CIEN vs AAOI vs DGII Stock Comparison

Ciena, Applied Optoelectronics and Digi International Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CIEN Ciena Corp
$349.15 -1.6% 1M +84.5% 1Y
Market cap
$45.23B
P/E
69.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.02B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
4 wins
DGII Digi International Inc
$77.63 +1.5% 1M +103.5% 1Y
Market cap
$2.75B
P/E
56.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$506.21M
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ciena leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Ciena 4, Digi International 4, Applied Optoelectronics 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCIENAAOIDGIILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $45.23B $5.59B $2.75B CIEN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 69.1x -98.1x 56.5x DGII
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 45.9x 111.5x 27.9x DGII
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +32.6% +61.8% +20.3% AAOI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.9% -9.6% 9.6% CIEN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.4% -4.2% 6.9% CIEN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 13.8x 0.7x CIEN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +84.5% +123.2% +103.5% AAOI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +45.1%/yr +59.6%/yr +29.2%/yr AAOI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 77.9% 139.0% 40.8% DGII
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 32/100 59/100 DGII

Percentile Scorecard

CIENAAOIDGII

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

AxisCIENAAOIDGII
Valuation 21 #89 of 112 12 #99 of 112 42 #65 of 112
Growth 94 #7 of 108 54 #50 of 108 70 #33 of 108
Profitability 84 #18 of 104 16 #88 of 104 82 #20 of 104
Financial Health 41 #69 of 116 71 #34 of 116 48 #61 of 116
Shareholder Returns 36 #50 of 78 9 #71 of 78 53 #37 of 78
Overall 55 32 59
  • CIEN ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • AAOI ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • DGII ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCIENAAOIDGIISPY
1 month -1.6%-21.3%+1.5% +0.7%
3 months -6.1%-12.1%+13.8% +3.7%
6 months -33.8%-51.8%+38.5% +7.1%
Year to date +49.3%+127.2%+79.3% +12.8%
1 year +84.5%+123.2%+103.5% +11.9%
3 years +750.3%+1,018.5%+206.2% +85.2%
3 years, per year +104.2%+123.8%+45.3% +22.8%
5 years +543.1%+935.2%+260.2% +67.6%
5 years, per year +45.1%+59.6%+29.2% +10.9%
10 years +1,689.6%+302.2%+700.3% +262.0%
10 years, per year +33.4%+14.9%+23.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCIENAAOIDGIISPY
Volatility, 1Y 77.9%139.0%40.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 82.7%127.1%38.6% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.804.321.43 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.080.892.54 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.7%-82.6%-48.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -44.3%-64.5%-8.9% -1.2%
52-week high $627.00$223.10$85.24 $779.14
52-week low $176.45$19.49$35.40 $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.

MultipleCIENAAOIDGII
P/E now vs peer median 75.8xmedian 32.9x -113.3xmedian 32.9x 60.2xmedian 32.9x
P/S now vs peer median 8.2xmedian 2.9x 11.2xmedian 2.9x 5.8xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 55.9xmedian 20.0x -194.4xmedian 20.0x 26.8xmedian 20.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 60.8xmedian 30.2x -11.1xmedian 30.2x 21.7xmedian 30.2x
P/B now vs peer median 16.2xmedian 2.9x 4.0xmedian 2.9x 4.3xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 1.69median 1.08 -3.41median 1.08 3.79median 1.08

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 monthsCIENAAOIDGII
Revenue $6.02B $595.97M $506.21M
Gross profit $2.65B $172.33M $323.07M
Operating income $738.95M -$67.41M $70.58M
Net income $654.41M -$57.02M $48.74M
Free cash flow $814.36M -$600.81M $135.98M
R&D $924.94M $107.61M $73.84M
EPS (diluted) $4.48 $-0.70 $1.25
Cash & equivalents $2.45B $499.74M $27.97M
Total debt $3.23B $57.26M $108.13M
Shares (diluted) 145.97M 81.57M 38.92M
Enterprise value $38.79B $4.31B $2.64B

