CIEN vs DGII vs AAOI Stock Comparison

Ciena, Digi International and Applied Optoelectronics Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CIEN Ciena Corp
$230.72 -48.0% 1M +17.8% 1Y
Market cap
$34.65B
P/E
53.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.02B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
4 wins
DGII Digi International Inc
$62.34 -15.7% 1M +71.9% 1Y
Market cap
$2.33B
P/E
47.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$506.21M
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionCIENDGIIAAOILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $34.65B $2.33B $4.26B CIEN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 53.0x 47.8x -130.0x DGII
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.4x 22.4x 66.0x DGII
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +32.6% +20.3% +77.2% AAOI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.9% 9.6% -4.4% CIEN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.4% 6.9% -2.3% CIEN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 0.7x 68.1x CIEN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +17.8% +71.9% +48.8% DGII
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +30.7%/yr +22.0%/yr +51.6%/yr AAOI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 81.6% 43.9% 141.5% DGII
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 57/100 33/100 DGII

Percentile Scorecard

CIENDGIIAAOI

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

AxisCIENDGIIAAOI
Valuation 23 #87 of 112 41 #67 of 112 14 #96 of 112
Growth 94 #8 of 108 66 #37 of 108 64 #40 of 108
Profitability 82 #20 of 104 80 #22 of 104 18 #85 of 104
Financial Health 44 #65 of 116 49 #60 of 116 63 #44 of 116
Shareholder Returns 32 #57 of 83 51 #41 of 83 4 #80 of 83
Overall 55 57 33
  • CIEN ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • DGII ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • AAOI ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCIENDGIIAAOISPY
1 month -48.0%-15.7%-64.0% -5.9%
3 months -42.8%-24.9%-62.3% -4.6%
6 months -57.2%+0.5%-70.2% +0.2%
Year to date -1.3%+44.0%+34.5% +7.5%
1 year +17.8%+71.9%+48.8% +8.2%
3 years +433.8%+149.9%+383.9% +68.3%
3 years, per year +74.8%+35.7%+69.2% +19.0%
5 years +281.4%+169.8%+700.2% +56.5%
5 years, per year +30.7%+22.0%+51.6% +9.4%
10 years +1,098.5%+556.2%+116.6% +251.5%
10 years, per year +28.2%+20.7%+8.0% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureCIENDGIIAAOISPY
Volatility, 1Y 81.6%43.9%141.5% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 89.5%45.7%132.3% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.851.694.37 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.221.640.34 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -63.2%-48.6%-79.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -63.2%-26.9%-79.0% -5.9%
52-week high $627.00$85.24$223.10 $779.14
52-week low $176.45$35.40$19.49 $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.

MultipleCIENDGIIAAOI
P/E now vs peer median 50.1xmedian 25.2x 48.3xmedian 25.2x -122.1xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 2.4x 4.7xmedian 2.4x 5.7xmedian 2.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 37.1xmedian 16.2x 21.7xmedian 16.2x -463.5xmedian 16.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 40.2xmedian 23.4x 17.4xmedian 23.4x -4.8xmedian 23.4x
P/B now vs peer median 10.7xmedian 2.3x 3.5xmedian 2.3x 1.9xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.12median 0.98 3.04median 0.98 -2.91median 0.98

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 monthsCIENDGIIAAOI
Revenue $6.02B $506.21M $747.22M
Gross profit $2.65B $323.07M $215.22M
Operating income $738.95M $70.58M -$50.66M
Net income $654.41M $48.74M -$32.78M
Free cash flow $814.36M $135.98M -$883.41M
R&D $924.94M $73.84M $124.46M
EPS (diluted) $4.48 $1.25 $-0.37
Cash & equivalents $2.45B $27.97M $605.41M
Total debt $3.23B $108.13M $59.99M
Shares (diluted) 145.97M 38.92M 87.84M
Enterprise value $28.21B $2.22B $2.51B

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
MetricCIENDGIIAAOI
P/E 50.1x 48.3x -122.1x
P/FCF 40.2x 17.4x -4.8x
P/Operating cash flow 31.0x 17.1x -40.1x
P/S 5.4x 4.7x 5.7x
P/B 10.7x 3.5x 1.9x
P/Tangible book 11.4x 7.4x 1.9x
EV/EBITDA 37.1x 21.7x -463.5x
EV/EBIT 45.1x 34.7x -73.2x
EV/Revenue 5.5x 4.8x 5.0x
EV/FCF 40.9x 18.0x -4.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 31.6x 17.7x -34.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.12 3.04 -2.91

