CIEN vs AAOI vs UI Stock Comparison

Ciena, Applied Optoelectronics and Ubiquiti Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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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
2 wins
UI Ubiquiti Inc.
$587.99 +2.3% 1M -17.8% 1Y
Market cap
$35.38B
P/E
36.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.27B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ubiquiti leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Ubiquiti 6, Applied Optoelectronics 3, Ciena 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCIENAAOIUILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $47.78B $5.87B $35.38B CIEN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 73.0x -102.9x 36.8x UI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 42.1x 95.1x 31.1x UI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +32.6% +61.8% +27.2% AAOI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.9% -9.6% 29.3% UI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.4% -4.2% 72.8% UI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 13.8x — CIEN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +85.6% +115.0% -17.8% AAOI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +43.5%/yr +55.2%/yr +14.0%/yr AAOI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 77.7% 139.0% 53.8% UI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 33/100 68/100 UI

Percentile Scorecard

CIENAAOIUI

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

AxisCIENAAOIUI
Valuation 22 #88 of 112 13 #98 of 112 28 #81 of 112
Growth 95 #6 of 109 56 #49 of 109 90 #12 of 109
Profitability 83 #19 of 105 16 #88 of 105 99 #2 of 105
Financial Health 44 #66 of 117 72 #33 of 117 75 #30 of 117
Shareholder Returns 32 #56 of 82 7 #76 of 82 48 #43 of 82
Overall 55 33 68
  • CIEN ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • AAOI ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • UI ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCIENAAOIUISPY
1 month -10.0%-33.2%+2.3% -1.0%
3 months -18.0%-32.6%+12.1% +2.9%
6 months -38.5%-58.4%-43.1% +6.4%
Year to date +37.0%+93.7%+6.3% +11.4%
1 year +85.6%+115.0%-17.8% +13.1%
3 years +670.7%+807.4%+410.1% +79.4%
3 years, per year +97.6%+108.7%+72.2% +21.5%
5 years +508.1%+800.1%+92.9% +67.7%
5 years, per year +43.5%+55.2%+14.0% +10.9%
10 years +1,507.1%+228.3%+1,034.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year +32.0%+12.6%+27.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCIENAAOIUISPY
Volatility, 1Y 77.7%139.0%53.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 82.8%126.6%59.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.764.331.65 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.100.83-0.33 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.7%-82.6%-70.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -48.9%-69.7%-45.8% -2.5%
52-week high $627.00$223.10$1,084.50 $779.14
52-week low $172.58$19.49$515.44 $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.

MultipleCIENAAOIUI
P/E now vs peer median 69.5xmedian 31.3x -96.6xmedian 31.3x 37.1xmedian 31.3x
P/S now vs peer median 7.5xmedian 2.6x 9.6xmedian 2.6x 10.9xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 51.3xmedian 19.6x -163.7xmedian 19.6x 29.0xmedian 19.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 55.8xmedian 28.3x -9.5xmedian 28.3x 39.2xmedian 28.3x
P/B now vs peer median 14.9xmedian 2.9x 3.4xmedian 2.9x 24.7xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 1.55median 1.15 -2.91median 1.15 1.12median 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 monthsCIENAAOIUI
Revenue $6.02B $595.97M $3.27B
Gross profit $2.65B $172.33M $1.51B
Operating income $738.95M -$67.41M $1.19B
Net income $654.41M -$57.02M $960.30M
Free cash flow $814.36M -$600.81M $908.94M
R&D $924.94M $107.61M $204.17M
EPS (diluted) $4.48 $-0.70 $15.85
Cash & equivalents $2.45B $499.74M $522.58M
Total debt $3.23B $160.44M $180.81M
Shares (diluted) 145.97M 81.57M 60.57M
Enterprise value $41.34B $4.59B $33.92B

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
MetricCIENAAOIUI
P/E 69.5x -96.6x 37.1x
P/FCF 55.8x -9.5x 39.2x
P/Operating cash flow 43.1x -43.2x 38.3x
P/S 7.5x 9.6x 10.9x
P/B 14.9x 3.4x 24.7x
P/Tangible book 15.8x 3.4x 24.7x
EV/EBITDA 51.3x -163.7x 29.0x
EV/EBIT 62.3x -78.0x 29.5x
EV/Revenue 7.6x 8.8x 10.7x
EV/FCF 56.5x -8.7x 38.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 43.7x -39.9x 37.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.55 -2.91 1.12

