WinstonWınston
Back
Stock

Ciena Corporation

CIEN
62
Communication Equipment · Technology
Also trades as: 0HYA.L GBP 3.36 (-4.10%)
Price
$332.73
-23.79 (-6.67%)
Market Cap
$47.18B
Exchange
United States
Winston Score
62
Winston is curious
A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.
Data as of Oct 18, 2026 · filings through Aug 1, 2026

§How the score breaks down

Quality
Strong
22/30
Growth
Good
13/20
Cash Flow
Strong
8/10
Stability
Exceptional
9/10
Valuation
Good
5/10
Ownership
Weak
2/15
Dividends
Not counted
n/a

59 of 95 counted points = Winston Score 62. Pillars marked n/a do not apply to this company and are left out of the total.

Track this stock — start free trial

Share count falling — buybacks

−7.3% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 156.7M (2021) → 145.2M (2025)

§Winston Score History

The full picture

Ciena Corporation makes networking equipment and software that helps move large amounts of data across fiber-optic cables. Its main products are optical networking systems and software tools that manage how data flows through networks. Ciena's customers are mostly large telecom companies, cable providers, and cloud computing giants like AT&T, Verizon, and Microsoft.

Ciena earns money by selling hardware, software, and related services to its customers. It operates globally, with significant revenue from North America, but also sells into Europe, Asia, and other regions. The company has a strong position in high-speed optical networking, where deep technical expertise and long customer relationships make it hard for new competitors to break in. The biggest growth driver is rising demand for network capacity as AI workloads and video streaming push telecom and cloud companies to upgrade their infrastructure, though the business can be lumpy since large customers sometimes delay equipment purchases.

Politician Trades

18 trades / 12mo

12 Congressional buys and 6 sells on CIEN in the last 12 months.

Unlock the full Smart Money Map — every trade plotted on the price chart with politicians, amounts and returns since each trade. Founder's Deal is $57/mo locked for life.

Unlock politician trades

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+37.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue accelerating

EPS Growth

+437.1% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

R&D Spend

$848M/ year

↑ Rising (+11% vs prior year)

17.8% of revenue

In line with sector average (15%)

Investing heavily in future products and technology

Insider Activity

0.5%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$2.8B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Revenue accelerating

Ciena Corporation grew revenue 37% year-over-year and the growth rate is speeding up. That's the kind of momentum growth investors look for — the question is whether margins can follow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
45.4%
Healthy — 45.4% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
18.0%
Healthy — 18.0% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
25.8%
Exceptional — 25.8% return on capital

ROIC above 25%. Every dollar invested in the business earns more than 25 cents back per year.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+32.6%
Fast-growing sales (+32.6% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
+370.0%
Earnings growing fast (+370.0% YoY)

Earnings growing 25%+ a year. The compounder zone.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
4/8 quarters
Earnings inconsistent quarter-to-quarter

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
161%
Turns 161% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
11.9%
Modest free cash flow (11.9%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.08
Conservative — low debt load (0.08)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
12.14x
Comfortably covers interest (12.1x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
72.0x
Expensive — P/E 72.0

P/E over 35. The market is pricing in heavy, sustained growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
+46.2
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (72.0 → 25.8)

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Dividends

Not applicable for this business.
🔒 See full fundamentals and if they are improving or declining — click here for your free trial now.
Start free trial