CIEN vs DGII vs NOW Stock Comparison

Ciena, Digi International and ServiceNow 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
DGII Digi International Inc
$76.27 -2.6% 1M +96.5% 1Y
Market cap
$2.98B
P/E
61.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$506.21M
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
5 wins
NOW ServiceNow, Inc.
$158.19 +16.6% 1M -15.0% 1Y
Market cap
$159.67B
P/E
95.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.73B
Div. yield
–
Business Process Automation Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionCIENDGIINOWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $49.96B $2.98B $159.67B NOW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 76.4x 61.1x 95.6x DGII
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 44.2x 27.4x 41.1x DGII
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +32.6% +20.3% +22.2% CIEN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.9% 9.6% 11.3% NOW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.4% 6.9% — CIEN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 0.7x 0.8x CIEN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +87.7% +96.5% -15.0% DGII
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +44.4%/yr +29.8%/yr +3.5%/yr CIEN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 77.9% 40.7% 58.8% DGII
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 60/100 52/100 DGII

Percentile Scorecard

CIENDGIINOW

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

AxisCIENDGIINOW
Valuation 19 #90 of 111 46 #60 of 111 28 #74 of 102
Growth 95 #6 of 108 69 #34 of 108 58 #42 of 98
Profitability 83 #19 of 104 82 #20 of 104 82 #18 of 95
Financial Health 43 #66 of 115 50 #58 of 115 50 #55 of 109
Shareholder Returns 34 #54 of 81 54 #38 of 81 41 #38 of 64
Overall 55 60 52
  • CIEN ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • DGII ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • NOW ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCIENDGIINOWSPY
1 month -5.8%-2.6%+16.6% -0.8%
3 months -10.9%+12.7%+49.9% +3.5%
6 months -33.6%+35.3%+74.9% +7.0%
Year to date +43.7%+76.2%+3.3% +12.2%
1 year +87.7%+96.5%-15.0% +13.0%
3 years +719.3%+201.8%+42.8% +86.3%
3 years, per year +101.7%+44.6%+12.6% +23.1%
5 years +526.3%+268.3%+19.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year +44.4%+29.8%+3.5% +11.0%
10 years +1,548.3%+602.9%+902.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year +32.3%+21.5%+25.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCIENDGIINOWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 77.9%40.7%58.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 82.8%38.8%61.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.781.430.62 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.132.37-0.25 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.7%-48.6%-64.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -46.4%-10.5%-16.4% -1.8%
52-week high $627.00$85.24$189.26 $779.14
52-week low $176.45$35.40$83.00 $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.

MultipleCIENDGIINOW
P/E now vs peer median 73.0xmedian 32.0x 59.1xmedian 32.0x 97.7xmedian 28.8x
P/S now vs peer median 7.9xmedian 2.8x 5.7xmedian 2.8x 11.1xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 53.8xmedian 19.4x 26.3xmedian 19.4x 48.7xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 58.6xmedian 29.0x 21.3xmedian 29.0x 35.7xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 15.6xmedian 2.9x 4.2xmedian 2.9x 13.1xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.63median 1.13 3.72median 1.13 18.80median 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 monthsCIENDGIINOW
Revenue $6.02B $506.21M $14.73B
Gross profit $2.65B $323.07M $11.02B
Operating income $738.95M $70.58M $1.68B
Net income $654.41M $48.74M $1.67B
Free cash flow $814.36M $135.98M $4.58B
R&D $924.94M $73.84M $3.26B
EPS (diluted) $4.48 $1.25 $1.61
Cash & equivalents $2.45B $27.97M $2.50B
Total debt $3.23B $108.13M $7.52B
Shares (diluted) 145.97M 38.92M 1.03B
Enterprise value $43.52B $2.87B $138.13B

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
MetricCIENDGIINOW
P/E 73.0x 59.1x 97.7x
P/FCF 58.6x 21.3x 35.7x
P/Operating cash flow 45.2x 20.9x 30.8x
P/S 7.9x 5.7x 11.1x
P/B 15.6x 4.2x 13.1x
P/Tangible book 16.6x 9.1x 18.7x
EV/EBITDA 53.8x 26.3x 48.7x
EV/EBIT 65.3x 42.1x 99.1x
EV/Revenue 8.0x 5.9x 11.3x
EV/FCF 59.3x 21.9x 36.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 45.8x 21.5x 31.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.63 3.72 18.80

