CALX vs CHTR vs CIEN Stock Comparison

Calix, Charter Communications and Ciena Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CALX Calix, Inc
$38.33 +15.6% 1M -37.2% 1Y
Market cap
$2.39B
P/E
46.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.11B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
2 wins
CIEN Ciena Corp
$351.18 -1.6% 1M +92.4% 1Y
Market cap
$51.14B
P/E
78.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.02B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ciena leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Ciena 7, Charter Communications 2, Calix 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCALXCHTRCIENLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.39B $12.63B $51.14B CIEN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 46.6x 2.6x 78.2x CHTR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.7x 2.4x 46.2x CHTR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +27.8% -1.5% +32.6% CIEN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.6% 9.1% 10.9% CIEN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 8.4% 12.4% CIEN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 4.4x 0.7x CIEN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -37.2% -57.2% +92.4% CIEN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.8%/yr -31.7%/yr +45.3%/yr CIEN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.6% 55.7% 77.8% CALX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 76/100 65/100 55/100 CALX

Percentile Scorecard

CALXCHTRCIEN

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

AxisCALXCHTRCIEN
Valuation 60 #45 of 112 90 #6 of 49 22 #88 of 112
Growth 82 #20 of 109 41 #27 of 45 95 #6 of 109
Profitability 64 #38 of 104 82 #9 of 45 83 #19 of 104
Financial Health 76 #29 of 116 10 #44 of 49 43 #67 of 116
Shareholder Returns 98 #3 of 81 100 #1 of 37 35 #53 of 81
Overall 76 65 55
  • CALX ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • CHTR ranked among 51 companies in Telecommunications
  • 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

PeriodCALXCHTRCIENSPY
1 month +15.6%-7.1%-1.6% -0.2%
3 months +3.3%-25.0%+0.2% +3.9%
6 months -8.8%-39.4%-25.9% +8.2%
Year to date -27.6%-49.7%+50.2% +12.9%
1 year -37.2%-57.2%+92.4% +12.3%
3 years +17.2%-71.8%+756.1% +87.4%
3 years, per year +5.4%-34.4%+104.7% +23.3%
5 years -36.9%-85.1%+546.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year -8.8%-31.7%+45.3% +10.9%
10 years +508.4%-57.0%+1,696.3% +261.1%
10 years, per year +19.8%-8.1%+33.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCALXCHTRCIENSPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.6%55.7%77.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.0%65.2%82.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.880.152.79 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.89-1.031.19 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.3%-85.5%-49.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -44.0%-57.8%-44.0% -1.2%
52-week high $68.42$248.88$627.00 $779.14
52-week low $33.15$102.18$176.45 $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.

MultipleCALXCHTRCIEN
P/E now vs peer median 47.6xmedian 33.2x 2.6xmedian 11.8x 76.2xmedian 33.2x
P/S now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 2.8x 0.2xmedian 1.1x 8.3xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 28.0xmedian 20.0x 4.9xmedian 6.8x 56.2xmedian 20.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.3xmedian 29.8x 2.9xmedian 5.9x 61.2xmedian 29.8x
P/B now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 3.0x 0.6xmedian 1.2x 16.3xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 6.72median 1.17 0.25median 0.24 1.70median 1.17

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 monthsCALXCHTRCIEN
Revenue $1.11B $54.40B $6.02B
Gross profit $628.73M – $2.65B
Operating income $61.25M $12.66B $738.95M
Net income $51.19M $5.75B $654.41M
Free cash flow $85.42M $4.36B $814.36M
R&D $207.99M – $924.94M
EPS (diluted) $0.78 $40.61 $4.48
Cash & equivalents $68.91M $509.00M $2.45B
Total debt – $93.96B $3.23B
Shares (diluted) 65.51M 121.26M 145.97M
Enterprise value $1.22B $10.67B $44.70B

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
MetricCALXCHTRCIEN
P/E 47.6x 2.6x 76.2x
P/FCF 28.3x 2.9x 61.2x
P/Operating cash flow 22.0x 0.8x 47.2x
P/S 2.2x 0.2x 8.3x
P/B 3.4x 0.6x 16.3x
P/Tangible book 3.4x -0.3x 17.4x
EV/EBITDA 28.0x 4.9x 56.2x
EV/EBIT 36.2x 8.4x 68.2x
EV/Revenue 2.0x 1.9x 8.4x
EV/FCF 26.0x 24.3x 61.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 20.3x 6.4x 47.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 6.72 0.25 1.70

