CIEN
Ciena Corporation
CIEN's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
NVDA
NVIDIA Corporation
NVDA has the edge over CIEN overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
CIEN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
CIEN's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
NVDA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
NVDA's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
CIEN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 21x | $94.56 | -68% |
| Forward | 24x | $294 | — |
| Fair | 32x | $142 | -52% |
| Current | 66x | $294 | — |
| Expensive | 133x | $595 | +103% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CIEN's PE is in its expensive range at 66x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 24x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
NVDA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 12x | $166 | — |
| Current | 21x | $166 | — |
| Cheap | 44x | $345 | +108% |
| Fair | 65x | $511 | +207% |
| Expensive | 93x | $734 | +342% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NVDA has the edge over CIEN in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
CIEN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
CIEN has the edge over NVDA on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
NVDA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Broad | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for NVDA, but weaker profitability.
CIEN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $12.01 | +168% |
| Q3 2026 | $4.48 | +357% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.00 | +311% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.57 | +185% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.85 | +47% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.98 | +4.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.73 | -30% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.55 | -64% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.58 | -66% |
CIEN's earnings per share have jumped to their highest in seven years: $4.48 over the past year, up from $0.98 the year before.
NVDA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $13.77 | +74% |
| Q3 2026 | $7.91 | +125% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.53 | +111% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.90 | +67% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.03 | +59% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.51 | +65% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.10 | +81% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.94 | +147% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.54 | +234% |
NVDA has the edge over CIEN on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
CIEN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.7B | +37% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B | +40% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.4B | +33% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.4B | +20% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2B | +29% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.1B | +24% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.1B | +3.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.1B | -0.5% |
CIEN's revenue has grown year over year for seven quarters in a row: $1.7B last quarter, up 37% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 18% | +12 points |
| Q2 2026 | 15% | +12 points |
| Q1 2026 | 13% | +5.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 0.8% | -4.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 6% | +3.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 2.9% | +3.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 7.5% | -0.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 5.3% | -2.8 points |
CIEN's operating margin was 18% last quarter, up 12 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
NVDA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $96.2B | +106% |
| Q2 2026 | $81.6B | +85% |
| Q1 2026 | $68.1B | +73% |
| Q4 2025 | $57B | +62% |
| Q3 2025 | $46.7B | +56% |
| Q2 2025 | $44.1B | +69% |
| Q1 2025 | $39.3B | +78% |
| Q4 2024 | $35.1B | +94% |
NVDA has the edge over CIEN on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 66% | +5.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 66% | +17 points |
| Q1 2026 | 65% | +3.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 63% | +0.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 61% | -1.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 49% | -16 points |
| Q1 2025 | 61% | -0.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 62% | +4.9 points |
NVDA has the edge over CIEN on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
CIEN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $116.3M | -14% |
| Q2 2026 | $218.7M | +71% |
| Q1 2026 | $153.8M | +100% |
| Q4 2025 | $325.6M | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $134.6M | +$313.6M |
| Q2 2025 | $128.2M | +208% |
| Q1 2025 | $76.8M | -69% |
| Q4 2024 | $265.8M | +54% |
CIEN generated $814M in free cash flow over the past year, up 35% from the year before.
NVDA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $21.4B | +59% |
| Q2 2026 | $48.6B | +86% |
| Q1 2026 | $34.9B | +124% |
| Q4 2025 | $22.1B | +32% |
| Q3 2025 | $13.5B | -0.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $26.2B | +75% |
| Q1 2025 | $15.6B | +38% |
| Q3 2024 | $13.5B | +113% |
NVDA has the edge over CIEN on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
CIEN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -347K shares |
| 1 year | +1% | +1.5M shares |
| 3 years | -2.7% | -4M shares |
| 5 years | -6.9% | -10.8M shares |
| Available history | -7.4% | -11.6M shares |
CIEN has 146M diluted shares, up 1% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $173M |
| Q2 2026 | $84.4M |
| Q1 2026 | $80.5M |
| Q4 2025 | $84.5M |
| Q3 2025 | $81.8M |
| Q2 2025 | $87M |
| Q1 2025 | $81.2M |
| Q4 2024 | $128.7M |
CIEN spent $422M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 12% from the year before.
NVDA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.4% | -106M shares |
| 1 year | -1% | -247M shares |
| 3 years | -2.8% | -705M shares |
| 5 years | -4.1% | -1B shares |
| Available history | -1.8% | -435M shares |
NVDA has the edge over CIEN on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $19.7B |
| Q2 2026 | $19.3B |
| Q1 2026 | $3.8B |
| Q4 2025 | $12.5B |
| Q3 2025 | $9.7B |
| Q2 2025 | $14.1B |
| Q1 2025 | $7.8B |
| Q4 2024 | $11B |
NVDA spent $55.3B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 30% from the year before.
CIEN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.1x | Moderate |
CIEN's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 1.3 years a year ago.
NVDA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.0x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
NVDA has the edge over CIEN on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
CIEN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 42.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 14.1 | Oversold |
CIEN's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 14 (oversold).
NVDA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 33.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 18.1 | Oversold |
NVDA's weekly RSI is 33 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 18 (oversold).
CIEN PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | CIEN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 66x | 28x | 136% above |
| PE % | 70 | 35 | 35 pts above |
CIEN is trading at 66x earnings, a 136% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
NVDA PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | NVDA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 28x | 25% below |
| PE % | 0 | 35 | 35 pts below |
NVDA has the edge over CIEN on valuation relative to its sector.
CIEN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $338.6 | 13% below |
| 20 week MA | $368.5 | 20% below |
| 50 week MA | $375.1 | 22% below |
| 100 week MA | $238.4 | 23% above |
| 200 week MA | $144.4 | 104% above |
CIEN has the edge over NVDA on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
NVDA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $208.9 | 20% below |
| 20 week MA | $212.0 | 22% below |
| 50 week MA | $199.9 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $175.1 | 5.1% below |
| 200 week MA | $123.6 | 34% above |
NVDA has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 34% above its 200-week average.
CIEN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $42.7 | $53.3 | +25% |
| 2021 | $53.3 | $76.0 | +43% |
| 2022 | $76.0 | $49.3 | -35% |
| 2023 | $49.3 | $45.0 | -8.8% |
| 2024 | $45.0 | $86.7 | +93% |
| 2025 | $86.7 | $241.7 | +179% |
| 2026 YTD | $241.7 | $294.0 | +22% |
CIEN has the edge over NVDA on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
NVDA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $5.92 | $13.0 | +119% |
| 2021 | $13.0 | $29.6 | +128% |
| 2022 | $29.6 | $15.2 | -49% |
| 2023 | $15.2 | $49.5 | +226% |
| 2024 | $49.5 | $137.0 | +177% |
| 2025 | $137.0 | $190.5 | +39% |
| 2026 YTD | $190.5 | $166.2 | -13% |
NVDA's yearly returns have swung widely, from +226% in 2023 to −49% in 2022. It's down 13% so far in 2026.