CIEN vs FFIV
Ciena and F5, side by side.
Prices and company dataas of yesterday's close
- CIENBuy moresales growth, past year33%
Ciena's sales grew 33% over the past year, and it trades at 110 times its past year's earnings, below the 154 it typically traded at from May to July.
- FFIVBuy morein the past month−33%
F5 fell 33% over the past month, far more than other tech stocks (down 13%), but its report on Oct 27 beat profit forecasts by 5.4%.
Percent return
- CIEN+42.72%
- FFIV+34.17%
Nov 11, 2025 to Nov 11, 2026
Where they differ
- Company size: CIEN $46.8B, FFIV $22.0B.
- Sales growth, 1 yr: CIEN +33%, FFIV +11%. CIEN is ahead.
- Price for $1 of next year's profit: CIEN $23, FFIV $17. FFIV is ahead.
- Profit per $1 of sales: CIEN 14¢, FFIV 24¢. FFIV is ahead.
- Cash minus debt: CIEN −$442M, FFIV +$1.38B. FFIV is ahead.
- Price change, 1 yr: CIEN +43%, FFIV +34%. CIEN is ahead. S&P 500 +12%.
- How much the price swings: CIEN 91%, FFIV 53%. FFIV is ahead.
| Measure | CIENCiena | FFIVF5 |
|---|---|---|
| Price and returns | ||
| Price | $296.04 | $320.00 |
| Today | Best in this row: +8.80% | +0.85% |
| 1 month | −34.18% | Best in this row: −33.31% |
| 3 months | −23.61% | Best in this row: −22.71% |
| This year | Best in this row: +26.58% | +25.37% |
| 1 year | Best in this row: +42.72% | +34.17% |
| 5 years | Best in this row: +386.43% | +41.96% |
| From 52-week high | −52.8% | −33.3% |
| How much it swings (90 days) | 91% | Best in this row: 53% |
| Valuation | ||
| Market value | $46.8B | $22.0B |
| Price vs last year's earnings | 109.8× | Best in this row: 31.8× |
| Price vs next year's expected earnings | 23.4× | Best in this row: 17.1× |
| Price vs earnings, adjusted for growth | Best in this row: 0.66× | 3.10× |
| Price to sales | 5.7× | Best in this row: 5.2× |
| Price vs cash it brings in | 42.4× | Best in this row: 20.3× |
| Company value vs operating profit | 34.1× | Best in this row: 17.6× |
| Price vs earnings, against its own past (0 = cheapest) | 0 | – |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth, 1 year | Best in this row: +32.6% | +10.6% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 3 years | Best in this row: +9.5% | +6.7% |
| Earnings per share growth, last year | Best in this row: +323.2% | +15.6% |
| Earnings per share growth expected next year | Best in this row: +65.4% | +11.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Kept from sales after making the product | 44.1% | Best in this row: 82.0% |
| Kept as operating profit | 14.1% | Best in this row: 24.3% |
| Kept as final profit | 10.9% | Best in this row: 21.1% |
| Kept as spare cash | 13.5% | Best in this row: 25.4% |
| Profit on shareholders' money | Best in this row: 22.4% | 19.0% |
| Profit on all money put in | 22.0% | Best in this row: 26.9% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | −$442M | Best in this row: $1.38B |
| Debt for each $1 of shareholders' money | 1.07× | Best in this row: 0.05× |
| Short-term assets per $1 of bills due | Best in this row: 3.80× | 1.73× |
| Our readPro | ||
| Our call | Buy more | Buy more |
| Why | Ciena's sales grew 33% over the past year, and it trades at 110 times its past year's earnings, below the 154 it typically traded at from May to July. | F5 fell 33% over the past month, far more than other tech stocks (down 13%), but its report on Oct 27 beat profit forecasts by 5.4%. |
| Where the price sits | in the full report | in the full report |
| Our overall score (out of 100) | Best in this row: 72 | 60 |
| Our value score | Best in this row: 45 | 30 |
| Our growth score | Best in this row: 98 | 51 |
| Our quality score | 68 | Best in this row: 84 |
| Our price trend score | 61 | Best in this row: 75 |
| Earnings and analysts | ||
| Next earnings | Dec 10in 28 days | – |
| Analyst consensus | Buy | Hold |
| To average analyst target | Best in this row: +75.3% | +46.5% |
| Average analyst target | $518.88 | $468.67 |
| Analysts rating it a buy | Best in this row: 81% | 31% |
| Buy ratings added, 3 months | Best in this row: +3 | −1 |
| Analysts covering | 16 | 6 |
CIEN: faster sales growth
Our pick of these: Ciena
Sales growth +32.6% vs +10.6%
CIEN +32.6%, FFIV +10.6%.Forward P/E per point of sales growth 0.72 vs 1.60
CIEN 0.72, FFIV 1.60.+75.3% to the average analyst target, vs +46.5%
CIEN +75.3%, FFIV +46.5%.Where it loses: FFIV has wider profit margins, 24.3% vs 14.1%
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Prices as of yesterday, 3:59 PM ET. A view, not advice.