AEHR vs ONTO Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Aehr is a small, high-beta pure-play on wafer-level burn-in demand from a concentrated set of AI and silicon-carbide customers, while Onto Innovation is a larger, more diversified process-control supplier riding the broader AI chip and advanced-packaging capex cycle. The choice comes down to appetite for concentrated small-cap volatility versus a steadier, more diversified semicap exposure.
Use this AEHR vs ONTO comparison to weigh concentrated small-cap upside against diversified semicap scale: Aehr can move sharply on single customer orders, while Onto's broader book smooths results but ties it more closely to overall fab capital spending cycles.
ONTO holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. AEHR has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+136.62% vs +74.29%), though ONTO has the better forward P/E setup (21.84x vs 68.45x for AEHR). ONTO leads on both revenue growth (35.30%) and operating margin (22.97%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for ONTO (+52.60%) than for AEHR (+35.18%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want high-beta, small-cap exposure to AI chip test demand
- Are comfortable with lumpy, order-driven quarterly results
- Believe silicon photonics and AI burn-in adoption is still early
- Can tolerate large price swings tied to single customer news
- Prefer a larger, more diversified semicap equipment name
- Want exposure to advanced packaging capacity growth for AI accelerators
- Seek steadier revenue than concentrated small-cap peers
- Are comfortable with broader semiconductor capex cyclicality
| Metric | AEHR | ONTO |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 56.9 | 62.0 |
| AI ranki | #186 | #83 |
| Latest closei | $69.21 | $231.95 |
| 1M returni | -15.16% | -5.00% |
| 3M returni | -17.80% | -17.63% |
| 6M returni | -14.40% | -13.18% |
| 1Y returni | +136.62% | +74.29% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | AEHR | ONTO |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $23.66K (+136.6%) started 2025-10-15 | $17.1K (+71.0%) started 2025-10-16 |
| 5Y ago | $32.72K (+227.2%) started 2021-10-15 | $31.82K (+218.2%) started 2021-10-18 |
| 10Y ago | $244.56K (+2345.6%) started 2016-10-17 | $65.65K (+556.5%) started 2019-10-28 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | AEHR | ONTO |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $3.09B | $15.56B |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | 95.34 |
| Forward P/Ei | 68.45 | 21.84 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 59.65 | 10.87 |
| Analyst targeti | $128.00 | $388.45 |
| Target upsidei | +35.18% | +52.60% |
| Metric | AEHR | ONTO |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 33.70% | 35.30% |
| Earnings growthi | N/A | 75.40% |
| EPS growthi | N/A | +75.40% |
| FCF margini | -3.91% | +18.12% |
| Operating margini | -6.40% | 22.97% |
| Profit margini | -14.25% | 11.84% |
| ROIC proxyi | -4.16% | 6.83% |
| Return on equityi | -4.16% | 6.83% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | N/A |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 3.07 | 1.59 |
| Debt/equityi | 4.50 | 76.55 |
| Current ratioi | 10.33 | 9.73 |
| Quick ratioi | 7.60 | 8.17 |
Over the past year, AEHR and ONTO have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.68), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | AEHR | ONTO |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +136.62% | +71.03% |
| CAGRi | +136.76% | +71.19% | |
| Volatilityi | 124.35% | 71.08% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.26 | 1.05 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 2.09 | 1.58 | |
| Max drawdowni | 52.47% | 42.31% | |
| Current drawdowni | 52.47% | 38.71% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 18.36% | 11.24% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 22.75% | 15.41% | |
| Max daily dropi | 17.61% | 12.46% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 33.78% | 26.06% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +227.23% | +218.18% |
| CAGRi | +26.76% | +26.09% | |
| Volatilityi | 101.48% | 59.54% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.69 | 0.62 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.10 | 0.89 | |
| Max drawdowni | 87.37% | 62.82% | |
| Current drawdowni | 52.47% | 38.71% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 47.05% | 21.92% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 54.14% | 27.52% | |
| Max daily dropi | 27.08% | 30.21% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 36.64% | 30.37% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +2345.58% | +556.52% |
| CAGRi | +37.70% | +31.01% | |
| Volatilityi | 95.80% | 58.08% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.74 | 0.68 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.26 | 0.98 | |
| Max drawdowni | 87.37% | 62.82% | |
| Current drawdowni | 52.47% | 38.71% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 49.36% | 18.82% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 54.94% | 24.60% | |
| Max daily dropi | 27.08% | 30.21% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 43.32% | 30.37% |
| Category | AEHR | ONTO |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Aehr Test Systems | Onto Innovation Inc. |
| Sector | Technology | Technology |
| Industry | Semiconductor Equipment & Materials | Semiconductor Equipment & Materials |
| Core business | Aehr Test Systems designs wafer-level burn-in and test systems used to screen semiconductors, including AI processors, silicon photonics, and silicon carbide power devices, for reliability before shipment. | Onto Innovation supplies process control, metrology, and inspection systems used across semiconductor fabs, including advanced packaging and specialty markets tied to AI chip production. |
| Investor focus | Investors watch Aehr's customer concentration, order lumpiness tied to a small number of large production wins, and its expansion from silicon carbide into AI and silicon photonics test. | Investors focus on Onto's exposure to advanced packaging (CoWoS-type) capacity growth for AI accelerators, its diversified customer base versus Aehr, and margin trends as mix shifts toward higher-value systems. |
- Direct exposure to burn-in test demand from AI processors and silicon photonics
- Follow-on production orders from lead customers signal expanding wallet share
- Niche technology position with high switching costs once qualified into a customer's line
- Diversified process control and inspection portfolio spanning multiple fab process steps
- Meaningful exposure to advanced packaging capacity buildouts for AI chips
- Larger scale and broader customer base than most specialty semicap peers
- High revenue concentration in a small number of customers makes results lumpy
- Small-cap size means order timing swings can move the stock sharply
- Competition from larger equipment makers entering adjacent test niches
- Cyclicality tied to overall semiconductor capital spending
- Customer concentration among a handful of large foundries and packaging houses
- Competition from larger metrology players like KLA in overlapping segments
Compare more than two at a time
This page is a fixed writeup on AEHR and ONTO. Our comparison engine is the interactive version: load up to five tickers, switch timeframes, and get the correlation, drawdown, and overlap analysis that a static page can't show.
Add three more names beside AEHR and ONTO, mixing stocks and ETFs in the same table — useful when the real question is which of a whole peer group to own.
AI score, forward P/E, analyst target upside, operating margin, and revenue growth are scored head-to-head, with a running tally of which ticker leads on how many metrics.
Volatility, Sharpe and Sortino ratios, maximum, current, and average drawdown, Ulcer Index, and worst single-day and single-week drops across every timeframe.
Pairwise daily-return correlation for every combination, so you can see whether two holdings actually diversify each other or just move together.
A scatter plot of forward P/E against return on equity, plus drawdown and 30-day rolling volatility charts, to separate what is cheap from what is merely beaten down.
For ETFs, a top-holdings comparison that exposes hidden overlap between funds. Every comparison exports to CSV for your own spreadsheet work.
Two comparisons a week are free without an account. A 14-day trial removes the limit and adds AI price forecasts, stock rankings, saved watchlists, and the intrinsic value calculator — no credit card required.
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.
Full valuation workup with AI Score, Monte Carlo forecast, and bull/bear case — free preview, premium data from $3.99.