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCIENAAOIUI
Revenue growth (1Y) 32.6% 61.8% 27.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.5% 40.9% 19.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 40.6% 62.0% 35.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.3% 73.3% 25.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 200.1% -40.6% 41.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 29.1% -2.8% 29.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 364.5% 63.4% 34.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 43.5% 6.2% 33.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 359.9% 74.5% 34.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 44.8% 33.2% 33.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% 15.2% 45.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 201.2% -168.6% 103.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% -146.3% 44.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 95.4% -294.2% 95.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCIENAAOIUI
Gross margin 44.1% 28.9% 46.2%
EBITDA margin 14.9% -5.4% 36.8%
Operating margin 12.3% -11.3% 36.2%
Pretax margin 12.1% -10.6% 36.1%
Net margin 10.9% -9.6% 29.3%
FCF margin 13.5% -100.8% 27.8%
Operating cash flow margin 17.5% -22.1% 28.4%
Return on equity 22.0% -4.1% 72.7%
Return on assets 9.3% -2.9% 49.1%
Return on invested capital 12.4% -4.2% 72.8%
Return on capital employed 13.1% -4.5% 89.1%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.3x 1.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 2.3x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 3.5% 2.6% 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCIENAAOIUI
Debt / assets 40.4% 2.5% –
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.0x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 13.8x –
Debt / FCF 4.0x -0.1x –
Liabilities / assets 61.8% 27.5% 34.5%
Equity / assets 38.2% 72.5% 65.5%
Interest coverage 10.6x -19.1x –
Current ratio 3.8x 2.8x 2.9x
Quick ratio 2.8x 1.9x 1.5x
Cash ratio 1.9x 1.2x 1.0x
Altman Z-score 6.72 5.64 33.00

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCIENAAOIUI
Dividend yield – – 0.6%
Net buyback yield -1.1% -23.7% –
Shareholder yield -1.1% -23.7% 0.6%
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.

ConsensusCIENAAOIUI
Forward P/E 42.1xFY2026 95.1xFY2026 31.1xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $7.60FY2026 $0.71FY2026 $18.88FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +187.9%FY2026 – +18.4%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +64.7% +646.5% +9.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.86BFY2026 $994.70MFY2026 $4.12BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +43.8%FY2026 +118.3%FY2026 +25.9%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +18.0% +185.6% +5.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCIENAAOIUI
Held by institutions 92.9% 60.5% 4.9%
Institutions holding 1,220 481 354
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.7% -3.5% +8.0%
Institutions buying 729 313 163
Institutions selling 379 143 139
Buyers to sellers 1.92 2.19 1.17

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.

CIENAAOIUI
CIEN 1.00 0.59 0.42
AAOI 0.59 1.00 0.31
UI 0.42 0.31 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CIEN, AAOI and UI?

Ciena (CIEN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ciena (CIEN) $47.78B, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) $5.87B, Ubiquiti (UI) $35.38B.

Which stock is cheaper, CIEN, AAOI and UI?

Ubiquiti (UI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ciena (CIEN) 73.0x, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -102.9x, Ubiquiti (UI) 36.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ubiquiti (UI) is cheapest (Ciena (CIEN) 42.1x, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 95.1x, Ubiquiti (UI) 31.1x). 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%, Ubiquiti (UI) +27.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ubiquiti (UI) has the highest net margin (Ciena (CIEN) 10.9%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -9.6%, Ubiquiti (UI) 29.3%). On return on invested capital, Ubiquiti (UI) leads (Ciena (CIEN) 12.4%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -4.2%, Ubiquiti (UI) 72.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) returned the most: Ciena (CIEN) +85.6%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +115.0%, Ubiquiti (UI) -17.8%. Over five years, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) compounded fastest (Ciena (CIEN) +43.5%/yr, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +55.2%/yr, Ubiquiti (UI) +14.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ubiquiti (UI) has been the steadiest (Ciena (CIEN) 77.7%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 139.0%, Ubiquiti (UI) 53.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ubiquiti (UI) 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.