CIEN vs NOW vs PEGA Stock Comparison

Ciena, ServiceNow and Pegasystems Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CIEN Ciena Corp
$336.09 -5.8% 1M +87.7% 1Y
Market cap
$49.78B
P/E
76.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.02B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
4 wins
NOW ServiceNow, Inc.
$158.19 +16.6% 1M -15.0% 1Y
Market cap
$159.15B
P/E
95.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.73B
Div. yield
–
Business Process Automation Technology
1 win
PEGA Pegasystems Inc
$36.71 +8.8% 1M -44.6% 1Y
Market cap
$5.73B
P/E
19.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.75B
Div. yield
0.00%
Business Process Automation Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Pegasystems leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Pegasystems 5, Ciena 4, ServiceNow 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCIENNOWPEGALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $49.78B $159.15B $5.73B NOW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 76.1x 95.3x 19.4x PEGA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 44.2x 41.1x 16.4x PEGA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +32.6% +22.2% +0.9% CIEN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.9% 11.3% 16.9% PEGA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.4% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 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% -15.0% -44.6% CIEN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +44.4%/yr +3.5%/yr -10.0%/yr CIEN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 77.9% 58.8% 52.4% PEGA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 52/100 66/100 PEGA

Percentile Scorecard

CIENNOWPEGA

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

AxisCIENNOWPEGA
Valuation 19 #90 of 111 28 #74 of 102 74 #27 of 102
Growth 95 #6 of 108 58 #42 of 98 55 #45 of 98
Profitability 83 #19 of 104 82 #18 of 95 90 #10 of 95
Financial Health 43 #66 of 115 50 #55 of 109 67 #37 of 109
Shareholder Returns 34 #54 of 81 41 #38 of 64 44 #36 of 64
Overall 55 52 66
  • CIEN ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • NOW ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications
  • PEGA ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCIENNOWPEGASPY
1 month -5.8%+16.6%+8.8% -0.8%
3 months -10.9%+49.9%+28.4% +3.5%
6 months -33.6%+74.9%-0.2% +7.0%
Year to date +43.7%+3.3%-38.5% +12.2%
1 year +87.7%-15.0%-44.6% +13.0%
3 years +719.3%+42.8%+77.6% +86.3%
3 years, per year +101.7%+12.6%+21.1% +23.1%
5 years +526.3%+19.0%-41.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year +44.4%+3.5%-10.0% +11.0%
10 years +1,548.3%+902.5%+141.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year +32.3%+25.9%+9.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCIENNOWPEGASPY
Volatility, 1Y 77.9%58.8%52.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 82.8%61.5%57.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.780.620.73 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.13-0.25-0.85 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.7%-64.5%-75.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -46.4%-16.4%-44.9% -1.8%
52-week high $627.00$189.26$66.64 $779.14
52-week low $176.45$83.00$25.99 $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.

MultipleCIENNOWPEGA
P/E now vs peer median 73.0xmedian 32.0x 97.7xmedian 28.8x 20.4xmedian 28.8x
P/S now vs peer median 7.9xmedian 2.8x 11.1xmedian 2.8x 3.4xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 53.8xmedian 19.4x 48.7xmedian 17.7x 22.7xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 58.6xmedian 29.0x 35.7xmedian 15.8x 13.6xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 15.6xmedian 2.9x 13.1xmedian 3.2x 10.9xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.63median 1.13 18.80median 0.85 0.19median 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 monthsCIENNOWPEGA
Revenue $6.02B $14.73B $1.75B
Gross profit $2.65B $11.02B $1.33B
Operating income $738.95M $1.68B $173.01M
Net income $654.41M $1.67B $294.76M
Free cash flow $814.36M $4.58B $442.24M
R&D $924.94M $3.26B $321.38M
EPS (diluted) $4.48 $1.61 $1.75
Cash & equivalents $2.45B $2.50B $202.19M
Total debt $3.23B $7.52B –
Shares (diluted) 145.97M 1.03B 168.64M
Enterprise value $43.34B $137.61B $5.42B

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
MetricCIENNOWPEGA
P/E 73.0x 97.7x 20.4x
P/FCF 58.6x 35.7x 13.6x
P/Operating cash flow 45.2x 30.8x 13.0x
P/S 7.9x 11.1x 3.4x
P/B 15.6x 13.1x 10.9x
P/Tangible book 16.6x 18.7x 10.9x
EV/EBITDA 53.8x 48.7x 22.7x
EV/EBIT 65.3x 99.1x 32.9x
EV/Revenue 8.0x 11.3x 3.3x
EV/FCF 59.3x 36.3x 12.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 45.8x 31.4x 12.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.63 18.80 0.19

