Analyst Consensus ?
ConsensusBuy42 ratings
Bullish3276.2%
Neutral1023.8%
Bearish00.0%
Ciena Corporation · CIEN · FY2026 Q3 · Calendar Q3 2026
Ciena raises outlook as AI networking demand lifts backlog
Ciena's current trajectory supports a constructive growth thesis: AI-related network demand, hyperscaler activity, backlog visibility, and new optical products are strengthening the outlook. The thesis depends on supply execution, successful product ramps, and sustained margin performance.
Reported Before market openNYSETechnology
$49.37B market cap
100quality score
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS
$2.11
Consensus $1.73
EPS surprise
+22.0%
Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue
$1.67B
Consensus $1.64B
Revenue surprise
+2.1%
Reported versus consensus
Market reaction
prior-close to event-session close
Stock move
-10.4%
Event window
SPY move
+1.0%
Same window
Abnormal move
-11.4%
Stock minus SPY
Volume
3.8×
Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift
+9.9%
Up to 20 sessions
CIENSPY benchmark
Ask FN2 about CIEN FY2026 Q3
Transcript, numbers and history already loaded
Why did CIEN fall 10.4% after beating EPS estimates in FY2026 Q3?What changed in CIEN's guidance and outlook in FY2026 Q3?Give me the bull and bear case for CIEN after FY2026 Q3 earnings.
Free account. Your question opens in FN2 with this report's transcript and numbers attached.
Transcript intelligence
What changed
The outlook became more constructive versus the prior quarter. Current analysis adds a backlog projected above $10 billion, a major hyperscaler WaveLogic 6 integration, higher FY26 and FY27 outlooks, and a record 22.5% adjusted operating margin; supply security and capacity investment also moved higher in emphasis.
Guidance delta
Management raised FY26 revenue guidance to $6.42 billion and outlined FY27 revenue of $8.3-$8.4 billion, with operating margin targets of 20%-21% for FY26 and 25%-27% for FY27.
Key takeaways
- Record Q3 performance was attributed to AI-driven bandwidth demand across WAN, AI-WAN, and data-center markets.
- Management said backlog is projected to exceed $10 billion by year-end, with $8.5 billion already booked.
- A major hyperscaler is integrating WaveLogic 6 coherent technology into its optical platform.
- Supply-security agreements through 2029 and higher capacity investment are intended to support growth.
Management priorities
- Secure component supply and expand capacity to support 35%+ revenue growth and market-share gains.
- Standardize Hyper-Rail by year-end and prepare for its expected 2027 revenue ramp.
- Commercialize CPX, with revenue expected to begin in 2027 and ramp in 2028.
- Continue expanding RLS and next-generation line systems.
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Estimate
Beat
Miss
Match
Analyst 52W Price Targets
$348.8Previous close
$50Low
$283.77Average
$650High
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted previous close from FN2's market snapshot as of Sep 21, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.
Firm-level rating actions
FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosenblatt | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Sep 17, 2026 |
| Needham | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Sep 17, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Sep 17, 2026 |
| Barclays | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Sep 17, 2026 |
| UBS | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Sep 4, 2026 |
| TD Cowen | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Sep 4, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Sep 4, 2026 |
| B. Riley Securities | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Sep 4, 2026 |
| Northland Capital Markets | Outperform | Market Perform | Upgrade | Aug 19, 2026 |
| Raymond James | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jun 4, 2026 |
| B of A Securities | Buy | Buy | Maintain | May 26, 2026 |
| Citigroup | Buy | Buy | Maintain | May 18, 2026 |
| Stifel | Buy | Buy | Maintain | May 5, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI Group | In Line | In Line | Maintain | Feb 19, 2026 |
| Argus Research | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Dec 12, 2025 |
| Exane BNP Paribas | Neutral | Outperform | Downgrade | Oct 9, 2024 |
| Jefferies | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jun 7, 2023 |
| Loop Capital | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Mar 30, 2023 |
