38.0%
Q2 25
-15.5%
-41.3%
Q1 25
-8.9%
-48.3%
Q4 24
-6.5%
-38.9%
Q3 24
-25.4%
-49.5%
Q2 24
-60.7%
-40.7%
Q1 24
-53.2%
-46.4%
Net Margin
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Q4 25
-29.5%
Q3 25
-15.1%
-11.8%
Q2 25
-8.8%
-46.0%
Q1 25
-9.2%
-49.5%
Q4 24
-39.5%
Q3 24
-27.3%
-49.6%
Q2 24
-60.4%
-39.2%
Q1 24
-57.0%
-47.7%
EPS (diluted)
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Q4 25
$-0.02
$-0.09
Q3 25
$-0.28
$-0.03
Q2 25
$-0.16
$-0.13
Q1 25
$-0.18
$-0.12
Q4 24
$-2.82
$-0.11
Q3 24
$-0.42
$-0.10
Q2 24
$-0.66
$-0.08
Q1 24
$-0.60
$-0.09

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$206.1M
$1.0B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$34.0M
$152.4M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$733.9M
$1.7B
Total Assets
$1.2B
$2.3B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.05×
0.09×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Q4 25
$206.1M
$1.0B
Q3 25
$137.0M
$976.7M
Q2 25
$64.7M
$688.1M
Q1 25
$51.1M
$428.4M
Q4 24
$67.4M
$419.0M
Q3 24
$34.1M
$442.4M
Q2 24
$10.7M
$496.8M
Q1 24
$8.4M
$492.5M
Total Debt
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Q4 25
$34.0M
$152.4M
Q3 25
$347.0M
Q2 25
$346.5M
Q1 25
$22.1M
$345.9M
Q4 24
$26.7M
$345.4M
Q3 24
$29.5M
$61.2M
Q2 24
$22.5M
$64.2M
Q1 24
$24.1M
$66.8M
Stockholders' Equity
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Q4 25
$733.9M
$1.7B
Q3 25
$559.1M
$1.3B
Q2 25
$425.0M
$688.5M
Q1 25
$309.0M
$431.3M
Q4 24
$229.1M
$382.5M
Q3 24
$212.1M
$419.8M
Q2 24
$186.5M
$455.2M
Q1 24
$195.7M
$478.9M
Total Assets
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Q4 25
$1.2B
$2.3B
Q3 25
$978.5M
$2.2B
Q2 25
$796.9M
$1.6B
Q1 25
$644.7M
$1.3B
Q4 24
$547.0M
$1.2B
Q3 24
$410.0M
$1.2B
Q2 24
$348.0M
$1.2B
Q1 24
$350.9M
$1.2B
Debt / Equity
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Q4 25
0.05×
0.09×
Q3 25
0.27×
Q2 25
0.50×
Q1 25
0.07×
0.80×
Q4 24
0.12×
0.90×
Q3 24
0.14×
0.15×
Q2 24
0.12×
0.14×
Q1 24
0.12×
0.14×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-29.6M
$-64.5M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-104.6M
$-114.2M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-77.9%
-63.6%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
55.9%
27.6%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-353.6M
$-321.8M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Q4 25
$-29.6M
$-64.5M
Q3 25
$-28.5M
$-23.5M
Q2 25
$-65.5M
$-23.2M
Q1 25
$-50.9M
$-54.2M
Q4 24
$-24.6M
$-2.4M
Q3 24
$-14.4M
$-30.9M
Q2 24
$-2.0M
$-13.0M
Q1 24
$-28.5M
$-2.6M
Free Cash Flow
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Q4 25
$-104.6M
$-114.2M
Q3 25
$-78.7M
$-69.4M
Q2 25
$-91.0M
$-55.3M
Q1 25
$-79.3M
$-82.9M
Q4 24
$-53.0M
$-23.9M
Q3 24
$-20.7M
$-41.9M
Q2 24
$-5.0M
$-28.3M
Q1 24
$-34.2M
$-21.8M
FCF Margin
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Q4 25
-77.9%
-63.6%
Q3 25
-66.3%
-44.8%
Q2 25
-88.3%
-38.3%
Q1 25
-79.4%
-67.6%
Q4 24
-52.9%
-18.1%
Q3 24
-31.8%
-40.0%
Q2 24
-11.5%
-26.7%
Q1 24
-84.2%
-23.5%
Capex Intensity
AAOI
AAOI
RKLB
RKLB
Q4 25
55.9%
27.6%
Q3 25
42.4%
29.6%
Q2 25
24.7%
22.2%
Q1 25
28.4%
23.4%
Q4 24
28.3%
16.3%
Q3 24
9.7%
10.5%
Q2 24
6.9%
14.4%
Q1 24
14.2%
20.7%

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

AAOI
AAOI

Data Center$74.9M56%
CATV$54.0M40%
Telecom$5.1M4%

RKLB
RKLB

Products$94.0M52%
Transferred Over Time$87.3M49%

Related Comparisons