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCIENNOWPEGA
Revenue growth (1Y) 32.6% 22.2% 0.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.5% 22.5% 8.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 40.6% 16.4% 1.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.3% 20.5% 10.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 200.1% 4.9% -42.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 29.1% 49.1% 84.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 364.5% 0.5% 6.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 43.5% 5.5% 110.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 359.9% 1.7% 15.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 44.8% 5.2% 109.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% 13.0% 4.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 201.2% 22.2% 38.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% 19.0% 2.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 95.4% 25.7% 44.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCIENNOWPEGA
Gross margin 44.1% 74.8% 75.9%
EBITDA margin 14.9% 23.2% 14.4%
Operating margin 12.3% 11.4% 9.9%
Pretax margin 12.1% 15.9% 10.4%
Net margin 10.9% 11.3% 16.9%
FCF margin 13.5% 31.1% 25.3%
Operating cash flow margin 17.5% 36.0% 26.5%
Return on equity 22.0% 13.8% 53.1%
Return on assets 9.3% 6.0% 21.7%
Return on invested capital 12.4% – –
Return on capital employed 13.1% 10.6% 25.5%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.5x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 3.2x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 3.5% 12.3% 8.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCIENNOWPEGA
Debt / assets 40.4% 23.7% –
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.6x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 0.8x –
Debt / FCF 4.0x 1.6x –
Liabilities / assets 61.8% 60.5% 58.7%
Equity / assets 38.2% 39.5% 41.3%
Interest coverage 10.6x – 650.4x
Current ratio 3.8x 0.7x 1.0x
Quick ratio 2.8x 0.6x 0.9x
Cash ratio 1.9x 0.4x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 6.99 5.89 6.91

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCIENNOWPEGA
Dividend yield – – 0.5%
Net buyback yield -1.0% 1.9% 7.5%
Shareholder yield -1.0% 1.9% 8.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 6.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 4.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 57.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 26.8%

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.

ConsensusCIENNOWPEGA
Forward P/E 44.2xFY2026 41.1xFY2026 16.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.60FY2026 $3.85FY2026 $2.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +187.9%FY2026 +9.7%FY2026 +6.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +64.7% +27.0% +9.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.86BFY2026 $15.25BFY2026 $1.75BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +43.8%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026 -0.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.0% +17.7% +8.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCIENNOWPEGA
Held by institutions 92.9% 81.6% 57.4%
Institutions holding 1,220 2,224 433
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.7% -2.1% +2.9%
Institutions buying 729 1,285 242
Institutions selling 379 779 153
Buyers to sellers 1.92 1.65 1.58

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.

CIENNOWPEGA
CIEN 1.00 -0.21 -0.09
NOW -0.21 1.00 0.67
PEGA -0.09 0.67 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CIEN, NOW and PEGA?

ServiceNow (NOW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ciena (CIEN) $49.78B, ServiceNow (NOW) $159.15B, Pegasystems (PEGA) $5.73B.

Which stock is cheaper, CIEN, NOW and PEGA?

Pegasystems (PEGA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ciena (CIEN) 76.1x, ServiceNow (NOW) 95.3x, Pegasystems (PEGA) 19.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Pegasystems (PEGA) is cheapest (Ciena (CIEN) 44.2x, ServiceNow (NOW) 41.1x, Pegasystems (PEGA) 16.4x). 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%, ServiceNow (NOW) +22.2%, Pegasystems (PEGA) +0.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Pegasystems (PEGA) has the highest net margin (Ciena (CIEN) 10.9%, ServiceNow (NOW) 11.3%, Pegasystems (PEGA) 16.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ciena (CIEN) returned the most: Ciena (CIEN) +87.7%, ServiceNow (NOW) -15.0%, Pegasystems (PEGA) -44.6%. Over five years, Ciena (CIEN) compounded fastest (Ciena (CIEN) +44.4%/yr, ServiceNow (NOW) +3.5%/yr, Pegasystems (PEGA) -10.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Ciena (CIEN) 0.00%, ServiceNow (NOW) 0.00%, Pegasystems (PEGA) 0.00%. Ciena (CIEN) and ServiceNow (NOW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Pegasystems (PEGA) has been the steadiest (Ciena (CIEN) 77.9%, ServiceNow (NOW) 58.8%, Pegasystems (PEGA) 52.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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