NEW YORK, Jan 3, 2026, 19:00 ET — Market closed
- Applied Optoelectronics ended Friday up 13.6% at $39.60.
- Optical components peers also rose, pointing to a broader AI-infrastructure bid.
- Next focus: late-February earnings and updates on 800G shipment ramp.
Shares of Applied Optoelectronics rose 13.6% to $39.60 on Friday, the first U.S. trading session of 2026, after swinging between $35.82 and $40.06.
The sharp move matters because investors are resetting portfolios for the new year and revisiting “AI infrastructure” trades tied to data-center spending, where optical hardware is a key bottleneck.
Friday’s gains also looked sector-wide. Lumentum rose 4.7%, Coherent gained 5.3% and Ciena advanced 5.2%, helping pull smaller optics suppliers higher.
The rally came on a day when Wall Street finished mixed and Treasury yields moved higher, with markets weighing the path for economic data and Federal Reserve policy. 1
Applied Optoelectronics makes lasers and high-speed optical transceivers—devices that convert electrical signals into light and back—to move data through cloud data centers and cable TV broadband networks.
The company’s most recent product and customer updates came in December. Its newsroom shows the latest news releases were dated Dec. 18 and Dec. 10. 2
On Dec. 10, the company said it received its first volume order for 800-gigabit-per-second (800G) data-center transceivers from a major hyperscale customer. 3
“We are pleased to receive our first volume order for our 800G products from this major hyperscale customer,” CEO Thompson Lin said in the statement. 3
The company said it remained on track to meet its 800G shipment expectations by year-end and that those shipments could contribute $4 million to $8 million to fourth-quarter revenue. It also disclosed nearly $22 million of 400G transceiver orders year-to-date from the same customer, including $13 million delivered so far in the fourth quarter. 3
On Dec. 18, Applied Optoelectronics announced a 400-milliwatt pump laser aimed at silicon photonics and co-packaged optics—an approach that places optical components closer to AI chips to cut power loss and improve performance. It said samples were available to select customers, with volume production expected later in 2026. 4
The company has also put financing flexibility in place. A November SEC filing said it entered an “at-the-market” equity program for up to $180 million—an arrangement that allows companies to sell stock into the market over time, often in small increments. 5
Before the next session on Monday, traders will be watching whether AAOI holds Friday’s push toward $40 after the stock’s $35.82-to-$40.06 range. A break above that area could keep momentum traders active, while a slide back toward the mid-$30s would test support.
Macro risks are also back on the radar for high-beta tech names. Investors are parsing delayed economic indicators and expectations for Fed policy after a period of government shutdown-related disruptions, Reuters reported. 1
The next scheduled company catalyst is earnings. Zacks expects Applied Optoelectronics to report its next quarter on Feb. 25, and investors will be looking for updates on 800G volume shipments, pricing and margins as the AI data-center buildout carries into 2026. 6
