I called $AAOI at $50.
But I bought the bulk of my position in the $90s.
It's because the explosive re-rating around this stock created an EVEN more asymmetric set up...
One that any multi-bag trader can't ignore which is why you see other big accounts now talking about this stock too creating a decent little cult.
And since the massive guidance from earnings, we got more thesis enhancing news recently that shows the raw power of this story defying a choppy macro.
- $200M 1.6T order
- Guidance increased at OFC
- A CPO focused laser demo at OFC
- And then yesterday a new $50M order for 800G
If you don't know: $AAOI is a vertically integrated transceiver maker. Transceivers which convert electricity to light are a VERY hot commodity for data centers as copper hits a physical limit on data transmission speed past 800G. Every transceiver needs a laser, but few companies make them which is choking supply, and $AAOI fabs their own lasers, some of which in the USA, which makes them really special. Their market cap is way below $LITE and $COHR, though they have the potential to play in the same league.
This is why $AAOI management is guiding to as much as a $5B revenue run rate by mid 2027. For context, they did ~$500M in 2025 revenue. That's the raw asymmetry as the mkt cap is only $8B.
If you saw my GTC vlog, it's clear co-packaged optics is the future.
Nvidia's SVP of Networking literally told me he dreams of LESS transceivers. They are a constant point of failure.
The Coreweave CTO said this at an event I attended:
“Like if there’s a day where I don’t have to hear about failed optics, I will be so happy.”
But CPO is a $0 market. $AAOI is serving hyperscalers like Amazon and Oracle spending billions on this technology, NOW. There is no other solution.
That's why I think $AAOI the most exciting photonics stock right now to play the insane AI capex in 2026 that will continue regardless of war.
This is not the time to play speculative, pre-rev companies.
It's the time to buy critical bottlenecks and let explosive revenue growth make you rich even in a crazy macro.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.