CIEN vs CSCO vs TRI Stock Comparison

Ciena, Cisco Systems and Thomson Reuters Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CIEN Ciena Corp
$336.09 -5.8% 1M +87.7% 1Y
Market cap
$49.96B
P/E
76.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.02B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
4 wins
CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc.
$110.24 +3.3% 1M +56.1% 1Y
Market cap
$440.38B
P/E
33.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.33B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
5 wins
TRI Thomson Reuters Corp /Can/
$122.08 +23.3% 1M -24.9% 1Y
Market cap
$52.26B
P/E
32.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.83B
Div. yield
-0.01%
Compliance Software Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Cisco Systems leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Cisco Systems 5, Ciena 4, Thomson Reuters 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCIENCSCOTRILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $49.96B $440.38B $52.26B CSCO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 76.4x 33.2x 32.2x TRI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 44.2x 23.3x 27.3x CSCO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +32.6% +11.8% +7.0% CIEN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.9% 21.0% 20.7% CSCO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.4% 15.9% — CSCO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 0.8x 1.2x CIEN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% -0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +87.7% +56.1% -24.9% CIEN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +44.4%/yr +14.4%/yr -0.1%/yr CIEN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 77.9% 35.6% 51.7% CSCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 53/100 56/100 TRI

Percentile Scorecard

CIENCSCOTRI

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

AxisCIENCSCOTRI
Valuation 19 #90 of 111 31 #77 of 111 49 #53 of 102
Growth 95 #6 of 108 40 #65 of 108 28 #71 of 98
Profitability 83 #19 of 104 87 #14 of 104 99 #2 of 95
Financial Health 43 #66 of 115 28 #83 of 115 66 #38 of 109
Shareholder Returns 34 #54 of 81 78 #19 of 81 38 #40 of 64
Overall 55 53 56
  • CIEN ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • CSCO ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • TRI ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCIENCSCOTRISPY
1 month -5.8%+3.3%+23.3% -0.8%
3 months -10.9%-3.8%+24.9% +3.5%
6 months -33.6%+24.9%+37.1% +7.0%
Year to date +43.7%+43.1%-7.4% +12.2%
1 year +87.7%+56.1%-24.9% +13.0%
3 years +719.3%+113.8%+3.6% +86.3%
3 years, per year +101.7%+28.8%+1.2% +23.1%
5 years +526.3%+96.2%-0.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year +44.4%+14.4%-0.1% +11.0%
10 years +1,548.3%+260.9%+196.4% +258.0%
10 years, per year +32.3%+13.7%+11.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCIENCSCOTRISPY
Volatility, 1Y 77.9%35.6%51.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 82.8%37.3%52.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.781.110.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.131.58-0.48 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.7%-38.6%-64.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -46.4%-15.2%-24.8% -1.8%
52-week high $627.00$130.00$162.38 $779.14
52-week low $176.45$71.04$76.55 $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.

MultipleCIENCSCOTRI
P/E now vs peer median 73.0xmedian 32.0x 32.8xmedian 32.0x 33.8xmedian 28.8x
P/S now vs peer median 7.9xmedian 2.8x 6.9xmedian 2.8x 6.9xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 53.8xmedian 19.4x 25.1xmedian 19.4x 27.0xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 58.6xmedian 29.0x 34.1xmedian 29.0x 17.0xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 15.6xmedian 2.9x 8.7xmedian 2.9x 4.9xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.63median 1.13 12.20median 1.13 3.26median 0.85

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 monthsCIENCSCOTRI
Revenue $6.02B $63.33B $7.83B
Gross profit $2.65B $40.86B –
Operating income $738.95M $15.37B $2.33B
Net income $654.41M $13.27B $1.68B
Free cash flow $814.36M $12.77B $3.19B
R&D $924.94M $9.56B –
EPS (diluted) $4.48 $3.33 $3.61
Cash & equivalents $2.45B $7.22B $577.00M
Total debt $3.23B $29.53B $3.26B
Shares (diluted) 145.97M 3.99B 449.53M
Enterprise value $43.52B $376.31B $49.05B

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
MetricCIENCSCOTRI
P/E 73.0x 32.8x 33.8x
P/FCF 58.6x 34.1x 17.0x
P/Operating cash flow 45.2x 30.7x 18.8x
P/S 7.9x 6.9x 6.9x
P/B 15.6x 8.7x 4.9x
P/Tangible book 16.6x 10.2x 6.7x
EV/EBITDA 53.8x 25.1x 27.0x
EV/EBIT 65.3x 29.2x 24.4x
EV/Revenue 8.0x 7.1x 7.3x
EV/FCF 59.3x 35.1x 17.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 45.8x 31.6x 19.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.63 12.20 3.26

