Ciena (CIEN) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $20.02B
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Average Volume (3M): 2.89M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 146.6
• Beta (1Y): 1.74
• Revenue Growth: 12.97%
• EPS Growth: 4.71%
• Country: US
• Employees: 8,795
• Sector: Technology
• Sector Strength: 88
• Industry: Communication Equipment
• EPS (TTM): 0.67
• Shares Outstanding: 141,055,910
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 2,911,224
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 2,886,669
• PEG Ratio: N/A
• Price to Book (P/B): N/A
• Price to Sales (P/S): N/A
• P/FCF Ratio: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 0.65
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 2.88
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 7.28
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 30.47
• 1Y Price Target: $130.23
• Price Target Upside: -8.24% Downside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 14

• Rating: 76 Outperform
• Price Target: $132.00 ▼(-7.00% Downside)

Ciena's strong financial performance and positive earnings call sentiment are the most significant factors driving the score. The technical analysis supports a bullish outlook, although the high P/E ratio suggests overvaluation concerns. The absence of corporate events and dividend yield slightly detracts from the overall attractiveness.

Positive Factors

Revenue Growth

Ciena's projected 17% revenue growth for FY26 indicates strong market demand and effective business strategies, supporting long-term expansion.

Order Book Strength

A record order book suggests sustained demand for Ciena's products, providing a stable revenue base and supporting future growth.

Cash Flow Generation

Strong cash flow generation enhances financial flexibility, allowing Ciena to invest in growth opportunities and manage debt effectively.

Negative Factors

Profitability Margins

Declining EBIT and EBITDA margins suggest potential cost management issues, which could impact profitability if not addressed.

Strategic Realignment Costs

The non-cash charge indicates strategic shifts that may involve upfront costs, potentially affecting short-term financial performance.

Workforce Reduction

Workforce reduction could lead to operational disruptions and affect employee morale, impacting productivity and long-term growth.

Ciena Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Ciena Corporation (CIEN) is a global leader in networking technology and software services, primarily serving telecommunications service providers, enterprises, and government organizations. Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Hanover, Maryland, Ciena specializes in providing advanced optical and packet networking systems, software, and services that enable high-performance networks. Its core products include optical transport solutions, packet networking solutions, and software-defined networking (SDN) technologies, all designed to enhance network efficiency and capacity.

How the Company Makes Money

Ciena generates revenue through the sale of its networking equipment, software, and associated services. The primary revenue streams include the sale of hardware products such as optical transport systems and packet networking devices, which are critical for telecommunications providers and data center operators. Additionally, Ciena earns income from software services, particularly in areas like SDN and network management, which help customers optimize their networks. The company also provides maintenance and support services that contribute to its recurring revenue model. Strategic partnerships with telecom operators and technology providers further bolster its earnings, allowing Ciena to integrate its solutions into larger network deployments and benefit from long-term contracts.

Ciena Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Ciena demonstrates solid revenue growth and a healthy gross profit margin, but profitability margins are modest. The balance sheet shows manageable leverage and strong equity support, while cash flow generation is strong despite a recent decline in free cash flow.

Income Statement

Ciena demonstrated solid revenue growth with a 6.22% increase in TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months) revenue compared to the previous annual period. Gross profit margin remained healthy at 41.94% TTM, although net profit margin is modest at 2.46%. The EBIT margin is relatively low at 4.68% TTM, indicating room for operational efficiency improvements.

Balance Sheet

The company's balance sheet shows a moderate debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, reflecting manageable leverage. Return on equity stands at 3.77% TTM, suggesting modest returns to shareholders. Equity ratio is strong at 49.05%, indicating a solid equity position relative to total assets.

Cash Flow

Free cash flow decreased by 22.71% in the TTM period, which may raise concerns about cash generation. However, the operating cash flow to net income ratio is favorable at 4.30, indicating strong cash flow from operations relative to net income. The free cash flow to net income ratio is also solid at 2.79.

Breakdown	TTM	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement
Total Revenue	4.54B	4.01B	4.39B	3.63B	3.62B	3.53B
Gross Profit	1.79B	1.72B	1.75B	1.43B	1.60B	1.54B
EBITDA	428.87M	324.68M	553.86M	369.76M	625.85M	619.81M
Net Income	140.88M	83.96M	254.83M	152.90M	500.20M	361.29M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	5.75B	5.64B	5.60B	5.07B	4.87B	4.18B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	1.33B	1.25B	1.12B	1.15B	1.60B	1.24B
Total Debt	256.75M	1.63B	1.66B	1.13B	737.48M	763.74M
Total Liabilities	2.96B	2.83B	2.75B	2.36B	1.85B	1.67B
Stockholders Equity	2.79B	2.82B	2.85B	2.71B	3.02B	2.51B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	700.83M	377.89M	62.13M	-258.57M	462.10M	410.99M
Operating Cash Flow	784.38M	514.53M	168.33M	-167.76M	541.65M	493.65M
Investing Cash Flow	-176.66M	-306.48M	-383.45M	-101.25M	-90.72M	-220.24M
Financing Cash Flow	-434.82M	-285.06M	229.38M	-133.06M	-116.83M	-87.22M

Ciena Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 141.93
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Negative
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CIEN, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 141.93 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 126.67, above the 50-day MA of 105.19, and above the 200-day MA of 83.83, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 11.35 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 81.01 is Negative, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 71.18 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for CIEN.

Ciena Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
CSCO	77 Outperform	$265.73B	26.40	22.31%	2.41%	5.30%	3.07%
CIEN	76 Outperform	$20.02B	146.59	4.96%	―	12.97%	4.71%
ERIC	69 Neutral	$27.17B	16.34	20.02%	3.55%	0.98%	―
LITE	65 Neutral	$11.24B	681.72	―	―	21.03%	―
NOK	62 Neutral	$25.04B	23.92	6.18%	3.32%	-2.39%	157.33%
Sector *	61 Neutral	$37.18B	12.37	-10.20%	1.83%	8.50%	-7.62%

Ciena Corporate Events

Ciena Appoints New CFO Amid Leadership Transition

Ciena Corporation announced the appointment of Marc D. Graff as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective August 1, 2025. With nearly 30 years of global finance experience, Graff brings extensive expertise in data center-related technologies. His leadership is expected to drive Ciena’s financial strategy and operations, supporting growth in high-speed connectivity demand fueled by AI and cloud computing. This appointment follows the planned retirement of the current CFO, James E. Moylan, Jr., on August 28, 2025.