| Cowen & Co. | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Sep 2, 2022 |
| MKM Partners | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Sep 4, 2020 |
| Piper Sandler | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jun 5, 2020 |
| Nomura Instinet | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jun 5, 2020 |
| Nomura | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jun 5, 2020 |
| B. Riley FBR | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | May 13, 2020 |
| PiperJaffray | Overweight | Neutral | Upgrade | Dec 13, 2019 |
| B. Riley | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Sep 6, 2019 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jun 7, 2019 |
| Northland Securities | Outperform | Market Perform | Upgrade | Apr 15, 2019 |
| Deutsche Bank | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Mar 6, 2019 |
| BMO Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Mar 6, 2019 |
| Bank of America | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Jan 30, 2019 |
| Goldman Sachs | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Jan 16, 2018 |
| Drexel Hamilton | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 8, 2016 |
| RBC Capital | Outperform | Sector Perform | Upgrade | Sep 9, 2015 |
| Northland | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Nov 21, 2014 |
| National Alliance | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 8, 2014 |
| Dougherty | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Feb 19, 2014 |
| William Blair | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 17, 2013 |
| FBR Capital | Outperform | Market Perform | Upgrade | Oct 25, 2012 |
| Lazard | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Oct 1, 2012 |
| Miller Tabak | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Mar 12, 2012 |
| Morgan Keegan | Market Perform | Market Perform | Maintain | Feb 21, 2012 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted previous close $348.8. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barclays | Tim Long | $548 | $355.23 | +57.1% | Sep 17, 2026 |
| Northland Securities | Analyst unavailable | $550 | $362.33 | +57.7% | Sep 17, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Meta Marshall | $450 | $340.5 | +29.0% | Sep 17, 2026 |
| Argus Research | Analyst unavailable | $550 | $344.08 | +57.7% | Sep 10, 2026 |
| UBS | David Vogt | $394 | $320.32 | +13.0% | Sep 4, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $425 | $322.16 | +21.8% | Sep 4, 2026 |
| Barclays | Tim Long | $475 | $317.46 | +36.2% | Sep 4, 2026 |
| C.L. King | Dave King | $347 | $317.46 | -0.5% | Sep 4, 2026 |
| Rosenblatt Securities | Mike Genovese | $525 | $317.46 | +50.5% | Sep 4, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | Analyst unavailable | $375 | $317.46 | +7.5% | Sep 3, 2026 |
| Needham | Analyst unavailable | $520 | $317.46 | +49.1% | Sep 3, 2026 |
| Raymond James | Simon Leopold | $600 | $315.63 | +72.0% | Sep 3, 2026 |
| Northland Securities | Analyst unavailable | $500 | $405.54 | +43.3% | Aug 19, 2026 |
| Argus Research | Jim Kelleher | $650 | $521.2 | +86.4% | Jun 5, 2026 |
| Northland Securities | Tim Savageaux | $450 | $503.77 | +29.0% | Jun 5, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $607 | $535.63 | +74.0% | Jun 5, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Meta Marshall | $490 | $535.63 | +40.5% | Jun 5, 2026 |
| UBS | David Vogt | $508 | $535.63 | +45.6% | Jun 5, 2026 |
| Needham | Ryan Koontz | $600 | $535.63 | +72.0% | Jun 4, 2026 |
| Raymond James | Analyst unavailable | $530 | $528.96 | +51.9% | Jun 4, 2026 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Ruben Roy | $615 | $570.18 | +76.3% | May 29, 2026 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Ruben Roy | $585 | $538.51 | +67.7% | May 5, 2026 |
| Redburn Partners | Mike Harrison | $416 | $527.58 | +19.3% | May 1, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $405 | $506.56 | +16.1% | Apr 20, 2026 |
| Argus Research | Analyst unavailable | $370 | $318.54 | +6.1% | Mar 9, 2026 |
| UBS | David Vogt | $285 | $305.42 | -18.3% | Mar 6, 2026 |
| Rosenblatt Securities | Mike Genovese | $350 | $304.24 | +0.3% | Mar 6, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Meta Marshall | $286 | $299.3 | -18.0% | Mar 5, 2026 |
| Wolfe Research | George Notter | $375 | $299.3 | +7.5% | Mar 5, 2026 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Ruben Roy | $320 | $299.3 | -8.3% | Mar 5, 2026 |
