CIEN vs ERIC vs NXST Stock Comparison

Ciena, Ericsson Lm Telephone and Nexstar Media Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CIEN Ciena Corp
$351.18 -1.6% 1M +92.4% 1Y
Market cap
$51.56B
P/E
78.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.02B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
5 wins
ERIC Ericsson Lm Telephone Co
$11.08 +16.3% 1M +17.5% 1Y
Market cap
$36.83B
P/E
18.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$24.56B
Div. yield
-0.03%
Networking Equipment Technology
5 wins
NXST Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
$166.26 +2.6% 1M -12.8% 1Y
Market cap
$5.06B
P/E
26.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.88B
Div. yield
0.04%
Television Broadcasting Communication Services
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ciena leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Ciena 5, Ericsson Lm Telephone 5, Nexstar Media 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCIENERICNXSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $51.56B $36.83B $5.06B CIEN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 78.8x 18.0x 26.9x ERIC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 46.2x 17.0x 5.0x NXST
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +32.6% -38.5% +10.5% CIEN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.9% 8.3% 3.2% CIEN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.4% 20.0% 5.8% ERIC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.7x -0.6x 8.3x ERIC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% -0.03% 0.04% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +92.4% +17.5% -12.8% CIEN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +45.3%/yr +0.1%/yr +2.1%/yr CIEN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 77.8% 36.5% 36.6% ERIC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 61/100 50/100 ERIC

Percentile Scorecard

CIENERICNXST

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

AxisCIENERICNXST
Valuation 22 #88 of 112 87 #15 of 112 65 #19 of 53
Growth 95 #6 of 109 47 #58 of 109 28 #32 of 44
Profitability 83 #19 of 104 86 #15 of 104 73 #12 of 42
Financial Health 43 #67 of 116 38 #72 of 116 37 #39 of 61
Shareholder Returns 35 #53 of 81 48 #43 of 81 48 #14 of 26
Overall 55 61 50
  • CIEN ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • ERIC ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • NXST ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCIENERICNXSTSPY
1 month -1.6%+16.3%+2.6% -0.2%
3 months +0.2%+11.1%-14.2% +3.9%
6 months -25.9%-1.9%-18.6% +8.2%
Year to date +50.2%+14.8%-18.1% +12.9%
1 year +92.4%+17.5%-12.8% +12.3%
3 years +756.1%+154.1%+22.7% +87.4%
3 years, per year +104.7%+36.5%+7.1% +23.3%
5 years +546.3%+0.4%+10.9% +67.9%
5 years, per year +45.3%+0.1%+2.1% +10.9%
10 years +1,696.3%+124.3%+243.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +33.5%+8.4%+13.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCIENERICNXSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 77.8%36.5%36.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 82.8%36.7%37.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.791.030.44 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.190.48-0.35 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.7%-65.8%-39.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -44.0%-19.4%-34.5% -1.2%
52-week high $627.00$13.74$253.64 $779.14
52-week low $176.45$9.15$154.70 $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.

MultipleCIENERICNXST
P/E now vs peer median 76.2xmedian 33.2x 18.1xmedian 33.2x 27.1xmedian 18.4x
P/S now vs peer median 8.3xmedian 2.8x 1.5xmedian 2.8x 0.9xmedian 0.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 56.2xmedian 20.0x 9.3xmedian 20.0x 11.9xmedian 10.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 61.2xmedian 29.8x 9.9xmedian 29.8x 6.9xmedian 9.0x
P/B now vs peer median 16.3xmedian 3.0x 3.4xmedian 3.0x 2.3xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median 1.70median 1.17 0.42median 1.17 -0.85median 0.44

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 monthsCIENERICNXST
Revenue $6.02B $24.56B $5.88B
Gross profit $2.65B $11.51B $3.21B
Operating income $738.95M $2.90B $1.04B
Net income $654.41M $2.04B $168.00M
Free cash flow $814.36M $3.76B $743.00M
R&D $924.94M $5.22B –
EPS (diluted) $4.48 $0.61 $6.08
Cash & equivalents $2.45B $5.11B $218.00M
Total debt $3.23B $3.73B $11.74B
Shares (diluted) 145.97M 3.34B 30.91M
Enterprise value $45.12B $14.44B $3.89B

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
MetricCIENERICNXST
P/E 76.2x 18.1x 27.1x
P/FCF 61.2x 9.9x 6.9x
P/Operating cash flow 47.2x 10.8x 5.7x
P/S 8.3x 1.5x 0.9x
P/B 16.3x 3.4x 2.3x
P/Tangible book 17.4x 3.4x -1.8x
EV/EBITDA 56.2x 9.3x 11.9x
EV/EBIT 68.2x 12.2x 15.9x
EV/Revenue 8.4x 1.4x 2.8x
EV/FCF 61.9x 9.4x 22.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 47.8x 10.2x 18.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.70 0.42 -0.85