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCIENCSCOTRI
Revenue growth (1Y) 32.6% 11.8% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.5% 3.6% 5.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 40.6% 11.1% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.3% 4.6% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 200.1% 30.7% 9.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 29.1% 0.7% -0.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 364.5% 30.3% 4.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 43.5% 1.7% -6.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 359.9% 30.7% 8.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 44.8% 2.7% 10.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% -0.1% 14.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 201.2% -10.7% 10.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% -3.9% 13.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 95.4% -12.5% 9.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCIENCSCOTRI
Gross margin 44.1% 64.5% –
EBITDA margin 14.9% 28.3% 26.9%
Operating margin 12.3% 24.3% 29.7%
Pretax margin 12.1% 25.3% 46.5%
Net margin 10.9% 21.0% 20.7%
FCF margin 13.5% 20.2% 40.7%
Operating cash flow margin 17.5% 22.4% 36.9%
Return on equity 22.0% 26.8% –
Return on assets 9.3% 10.4% –
Return on invested capital 12.4% 15.9% –
Return on capital employed 13.1% 17.9% –
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.5x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.1x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue 3.5% 6.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCIENCSCOTRI
Debt / assets 40.4% 22.8% 18.0%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.6x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 0.8x 1.2x
Debt / FCF 4.0x 2.3x 1.0x
Liabilities / assets 61.8% 61.2% 38.5%
Equity / assets 38.2% 38.8% 61.5%
Interest coverage 10.6x 10.5x 116.5x
Current ratio 3.8x 0.9x 0.5x
Quick ratio 2.8x 0.6x -2.5x
Cash ratio 1.9x 0.4x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 6.99 4.16 6.10

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCIENCSCOTRI
Dividend yield – 1.5% 3.3%
Net buyback yield -1.0% 1.3% -2.1%
Shareholder yield -1.0% 2.8% 1.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 30.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 16.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – -10.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – -8.5%

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.

ConsensusCIENCSCOTRI
Forward P/E 44.2xFY2026 23.3xFY2027 27.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.60FY2026 $4.74FY2027 $4.47FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +187.9%FY2026 +9.5%FY2027 +12.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +64.7% +20.7% +8.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.86BFY2026 $74.93BFY2027 $7.73BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +43.8%FY2026 +18.3%FY2027 +3.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.0% +0.6% +15.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCIENCSCOTRI
Held by institutions 92.9% 80.1% 90.1%
Institutions holding 1,220 4,044 421
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.7% +5.0% +0.6%
Institutions buying 729 1,846 408
Institutions selling 379 1,816 9
Buyers to sellers 1.92 1.02 45.33

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.

CIENCSCOTRI
CIEN 1.00 0.36 -0.38
CSCO 0.36 1.00 -0.09
TRI -0.38 -0.09 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CIEN, CSCO and TRI?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ciena (CIEN) $49.96B, Cisco Systems (CSCO) $440.38B, Thomson Reuters (TRI) $52.26B.

Which stock is cheaper, CIEN, CSCO and TRI?

Thomson Reuters (TRI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ciena (CIEN) 76.4x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 33.2x, Thomson Reuters (TRI) 32.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cisco Systems (CSCO) is cheapest (Ciena (CIEN) 44.2x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 23.3x, Thomson Reuters (TRI) 27.3x). 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: Ciena (CIEN) +32.6%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +11.8%, Thomson Reuters (TRI) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) has the highest net margin (Ciena (CIEN) 10.9%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.0%, Thomson Reuters (TRI) 20.7%). On return on invested capital, Cisco Systems (CSCO) leads (Ciena (CIEN) 12.4%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ciena (CIEN) returned the most: Ciena (CIEN) +87.7%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +56.1%, Thomson Reuters (TRI) -24.9%. Over five years, Ciena (CIEN) compounded fastest (Ciena (CIEN) +44.4%/yr, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +14.4%/yr, Thomson Reuters (TRI) -0.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cisco Systems (CSCO) has been the steadiest (Ciena (CIEN) 77.9%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 35.6%, Thomson Reuters (TRI) 51.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CIEN, CSCO and TRI?

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