| Raymond James | Simon Leopold | $320 | $299.35 | -8.3% | Mar 5, 2026 |
| Needham | Ryan Koontz | $370 | $296.45 | +6.1% | Mar 5, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $280 | $334.95 | -19.7% | Feb 23, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | Analyst unavailable | $330 | $308.12 | -5.4% | Feb 19, 2026 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Analyst unavailable | $280 | $228.39 | -19.7% | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $213 | $209.84 | -38.9% | Dec 17, 2025 |
| Argus Research | Analyst unavailable | $280 | $220.46 | -19.7% | Dec 12, 2025 |
| UBS | David Vogt | $230 | $225.65 | -34.1% | Dec 12, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Meta Marshall | $195 | $225.19 | -44.1% | Dec 12, 2025 |
| Northland Securities | Tim Savageaux | $190 | $242.25 | -45.5% | Dec 12, 2025 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $279 | $242.25 | -20.0% | Dec 12, 2025 |
| Raymond James | Analyst unavailable | $240 | $242.25 | -31.2% | Dec 11, 2025 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Ruben Roy | $270 | $242.25 | -22.6% | Dec 11, 2025 |
| Evercore ISI | Analyst unavailable | $240 | $240.19 | -31.2% | Dec 11, 2025 |
| Raymond James | Analyst unavailable | $250 | $240.16 | -28.3% | Dec 11, 2025 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Analyst unavailable | $230 | $212.93 | -34.1% | Dec 9, 2025 |
| Needham | Ryan Koontz | $240 | $195.73 | -31.2% | Dec 5, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $185 | $195.47 | -47.0% | Dec 4, 2025 |
| BNP Paribas | Analyst unavailable | $185 | $155.94 | -47.0% | Oct 13, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $140 | $163.61 | -59.9% | Oct 10, 2025 |
| UBS | David Vogt | $120 | $116.69 | -65.6% | Sep 5, 2025 |
| Northland Securities | Analyst unavailable | $100 | $81.33 | -71.3% | Jun 30, 2025 |
| Northland Securities | Tim Savageaux | $85 | $72.9 | -75.6% | Jun 6, 2025 |
| Needham | Analyst unavailable | $90 | $66.4 | -74.2% | Mar 12, 2025 |
| Barclays | Tim Long | $100 | $64.66 | -71.3% | Mar 12, 2025 |
| Jefferies | George Notter | $105 | $83.92 | -69.9% | Dec 18, 2024 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Ruben Roy | $75 | $65.25 | -78.5% | Oct 9, 2024 |
| BNP Paribas | Karl Ackerman | $67 | $65.25 | -80.8% | Oct 9, 2024 |
| J.P. Morgan | Samik Chatterjee | $65 | $63.48 | -81.4% | Oct 7, 2024 |
| Citigroup | Atif Malik | $68 | $58.73 | -80.5% | Sep 23, 2024 |
| Bank of America Securities | Tal Liani | $59 | $52.43 | -83.1% | Sep 5, 2024 |
| Rosenblatt Securities | Mike Genovese | $60 | $54.56 | -82.8% | Sep 5, 2024 |
| Barclays | Tim Long | $67 | $54.93 | -80.8% | Sep 4, 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | Meta Marshall | $55 | $45.92 | -84.2% | Jun 11, 2024 |
| CFRA | Keith Snyder | $50 | $45.61 | -85.7% | Jun 10, 2024 |
| Argus Research | Jim Kelleher | $76 | $45.75 | -78.2% | Jun 7, 2024 |
| B.Riley Financial | Dave King | $66 | $45.75 | -81.1% | Jun 7, 2024 |
| Rosenblatt Securities | Mike Genovese | $54 | $48.56 | -84.5% | Jun 7, 2024 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Ruben Roy | $62 | $48.56 | -82.2% | Jun 6, 2024 |
| Raymond James | Simon Leopold | $54 | $49.11 | -84.5% | Jun 6, 2024 |
| Evercore ISI | Amit Daryanani | $60 | $48.97 | -82.8% | Jun 6, 2024 |
| Rosenblatt Securities | Mike Genovese | $52.5 | $49.34 | -84.9% | May 30, 2024 |
| BNP Paribas | Karl Ackerman | $57 | $46.74 | -83.7% | Apr 11, 2024 |
| Evercore ISI | Amit Daryanani | $57 | $49.72 | -83.7% | Jan 12, 2024 |
| Needham | Alex Henderson | $50 | $42.04 | -85.7% | Aug 28, 2023 |
| Needham | Alex Henderson | $60 | $43.36 | -82.8% | Jun 7, 2023 |
| Needham | Alex Henderson | $70 | $50.68 | -79.9% | Mar 7, 2023 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $71 | $50.47 | -79.6% | Dec 9, 2022 |
| Raymond James | Simon Leopold | $55 | $44.63 | -84.2% | Sep 2, 2022 |
| Rosenblatt Securities | Analyst unavailable | $65 | $46 | -81.4% | Sep 2, 2022 |
| Barclays | Tim Long | $55 | $45.48 | -84.2% | Sep 2, 2022 |
| Needham | Alex Henderson | $88 | $52.08 | -74.8% | Aug 29, 2022 |
| Loop Capital Markets | Fahad Najem | $84 | $42.54 | -75.9% | Jun 14, 2022 |
| Argus Research | Analyst unavailable | $68 | $48.76 | -80.5% | Jun 3, 2022 |
| Citigroup | Analyst unavailable | $65 | $50.68 | -81.4% | Jun 3, 2022 |
| Raymond James | Simon Leopold | $64 | $50.68 | -81.7% | Jun 2, 2022 |
| J.P. Morgan | Samik Chatterjee | $72 | $50.68 | -79.4% | Jun 2, 2022 |
