Ciena Corporation

CIEN

Communication Equipment · Technology

Also trades as: 0HYA.L

Price

$395.79

+3.31 (+0.84%)

Market Cap

$56.03B

Exchange

United States

Winston Score

Winston is curious

A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through May 2, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Good

Growth

Good

Cash Flow

Exceptional

Stability

Strong

Valuation

Good

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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.

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Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

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

Revenue Growth

+39.5% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue accelerating

EPS Growth

>+1,000% 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

$1.4B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

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

Revenue accelerating

Ciena Corporation grew revenue 40% 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

44.0%

Healthy — 44.0% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

15.1%

Healthy — 15.1% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

14.1%

Good — 14.1% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

+30.6%

Fast-growing sales (+30.6% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

+322.5%

Earnings growing fast (+322.5% YoY)

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

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

4/8 quarters

Earnings inconsistent quarter-to-quarter

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

236%

Turns 236% of profit into real cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

13.0%

Converts sales into free cash efficiently (13.0%)

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

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

0.53

Conservative — low debt load (0.53)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

7.16x

Adequate interest coverage (7.2x)

Interest coverage between 3 and 8. Profits cover interest several times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

128.1x

Expensive — P/E 128.1

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

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

+83.4

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (128.1 → 44.7)

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.

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