· Q3 Revenue: $1.22 billion
· Q3 Net Income per Share: $0.35 GAAP; $0.67 adjusted (non-GAAP)
· Share Repurchases: Repurchased approximately 1.0 million shares of common stock for an aggregate price of $81.8 million during the quarter
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, – Ciena® Corporation (NYSE: CIEN), a networking systems, services and software company, today announced unaudited financial results for its fiscal third quarter ended August 2, 2025.
Ciena continues to demonstrate strong performance as demand for AI-driven connectivity accelerates. The company’s latest quarterly results highlight both its market leadership in high-speed networks and its ability to capture growing opportunities as AI becomes increasingly dependent on advanced infrastructure.“We delivered another strong quarter, underscoring our leadership in high-speed connectivity and the sustained surge in customer demand as networks become essential to enabling and monetizing AI,” said Gary Smith, president and CEO of Ciena. “With clear visibility into fiscal year 2026, we remain confident in our momentum and focused on expanding operating leverage as we continue to scale.”
For the fiscal third quarter 2025, Ciena reported revenue of $1.22 billion as compared to $942.3 million for the fiscal third quarter 2024. Ciena’s GAAP net income for the fiscal third quarter 2025 was $50.3 million, or $0.35 per diluted common share, which compares to a GAAP net income of $14.2 million, or $0.10 per diluted common share, for the fiscal third quarter 2024.
Ciena’s adjusted (non-GAAP) net income for the fiscal third quarter 2025 was $96.2 million, or $0.67 per diluted common share, which compares to an adjusted (non-GAAP) net income of $50.8 million, or $0.35 per diluted common share, for the fiscal third quarter 2024.
Fiscal Third Quarter 2025 Performance Summary
The tables below (in millions, except percentage data) provide comparisons of certain quarterly results to the prior year. Appendices A and B set forth reconciliations between the GAAP and adjusted (non-GAAP) measures contained in this release.
· Two customers represented 10%-plus of revenue combining for a total of 28.8% of revenue
· Cash and investments totalled $1.39 billion
· Cash flow from operations totalled $174.3 million
· Average days’ sales outstanding (DSOs) were 88
· Accounts receivable, net balance was $1.03 billion
· Unbilled contract asset, net balance was $164.3 million
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· Inventories totalled $860.4 million, including:
o Raw materials: $642.7 million
o Work in process: $35.6 million
o Finished goods: $261.8 million
o Deferred cost of sales: $41.8 million
o Reserve for excess and obsolescence: $(121.5) million
· Product inventory turns were 2.7
· Headcount totalled 9,213
Business Outlook for Fiscal Fourth Quarter 2025
Statements relating to business outlook are forward-looking in nature and actual results may differ materially. These statements should be read in the context of the “Economic considerations and assumptions” in our accompanying Earnings Presentation, and each of the “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Reconciliation of Adjusted (Non- GAAP) Measurements” found in the Notes to Investors below.
Ciena expects fiscal fourth quarter 2025 financial performance to include:
- Revenue in the range of $1.24 billion to $1.32 billion
- Adjusted (non-GAAP) gross margin between 42% to 43%
- Adjusted (non-GAAP) operating expense in a range of $390 million to $400 million.
Supplemental Materials and Live Web Broadcast of Unaudited Fiscal Third Quarter 2025 Results
In conjunction with this announcement, Ciena has posted to the Quarterly Results page of the Investor Relations section of its website certain related supporting materials for its unaudited fiscal third quarter 2025 results.
Ciena’s management also hosted a discussion with investors and financial analysts that includes the Company’s outlook. The live audio web broadcast is accessible via www.ciena.com. An archived replay of the live broadcast is available shortly following its conclusion on the Investor Relations page of Ciena’s website.
Notes to Investors
Forward-Looking Statements. You are encouraged to review the Investors section of our website, where we routinely post press releases, Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, recent news, financial results, supplemental financial information, and other announcements. From time to time we exclusively post material information to this website along with other disclosure channels that we use. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, assumptions and other information available to the Company as of the
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date hereof. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding Ciena’s expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “should,” “will,” and “would” or similar words. Forward-looking statements in this release include: “We delivered another strong quarterly performance that reflects our leadership in high-speed connectivity and ongoing accelerated customer demand as the network becomes fundamental to the underpinning, growth, and monetization of AI. With visibility well into fiscal year 2026, we are confident in the continued momentum of our business and remain focused on further expanding our operating leverage as we continue to grow.”
Non-GAAP Presentation of Quarterly and Annual Results. This release includes non-GAAP measures of Ciena’s gross profit, operating expense, income from operations, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), Adjusted EBITDA, and measures of net income and net income per share. In evaluating the operating performance of Ciena’s business, management excludes certain charges and credits that are required by GAAP. These items share one or more of the following characteristics: they are unusual and Ciena does not expect them to recur in the ordinary course of its business; they do not involve the expenditure of cash; they are unrelated to the ongoing operation of the business in the ordinary course; or their magnitude and timing is largely outside of Ciena’s control. Management believes that the non-GAAP measures below provide management and investors useful information and meaningful insight to the operating performance of the business. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to Ciena’s GAAP results and these measures are not intended to be a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. Ciena’s non-GAAP measures and the related adjustments may differ from non-GAAP measures used by other companies and should only be used to evaluate Ciena’s results of operations in conjunction with our corresponding GAAP results. To the extent not previously disclosed in a prior Ciena financial results press release, Appendices A and B to this press release set forth a complete GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures contained in this release.
With respect to Ciena’s expectations under “Business Outlook for Fiscal Fourth Quarter 2025” above, Ciena is not able to provide a quantitative reconciliation of the adjusted (non-GAAP) gross margin and adjusted (non-GAAP) operating expense guidance measures to the corresponding gross profit and gross profit percentage, and operating expense GAAP measures without unreasonable efforts. Ciena cannot provide meaningful estimates of the non-recurring charges and credits excluded from these non-GAAP measures due to the forward-looking nature of these estimates and their inherent variability and uncertainty. For the same reasons, Ciena is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information.