| Rosenblatt Securities | Michael Genovese | $70 | $50.68 | -79.9% | Jun 2, 2022 |
| Cowen & Co. | Paul Silverstein | $96 | $50.82 | -72.5% | May 31, 2022 |
| Evercore ISI | Amit Daryanani | $65 | $50.82 | -81.4% | May 31, 2022 |
| Rosenblatt Securities | Analyst unavailable | $70 | $49.84 | -79.9% | May 23, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Meta Marshall | $67 | $55.84 | -80.8% | Apr 16, 2022 |
| Evercore ISI | Amit Daryanani | $75 | $57.38 | -78.5% | Mar 10, 2022 |
| Loop Capital Markets | Fahad Najam | $92 | $69.36 | -73.6% | Feb 16, 2022 |
| Bank of America Securities | Tal Liani | $91 | $73.91 | -73.9% | Jan 11, 2022 |
| Citigroup | Jim Suva | $85 | $74.12 | -75.6% | Dec 13, 2021 |
| Goldman Sachs | Rod Hall | $78 | $73.35 | -77.6% | Dec 10, 2021 |
| J.P. Morgan | Samik Chatterjee | $85 | $73.35 | -75.6% | Dec 10, 2021 |
| Barclays | Tim Long | $84 | $73.35 | -75.9% | Dec 10, 2021 |
| Morgan Stanley | Meta Marshall | $74 | $73.35 | -78.8% | Dec 10, 2021 |
| Northland Securities | Tim Savageaux | $51 | $60.01 | -85.4% | Jun 4, 2021 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | John Marchetti | $66 | $58.38 | -81.1% | Jun 3, 2021 |
| Wolfe Research | Jeff Kvaal | $68 | $58.38 | -80.5% | Jun 3, 2021 |
Track every rating change on CIEN the moment it posts. Free to start.
Start freeCompany context
Snapshot as of publicationCiena Corporation is a global technology company focused on telecommunications infrastructure. It delivers integrated solutions – including specialized hardware, software applications, and professional services – designed to facilitate the efficient transmission, routing, switching, aggregation, delivery, and overall management of video, data, and voice traffic across communication networks worldwide. Within its Networking Platforms division, Ciena develops and supplies advanced hardware and integrated solutions. These products are specifically engineered to optimize the convergence of various optical transport methods (like coherent optical transport and optical transport network switching) with packet switching, enabling high-performance data handling.…
Historical context
All CIEN earningsTechnology peers this season
Latest reports in the same sector| Company | Quarter | EPS surprise | Market move | Headline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADBE Adobe Inc. | FY2026 Q3 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +0.8% | +1.4% | Adobe raises FY26 outlook as AI strategy broadens |
| ORCL Oracle Corporation | FY2027 Q1 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +10.3% | -1.7% | Oracle raises FY27 outlook as AI demand accelerates cloud growth |
| SAIL SailPoint, Inc. | FY2027 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +13.8% | -1.2% | SailPoint pairs 25% ARR growth with accelerating AI-driven adoption |
| DOCU DocuSign, Inc. | FY2027 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +6.4% | +3.7% | DocuSign Q2 FY27: IAM momentum supports a raised outlook |
| IOT Samsara Inc. | FY2027 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +25.0% | +3.7% | Samsara: AI adoption expands as FY27 guidance holds |
| GWRE Guidewire Software, Inc. | FY2026 Q4 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +6.1% | -19.9% | Guidewire highlights cloud migration and AI product momentum |
Latest beats and misses
Who reports nextBeat on EPS
- FPSFY2026 Q4 · September 15, 2026+4.3% EPS+9.5% move
- TCOMFY2026 Q2 · September 15, 2026+22.3% EPS+3.0% move
- KRFY2026 Q2 · September 11, 2026+2.8% EPS+2.7% move
- ADBEFY2026 Q3 · September 10, 2026+0.8% EPS+1.4% move
- ORCLFY2027 Q1 · September 10, 2026+10.3% EPS-1.7% move
- CASYFY2027 Q1 · September 8, 2026+8.7% EPS-14.2% move
Get the CIEN recap when the next report posts
One email per quarter with the scorecard, the market reaction and what changed on the call. No account needed.
Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-09-03T15:24:07.594391+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-09-20T01:23:12.707946+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-09-21T00:30:46.711130+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-09-21T00:30:46.708259+00:00
Methodology
Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.
Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.
Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.
By FN2 Research · Updated . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.