ATEN vs CIEN Stock Comparison

A10 Networks and Ciena Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ATEN A10 Networks, Inc.
$25.44 -4.9% 1M +41.2% 1Y
Market cap
$1.86B
P/E
43.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$310.17M
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
5 wins
CIEN Ciena Corp
$320.30 -10.0% 1M +85.6% 1Y
Market cap
$47.78B
P/E
73.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.02B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ciena leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Ciena 6, A10 Networks 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionATENCIENLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.86B $47.78B CIEN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 43.4x 73.0x ATEN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.4x 42.1x ATEN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.2% +32.6% CIEN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 13.9% 10.9% ATEN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.9% 12.4% CIEN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.1x 0.7x ATEN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +41.2% +85.6% CIEN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.4%/yr +43.5%/yr CIEN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 39.7% 77.7% ATEN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 55/100 CIEN

Percentile Scorecard

ATENCIEN

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisATENCIEN
Valuation 45 #62 of 112 22 #88 of 112
Growth 31 #76 of 109 95 #6 of 109
Profitability 86 #16 of 105 83 #19 of 105
Financial Health 32 #80 of 117 44 #66 of 117
Shareholder Returns 63 #31 of 82 32 #56 of 82
Overall 51 55
  • ATEN ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • CIEN ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodATENCIENSPY
1 month -4.9%-10.0% -1.0%
3 months -25.7%-18.0% +2.9%
6 months -7.7%-38.5% +6.4%
Year to date +43.8%+37.0% +11.4%
1 year +41.2%+85.6% +13.1%
3 years +123.2%+670.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year +30.7%+97.6% +21.5%
5 years +87.7%+508.1% +67.7%
5 years, per year +13.4%+43.5% +10.9%
10 years +167.8%+1,507.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +10.4%+32.0% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureATENCIENSPY
Volatility, 1Y 39.7%77.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.8%82.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.042.76 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.041.10 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.6%-49.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -33.3%-48.9% -2.5%
52-week high $38.14$627.00 $779.14
52-week low $16.55$172.58 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleATENCIEN
P/E now vs peer median 42.7xmedian 31.3x 69.5xmedian 31.3x
P/S now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 2.6x 7.5xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 25.7xmedian 19.6x 51.3xmedian 19.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 30.2xmedian 28.3x 55.8xmedian 28.3x
P/B now vs peer median 7.7xmedian 2.9x 14.9xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median -19.89median 1.15 1.55median 1.15

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsATENCIEN
Revenue $310.17M $6.02B
Gross profit $246.21M $2.65B
Operating income $50.08M $738.95M
Net income $42.97M $654.41M
Free cash flow $60.94M $814.36M
R&D $77.12M $924.94M
EPS (diluted) $0.57 $4.48
Cash & equivalents $54.70M $2.45B
Total debt $219.52M $3.23B
Shares (diluted) 75.65M 145.97M
Enterprise value $387.76M $41.34B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricATENCIEN
P/E 42.7x 69.5x
P/FCF 30.2x 55.8x
P/Operating cash flow 24.0x 43.1x
P/S 5.9x 7.5x
P/B 7.7x 14.9x
P/Tangible book 8.2x 15.8x
EV/EBITDA 25.7x 51.3x
EV/EBIT 34.1x 62.3x
EV/Revenue 5.5x 7.6x
EV/FCF 28.0x 56.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 22.2x 43.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -19.89 1.55

Growth

14 metrics
MetricATENCIEN
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.2% 32.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.3% 12.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 40.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.0% 13.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 4.5% 200.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -0.2% 29.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -15.8% 364.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -2.1% 43.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -18.6% 359.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -2.1% 44.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -9.8% 34.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.6% 201.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -13.7% 34.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 95.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricATENCIEN
Gross margin 79.4% 44.1%
EBITDA margin 21.4% 14.9%
Operating margin 16.1% 12.3%
Pretax margin 17.5% 12.1%
Net margin 13.9% 10.9%
FCF margin 19.6% 13.5%
Operating cash flow margin 24.8% 17.5%
Return on equity 18.7% 22.0%
Return on assets 6.5% 9.3%
Return on invested capital 8.9% 12.4%
Return on capital employed 17.8% 13.1%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 7.5% 3.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricATENCIEN
Debt / assets 32.4% 40.4%
Debt / equity 0.9x 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA -2.1x 0.7x
Debt / FCF 3.6x 4.0x
Liabilities / assets 64.9% 61.8%
Equity / assets 35.1% 38.2%
Interest coverage – 10.6x
Current ratio 1.3x 3.8x
Quick ratio 1.1x 2.8x
Cash ratio 1.0x 1.9x
Altman Z-score 3.46 6.72

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricATENCIEN
Dividend yield 0.9% –
Net buyback yield 1.1% -1.1%
Shareholder yield 2.1% -1.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusATENCIEN
Forward P/E 25.4xFY2026 42.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.00FY2026 $7.60FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +11.1%FY2026 +187.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.0% +64.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $342.96MFY2026 $6.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.0%FY2026 +43.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.4% +18.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersATENCIEN
Held by institutions 100.0% 92.9%
Institutions holding 310 1,220
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.8% -1.7%
Institutions buying 170 729
Institutions selling 99 379
Buyers to sellers 1.72 1.92

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ATENCIEN
ATEN 1.00 0.29
CIEN 0.29 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ATEN and CIEN?

Ciena (CIEN) is the largest by market capitalisation: A10 Networks (ATEN) $1.86B, Ciena (CIEN) $47.78B.

Which stock is cheaper, ATEN and CIEN?

A10 Networks (ATEN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (A10 Networks (ATEN) 43.4x, Ciena (CIEN) 73.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, A10 Networks (ATEN) is cheapest (A10 Networks (ATEN) 25.4x, Ciena (CIEN) 42.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ciena (CIEN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: A10 Networks (ATEN) +12.2%, Ciena (CIEN) +32.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

A10 Networks (ATEN) has the highest net margin (A10 Networks (ATEN) 13.9%, Ciena (CIEN) 10.9%). On return on invested capital, Ciena (CIEN) leads (A10 Networks (ATEN) 8.9%, Ciena (CIEN) 12.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ciena (CIEN) returned the most: A10 Networks (ATEN) +41.2%, Ciena (CIEN) +85.6%. Over five years, Ciena (CIEN) compounded fastest (A10 Networks (ATEN) +13.4%/yr, Ciena (CIEN) +43.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, A10 Networks (ATEN) has been the steadiest (A10 Networks (ATEN) 39.7%, Ciena (CIEN) 77.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do ATEN and CIEN move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.29, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, ATEN and CIEN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ciena (CIEN) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.