Applied Optoelectronics' 203% year-to-date gain through Friday's close outpaces Lumentum's 139% rise and Coherent's 53% increase. This performance is fueled by U.S. restrictions on Chinese optical suppliers and surging demand for 800G transceivers. All three optics stocks significantly outperformed the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX), which rose 73%, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), up 13%, highlighting the sector's leadership driven by AI data center capital expenditure.