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCIENERICNXST
Revenue growth (1Y) 32.6% -38.5% 10.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.5% -2.0% 3.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 40.6% 3.7% 4.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.3% 4.0% 0.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 200.1% -18.4% -11.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 29.1% 55.0% 0.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 364.5% -18.7% -71.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 43.5% 43.4% -35.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 359.9% -17.7% -70.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 44.8% 43.1% -31.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% 4.3% -35.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 201.2% 44.0% -11.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% 6.1% -40.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 95.4% 34.7% -12.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCIENERICNXST
Gross margin 44.1% 46.8% 54.6%
EBITDA margin 14.9% 15.4% 23.7%
Operating margin 12.3% 11.8% 17.8%
Pretax margin 12.1% 11.2% 3.6%
Net margin 10.9% 8.3% 3.2%
FCF margin 13.5% 15.3% 12.6%
Operating cash flow margin 17.5% 14.0% 15.2%
Return on equity 22.0% 18.7% 8.3%
Return on assets 9.3% 6.8% 1.0%
Return on invested capital 12.4% 20.0% 5.8%
Return on capital employed 13.1% 17.8% 6.3%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.8x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.7x 5.3x
Stock comp / revenue 3.5% – 1.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCIENERICNXST
Debt / assets 40.4% 12.4% 66.3%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.3x 5.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x -0.6x 8.3x
Debt / FCF 4.0x 1.0x 15.8x
Liabilities / assets 61.8% 63.1% 87.2%
Equity / assets 38.2% 36.9% 12.8%
Interest coverage 10.6x – 2.1x
Current ratio 3.8x 1.2x 1.6x
Quick ratio 2.8x 0.8x 1.4x
Cash ratio 1.9x 0.4x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 7.25 – 1.07

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCIENERICNXST
Dividend yield – 2.8% 4.5%
Net buyback yield -1.0% -2.2% –
Shareholder yield -1.0% 0.6% 4.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 50.9% 134.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 27.7% 30.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) – -13.4% 2.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -7.7% 10.6%

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.

ConsensusCIENERICNXST
Forward P/E 46.2xFY2026 17.0xFY2026 5.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.60FY2026 $0.65FY2026 $32.94FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +187.9%FY2026 -30.9%FY2026 +998.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +64.7% -3.1% -45.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.86BFY2026 $24.16BFY2026 $8.32BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +43.8%FY2026 -8.1%FY2026 +68.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.0% +1.0% -4.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCIENERICNXST
Held by institutions 92.9% 9.5% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,220 388 486
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.7% +0.4% +4.0%
Institutions buying 729 219 220
Institutions selling 379 110 181
Buyers to sellers 1.92 1.99 1.22

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.

CIENERICNXST
CIEN 1.00 0.31 -0.08
ERIC 0.31 1.00 0.09
NXST -0.08 0.09 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CIEN, ERIC and NXST?

Ciena (CIEN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ciena (CIEN) $51.56B, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) $36.83B, Nexstar Media (NXST) $5.06B.

Which stock is cheaper, CIEN, ERIC and NXST?

Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ciena (CIEN) 78.8x, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 18.0x, Nexstar Media (NXST) 26.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Nexstar Media (NXST) is cheapest (Ciena (CIEN) 46.2x, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 17.0x, Nexstar Media (NXST) 5.0x). 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%, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) -38.5%, Nexstar Media (NXST) +10.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ciena (CIEN) has the highest net margin (Ciena (CIEN) 10.9%, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 8.3%, Nexstar Media (NXST) 3.2%). On return on invested capital, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) leads (Ciena (CIEN) 12.4%, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 20.0%, Nexstar Media (NXST) 5.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ciena (CIEN) returned the most: Ciena (CIEN) +92.4%, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) +17.5%, Nexstar Media (NXST) -12.8%. Over five years, Ciena (CIEN) compounded fastest (Ciena (CIEN) +45.3%/yr, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) +0.1%/yr, Nexstar Media (NXST) +2.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Ciena (CIEN) 0.00%, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) -0.03%, Nexstar Media (NXST) 0.04%. Ciena (CIEN) and Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) has been the steadiest (Ciena (CIEN) 77.8%, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 36.5%, Nexstar Media (NXST) 36.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CIEN, ERIC and NXST?

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