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
MetricCIENAAOIDGII
P/E 75.8x -113.3x 60.2x
P/FCF 60.8x -11.1x 21.7x
P/Operating cash flow 47.0x -50.7x 21.3x
P/S 8.2x 11.2x 5.8x
P/B 16.2x 4.0x 4.3x
P/Tangible book 17.3x 4.0x 9.2x
EV/EBITDA 55.9x -194.4x 26.8x
EV/EBIT 67.9x -92.6x 42.9x
EV/Revenue 8.3x 10.5x 6.0x
EV/FCF 61.6x -10.4x 22.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 47.5x -47.3x 21.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.69 -3.41 3.79

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCIENAAOIDGII
Revenue growth (1Y) 32.6% 61.8% 20.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.5% 40.9% 4.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 40.6% 62.0% 23.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.3% 73.3% 9.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 200.1% -40.6% 24.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 29.1% -2.8% 9.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 364.5% 63.4% 14.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 43.5% 6.2% 18.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 359.9% 74.5% 10.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 44.8% 33.2% 15.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% 15.2% 30.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 201.2% -168.6% 59.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% -146.3% 31.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 95.4% -294.2% 60.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCIENAAOIDGII
Gross margin 44.1% 28.9% 63.8%
EBITDA margin 14.9% -5.4% 22.3%
Operating margin 12.3% -11.3% 13.9%
Pretax margin 12.1% -10.6% 12.4%
Net margin 10.9% -9.6% 9.6%
FCF margin 13.5% -100.8% 26.9%
Operating cash flow margin 17.5% -22.1% 27.3%
Return on equity 22.0% -4.1% 7.2%
Return on assets 9.3% -2.9% 5.0%
Return on invested capital 12.4% -4.2% 6.9%
Return on capital employed 13.1% -4.5% 8.4%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.3x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 2.3x 2.8x
Stock comp / revenue 3.5% 2.6% 3.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCIENAAOIDGII
Debt / assets 40.4% 2.5% 11.2%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.0x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 13.8x 0.7x
Debt / FCF 4.0x -0.1x 0.8x
Liabilities / assets 61.8% 27.5% 29.0%
Equity / assets 38.2% 72.5% 71.0%
Interest coverage 10.6x -19.1x 8.9x
Current ratio 3.8x 2.8x 1.1x
Quick ratio 2.8x 1.9x 0.7x
Cash ratio 1.9x 1.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 7.21 6.57 7.59

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCIENAAOIDGII
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -1.0% -20.2% 0.0%
Shareholder yield -1.0% -20.2% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusCIENAAOIDGII
Forward P/E 45.9xFY2026 111.5xFY2026 27.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.60FY2026 $0.71FY2026 $2.78FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +187.9%FY2026 – +32.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +64.7% +646.5% +9.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.86BFY2026 $994.70MFY2026 $519.66MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +43.8%FY2026 +118.3%FY2026 +20.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.0% +185.6% +3.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCIENAAOIDGII
Held by institutions 92.9% 60.5% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,221 481 284
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.7% -3.5% +1.6%
Institutions buying 730 313 143
Institutions selling 379 143 105
Buyers to sellers 1.93 2.19 1.36

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.

CIENAAOIDGII
CIEN 1.00 0.59 0.32
AAOI 0.59 1.00 0.25
DGII 0.32 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CIEN, AAOI and DGII?

Ciena (CIEN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ciena (CIEN) $45.23B, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) $5.59B, Digi International (DGII) $2.75B.

Which stock is cheaper, CIEN, AAOI and DGII?

Digi International (DGII) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ciena (CIEN) 69.1x, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -98.1x, Digi International (DGII) 56.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Digi International (DGII) is cheapest (Ciena (CIEN) 45.9x, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 111.5x, Digi International (DGII) 27.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ciena (CIEN) +32.6%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +61.8%, Digi International (DGII) +20.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ciena (CIEN) has the highest net margin (Ciena (CIEN) 10.9%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -9.6%, Digi International (DGII) 9.6%). On return on invested capital, Ciena (CIEN) leads (Ciena (CIEN) 12.4%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -4.2%, Digi International (DGII) 6.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) returned the most: Ciena (CIEN) +84.5%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +123.2%, Digi International (DGII) +103.5%. Over five years, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) compounded fastest (Ciena (CIEN) +45.1%/yr, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +59.6%/yr, Digi International (DGII) +29.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Digi International (DGII) has been the steadiest (Ciena (CIEN) 77.9%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 139.0%, Digi International (DGII) 40.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CIEN, AAOI and DGII?

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 4. 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.