CIEN vs AAOI vs EXTR Stock Comparison

Ciena, Applied Optoelectronics and Extreme Networks Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CIEN Ciena Corp
$336.09 -5.8% 1M +87.7% 1Y
Market cap
$49.83B
P/E
76.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.02B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
3 wins
EXTR Extreme Networks Inc
$22.70 +5.5% 1M +8.7% 1Y
Market cap
$3.17B
P/E
75.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.28B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Extreme Networks leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Extreme Networks 5, Ciena 3, Applied Optoelectronics 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCIENAAOIEXTRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $49.83B $6.26B $3.17B CIEN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 76.1x -109.7x 75.3x EXTR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 44.2x 101.3x 16.4x EXTR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +32.6% +61.8% +12.6% AAOI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.9% -9.6% 3.3% CIEN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.4% -4.2% 19.4% EXTR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 13.8x -0.6x EXTR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +87.7% +111.5% +8.7% AAOI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +44.4%/yr +56.4%/yr +18.6%/yr AAOI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 77.9% 138.9% 55.5% EXTR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 33/100 51/100 CIEN

Percentile Scorecard

CIENAAOIEXTR

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

AxisCIENAAOIEXTR
Valuation 19 #90 of 111 12 #98 of 111 37 #70 of 111
Growth 95 #6 of 108 55 #49 of 108 39 #66 of 108
Profitability 83 #19 of 104 16 #88 of 104 70 #32 of 104
Financial Health 43 #66 of 115 72 #33 of 115 23 #89 of 115
Shareholder Returns 34 #54 of 81 9 #74 of 81 88 #11 of 81
Overall 55 33 51
  • CIEN ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • AAOI ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • EXTR ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCIENAAOIEXTRSPY
1 month -5.8%-29.1%+5.5% -0.8%
3 months -10.9%-26.5%-24.2% +3.5%
6 months -33.6%-50.7%+30.0% +7.0%
Year to date +43.7%+106.4%+36.3% +12.2%
1 year +87.7%+111.5%+8.7% +13.0%
3 years +719.3%+921.9%+10.5% +86.3%
3 years, per year +101.7%+117.1%+3.4% +23.1%
5 years +526.3%+835.5%+134.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year +44.4%+56.4%+18.6% +11.0%
10 years +1,548.3%+236.3%+434.1% +258.0%
10 years, per year +32.3%+12.9%+18.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCIENAAOIEXTRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 77.9%138.9%55.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 82.8%126.6%56.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.784.291.54 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.130.800.16 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.7%-82.6%-67.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -46.4%-67.8%-32.7% -1.8%
52-week high $627.00$223.10$33.71 $779.14
52-week low $176.45$19.49$13.74 $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.

MultipleCIENAAOIEXTR
P/E now vs peer median 73.0xmedian 32.0x -102.9xmedian 32.0x 71.5xmedian 32.0x
P/S now vs peer median 7.9xmedian 2.8x 10.2xmedian 2.8x 2.3xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 53.8xmedian 19.4x -175.3xmedian 19.4x 34.0xmedian 19.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 58.6xmedian 29.0x -10.1xmedian 29.0x 31.3xmedian 29.0x
P/B now vs peer median 15.6xmedian 2.9x 3.6xmedian 2.9x 33.6xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 1.63median 1.13 -3.10median 1.13 -3.79median 1.13

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 monthsCIENAAOIEXTR
Revenue $6.02B $595.97M $1.28B
Gross profit $2.65B $172.33M $789.14M
Operating income $738.95M -$67.41M $62.70M
Net income $654.41M -$57.02M $42.12M
Free cash flow $814.36M -$600.81M $95.24M
R&D $924.94M $107.61M $233.88M
EPS (diluted) $4.48 $-0.70 $0.31
Cash & equivalents $2.45B $499.74M $211.76M
Total debt $3.23B $57.26M $163.72M
Shares (diluted) 145.97M 81.57M 134.97M
Enterprise value $43.39B $4.97B $2.32B

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
MetricCIENAAOIEXTR
P/E 73.0x -102.9x 71.5x
P/FCF 58.6x -10.1x 31.3x
P/Operating cash flow 45.2x -46.1x 24.2x
P/S 7.9x 10.2x 2.3x
P/B 15.6x 3.6x 33.6x
P/Tangible book 16.6x 3.6x 34.8x
EV/EBITDA 53.8x -175.3x 34.0x
EV/EBIT 65.3x -83.5x 46.7x
EV/Revenue 8.0x 9.4x 2.3x
EV/FCF 59.3x -9.4x 30.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 45.8x -42.7x 23.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.63 -3.10 -3.79