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCIENDGIINOW
Revenue growth (1Y) 32.6% 20.3% 22.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.5% 4.9% 22.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 40.6% 23.4% 16.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.3% 9.3% 20.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 200.1% 24.0% 4.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 29.1% 9.7% 49.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 364.5% 14.2% 0.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 43.5% 18.0% 5.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 359.9% 10.5% 1.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 44.8% 15.9% 5.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% 30.1% 13.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 201.2% 59.2% 22.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% 31.6% 19.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 95.4% 60.8% 25.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCIENDGIINOW
Gross margin 44.1% 63.8% 74.8%
EBITDA margin 14.9% 22.3% 23.2%
Operating margin 12.3% 13.9% 11.4%
Pretax margin 12.1% 12.4% 15.9%
Net margin 10.9% 9.6% 11.3%
FCF margin 13.5% 26.9% 31.1%
Operating cash flow margin 17.5% 27.3% 36.0%
Return on equity 22.0% 7.2% 13.8%
Return on assets 9.3% 5.0% 6.0%
Return on invested capital 12.4% 6.9% –
Return on capital employed 13.1% 8.4% 10.6%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 2.8x 3.2x
Stock comp / revenue 3.5% 3.4% 12.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCIENDGIINOW
Debt / assets 40.4% 11.2% 23.7%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.2x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 0.7x 0.8x
Debt / FCF 4.0x 0.8x 1.6x
Liabilities / assets 61.8% 29.0% 60.5%
Equity / assets 38.2% 71.0% 39.5%
Interest coverage 10.6x 8.9x –
Current ratio 3.8x 1.1x 0.7x
Quick ratio 2.8x 0.7x 0.6x
Cash ratio 1.9x 0.2x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 6.99 7.48 5.89

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCIENDGIINOW
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -1.0% 0.0% 1.9%
Shareholder yield -1.0% 0.0% 1.9%
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.

ConsensusCIENDGIINOW
Forward P/E 44.2xFY2026 27.4xFY2026 41.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.60FY2026 $2.78FY2026 $3.85FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +187.9%FY2026 +32.4%FY2026 +9.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +64.7% +9.4% +27.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.86BFY2026 $519.66MFY2026 $15.25BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +43.8%FY2026 +20.8%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.0% +3.8% +17.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCIENDGIINOW
Held by institutions 92.9% 100.0% 81.6%
Institutions holding 1,220 283 2,224
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.7% +1.6% -2.1%
Institutions buying 729 142 1,285
Institutions selling 379 105 779
Buyers to sellers 1.92 1.35 1.65

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.

CIENDGIINOW
CIEN 1.00 0.31 -0.21
DGII 0.31 1.00 0.02
NOW -0.21 0.02 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CIEN, DGII and NOW?

ServiceNow (NOW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ciena (CIEN) $49.96B, Digi International (DGII) $2.98B, ServiceNow (NOW) $159.67B.

Which stock is cheaper, CIEN, DGII and NOW?

Digi International (DGII) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ciena (CIEN) 76.4x, Digi International (DGII) 61.1x, ServiceNow (NOW) 95.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Digi International (DGII) is cheapest (Ciena (CIEN) 44.2x, Digi International (DGII) 27.4x, ServiceNow (NOW) 41.1x). 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%, Digi International (DGII) +20.3%, ServiceNow (NOW) +22.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

ServiceNow (NOW) has the highest net margin (Ciena (CIEN) 10.9%, Digi International (DGII) 9.6%, ServiceNow (NOW) 11.3%). On return on invested capital, Ciena (CIEN) leads (Ciena (CIEN) 12.4%, Digi International (DGII) 6.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Digi International (DGII) returned the most: Ciena (CIEN) +87.7%, Digi International (DGII) +96.5%, ServiceNow (NOW) -15.0%. Over five years, Ciena (CIEN) compounded fastest (Ciena (CIEN) +44.4%/yr, Digi International (DGII) +29.8%/yr, ServiceNow (NOW) +3.5%/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%, Digi International (DGII) 40.7%, ServiceNow (NOW) 58.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.