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCIENDGIIAAOI
Revenue growth (1Y) 32.6% 20.3% 77.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.5% 4.9% 50.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 40.6% 23.4% 74.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.3% 9.3% 70.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 200.1% 24.0% -2.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 29.1% 9.7% 2.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 364.5% 14.2% 79.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 43.5% 18.0% 19.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 359.9% 10.5% 84.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 44.8% 15.9% 41.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% 30.1% 37.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 201.2% 59.2% -101.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% 31.6% -192.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 95.4% 60.8% -275.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCIENDGIIAAOI
Gross margin 44.1% 63.8% 28.8%
EBITDA margin 14.9% 22.3% -1.1%
Operating margin 12.3% 13.9% -6.8%
Pretax margin 12.1% 12.4% -4.9%
Net margin 10.9% 9.6% -4.4%
FCF margin 13.5% 26.9% -118.2%
Operating cash flow margin 17.5% 27.3% -14.2%
Return on equity 22.0% 7.2% -1.7%
Return on assets 9.3% 5.0% -1.2%
Return on invested capital 12.4% 6.9% -2.3%
Return on capital employed 13.1% 8.4% -2.5%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.5x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 2.8x 3.2x
Stock comp / revenue 3.5% 3.4% 2.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCIENDGIIAAOI
Debt / assets 40.4% 11.2% 1.9%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.2x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 0.7x 68.1x
Debt / FCF 4.0x 0.8x -0.1x
Liabilities / assets 61.8% 29.0% 28.5%
Equity / assets 38.2% 71.0% 71.5%
Interest coverage 10.6x 8.9x -13.1x
Current ratio 3.8x 1.1x 2.3x
Quick ratio 2.8x 0.7x 1.5x
Cash ratio 1.9x 0.2x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 5.17 6.35 3.15

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCIENDGIIAAOI
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -1.5% 0.1% -41.5%
Shareholder yield -1.5% 0.1% -41.5%
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.

ConsensusCIENDGIIAAOI
Forward P/E 30.4xFY2026 22.4xFY2026 66.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.60FY2026 $2.78FY2026 $0.71FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +187.9%FY2026 +32.4%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +64.7% +9.4% +646.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.86BFY2026 $519.66MFY2026 $994.70MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +43.8%FY2026 +20.8%FY2026 +118.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.0% +3.8% +185.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCIENDGIIAAOI
Held by institutions 93.0% 100.0% 60.5%
Institutions holding 1,224 285 482
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.7% +1.6% -3.5%
Institutions buying 733 143 313
Institutions selling 379 105 144
Buyers to sellers 1.93 1.36 2.17

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.

CIENDGIIAAOI
CIEN 1.00 0.37 0.61
DGII 0.37 1.00 0.30
AAOI 0.61 0.30 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CIEN, DGII and AAOI?

Ciena (CIEN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ciena (CIEN) $34.65B, Digi International (DGII) $2.33B, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) $4.26B.

Which stock is cheaper, CIEN, DGII and AAOI?

Digi International (DGII) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ciena (CIEN) 53.0x, Digi International (DGII) 47.8x, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -130.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Digi International (DGII) is cheapest (Ciena (CIEN) 30.4x, Digi International (DGII) 22.4x, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 66.0x). 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%, Digi International (DGII) +20.3%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +77.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ciena (CIEN) has the highest net margin (Ciena (CIEN) 10.9%, Digi International (DGII) 9.6%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -4.4%). On return on invested capital, Ciena (CIEN) leads (Ciena (CIEN) 12.4%, Digi International (DGII) 6.9%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) -2.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Digi International (DGII) returned the most: Ciena (CIEN) +17.8%, Digi International (DGII) +71.9%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +48.8%. Over five years, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) compounded fastest (Ciena (CIEN) +30.7%/yr, Digi International (DGII) +22.0%/yr, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) +51.6%/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) 81.6%, Digi International (DGII) 43.9%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) 141.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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