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCIENAAOIEXTR
Revenue growth (1Y) 32.6% 61.8% 12.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.5% 40.9% -0.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 40.6% 62.0% 11.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.3% 73.3% 1.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 200.1% -40.6% 269.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 29.1% -2.8% -16.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 364.5% 63.4% 664.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 43.5% 6.2% -18.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 359.9% 74.5% 653.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 44.8% 33.2% -18.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% 15.2% -19.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 201.2% -168.6% -20.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% -146.3% -25.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 95.4% -294.2% -26.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCIENAAOIEXTR
Gross margin 44.1% 28.9% 61.5%
EBITDA margin 14.9% -5.4% 6.7%
Operating margin 12.3% -11.3% 4.9%
Pretax margin 12.1% -10.6% 4.0%
Net margin 10.9% -9.6% 3.3%
FCF margin 13.5% -100.8% 7.4%
Operating cash flow margin 17.5% -22.1% 9.6%
Return on equity 22.0% -4.1% 50.3%
Return on assets 9.3% -2.9% 3.6%
Return on invested capital 12.4% -4.2% 19.4%
Return on capital employed 13.1% -4.5% 10.8%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.3x 1.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 2.3x 2.9x
Stock comp / revenue 3.5% 2.6% 6.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCIENAAOIEXTR
Debt / assets 40.4% 2.5% 13.9%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.0x 1.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 13.8x -0.6x
Debt / FCF 4.0x -0.1x 1.7x
Liabilities / assets 61.8% 27.5% 92.5%
Equity / assets 38.2% 72.5% 7.5%
Interest coverage 10.6x -19.1x 4.5x
Current ratio 3.8x 2.8x 0.9x
Quick ratio 2.8x 1.9x 0.6x
Cash ratio 1.9x 1.2x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 6.99 5.99 1.78

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCIENAAOIEXTR
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -1.0% -22.3% 2.9%
Shareholder yield -1.0% -22.3% 2.9%
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.

ConsensusCIENAAOIEXTR
Forward P/E 44.2xFY2026 101.3xFY2026 16.4xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $7.60FY2026 $0.71FY2026 $1.38FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +187.9%FY2026 – +30.2%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +64.7% +646.5% +2.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.86BFY2026 $994.70MFY2026 $1.34BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +43.8%FY2026 +118.3%FY2026 +4.5%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +18.0% +185.6% +21.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCIENAAOIEXTR
Held by institutions 92.9% 60.5% 96.7%
Institutions holding 1,220 481 338
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.7% -3.5% +1.2%
Institutions buying 729 313 181
Institutions selling 379 143 121
Buyers to sellers 1.92 2.19 1.50

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.

CIENAAOIEXTR
CIEN 1.00 0.59 0.28
AAOI 0.59 1.00 0.34
EXTR 0.28 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CIEN, AAOI and EXTR?

Ciena (CIEN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ciena (CIEN) $49.83B, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) $6.26B, Extreme Networks (EXTR) $3.17B.

Which stock is cheaper, CIEN, AAOI and EXTR?

Extreme Networks (EXTR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ciena (CIEN) 76.1x, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -109.7x, Extreme Networks (EXTR) 75.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Extreme Networks (EXTR) is cheapest (Ciena (CIEN) 44.2x, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 101.3x, Extreme Networks (EXTR) 16.4x). 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%, Extreme Networks (EXTR) +12.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ciena (CIEN) has the highest net margin (Ciena (CIEN) 10.9%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -9.6%, Extreme Networks (EXTR) 3.3%). On return on invested capital, Extreme Networks (EXTR) leads (Ciena (CIEN) 12.4%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -4.2%, Extreme Networks (EXTR) 19.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) returned the most: Ciena (CIEN) +87.7%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +111.5%, Extreme Networks (EXTR) +8.7%. Over five years, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) compounded fastest (Ciena (CIEN) +44.4%/yr, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +56.4%/yr, Extreme Networks (EXTR) +18.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Extreme Networks (EXTR) has been the steadiest (Ciena (CIEN) 77.9%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 138.9%, Extreme Networks (EXTR) 55.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Extreme Networks (EXTR) leads on 5. 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.