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCALXCHTRCIEN
Revenue growth (1Y) 27.8% -1.5% 32.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.9% -0.1% 12.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 30.3% – 40.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.4% – 13.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 273.3% -4.4% 200.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.8% 1.4% 29.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 290.5% -5.0% 364.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 2.4% 43.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 287.6% 9.3% 359.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.1% 10.1% 44.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 24.5% 8.3% 34.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 41.8% 5.1% 201.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 19.4% 1.3% 34.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 62.0% 7.0% 95.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCALXCHTRCIEN
Gross margin 56.6% – 44.1%
EBITDA margin 7.1% 39.4% 14.9%
Operating margin 5.5% 23.3% 12.3%
Pretax margin 6.5% 13.8% 12.1%
Net margin 4.6% 9.1% 10.9%
FCF margin 7.7% 8.0% 13.5%
Operating cash flow margin 9.9% 30.3% 17.5%
Return on equity 7.1% 26.8% 22.0%
Return on assets 5.4% 3.7% 9.3%
Return on invested capital – 8.4% 12.4%
Return on capital employed 8.2% 9.0% 13.1%
Asset turnover 1.2x 0.4x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 2.9x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 7.2% 1.2% 3.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCALXCHTRCIEN
Debt / assets – 60.4% 40.4%
Debt / equity – 4.3x 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – 4.4x 0.7x
Debt / FCF – 21.6x 4.0x
Liabilities / assets 25.6% 85.9% 61.8%
Equity / assets 74.4% 14.1% 38.2%
Interest coverage – – 10.6x
Current ratio 2.8x 0.4x 3.8x
Quick ratio 1.6x 0.3x 2.8x
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.0x 1.9x
Altman Z-score 7.28 0.58 7.25

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCALXCHTRCIEN
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 7.9% 37.9% -1.0%
Shareholder yield 7.9% 37.9% -1.0%
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.

ConsensusCALXCHTRCIEN
Forward P/E 23.7xFY2026 2.4xFY2026 46.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.62FY2026 $42.86FY2026 $7.60FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +20.9%FY2026 +18.4%FY2026 +187.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +48.1% -4.7% +64.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.11BFY2026 $57.99BFY2026 $6.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.0%FY2026 +5.9%FY2026 +43.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.8% -13.7% +18.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCALXCHTRCIEN
Held by institutions 94.5% 83.8% 92.9%
Institutions holding 288 783 1,220
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% +4.3% -1.7%
Institutions buying 148 423 729
Institutions selling 111 241 379
Buyers to sellers 1.33 1.76 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.

CALXCHTRCIEN
CALX 1.00 0.06 0.23
CHTR 0.06 1.00 -0.10
CIEN 0.23 -0.10 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CALX, CHTR and CIEN?

Ciena (CIEN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Calix (CALX) $2.39B, Charter Communications (CHTR) $12.63B, Ciena (CIEN) $51.14B.

Which stock is cheaper, CALX, CHTR and CIEN?

Charter Communications (CHTR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Calix (CALX) 46.6x, Charter Communications (CHTR) 2.6x, Ciena (CIEN) 78.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Charter Communications (CHTR) is cheapest (Calix (CALX) 23.7x, Charter Communications (CHTR) 2.4x, Ciena (CIEN) 46.2x). 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: Calix (CALX) +27.8%, Charter Communications (CHTR) -1.5%, Ciena (CIEN) +32.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ciena (CIEN) has the highest net margin (Calix (CALX) 4.6%, Charter Communications (CHTR) 9.1%, Ciena (CIEN) 10.9%). On return on invested capital, Ciena (CIEN) leads (Charter Communications (CHTR) 8.4%, Ciena (CIEN) 12.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ciena (CIEN) returned the most: Calix (CALX) -37.2%, Charter Communications (CHTR) -57.2%, Ciena (CIEN) +92.4%. Over five years, Ciena (CIEN) compounded fastest (Calix (CALX) -8.8%/yr, Charter Communications (CHTR) -31.7%/yr, Ciena (CIEN) +45.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Calix (CALX) has been the steadiest (Calix (CALX) 41.6%, Charter Communications (CHTR) 55.7%, Ciena (CIEN) 77.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CALX, CHTR 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 7. 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.