CIEN vs RBBN vs ERIC Stock Comparison

Ciena, Ribbon Communications and Ericsson Lm Telephone Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CIEN Ciena Corp
$349.15 -1.6% 1M +84.5% 1Y
Market cap
$49.54B
P/E
75.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.02B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
5 wins
ERIC Ericsson Lm Telephone Co
$11.14 +19.5% 1M +10.3% 1Y
Market cap
$37.56B
P/E
18.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$24.56B
Div. yield
2.78%
Networking Equipment Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionCIENRBBNERICLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $49.54B $291.65M $37.56B CIEN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 75.8x 15.7x 18.2x RBBN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 45.9x 32.6x 17.1x ERIC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +32.6% -7.8% -38.5% CIEN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.9% 2.3% 8.3% CIEN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.4% 0.0% 20.0% ERIC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 9.4x -0.6x ERIC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 2.78% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +84.5% -52.8% +10.3% CIEN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +45.1%/yr -21.5%/yr +0.5%/yr CIEN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 77.9% 69.3% 36.1% ERIC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 41/100 60/100 ERIC

Percentile Scorecard

CIENRBBNERIC

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

AxisCIENRBBNERIC
Valuation 21 #89 of 112 62 #43 of 112 88 #14 of 112
Growth 94 #7 of 108 21 #86 of 108 45 #60 of 108
Profitability 84 #18 of 104 34 #69 of 104 86 #15 of 104
Financial Health 41 #69 of 116 18 #95 of 116 39 #71 of 116
Shareholder Returns 36 #50 of 78 71 #23 of 78 39 #48 of 78
Overall 55 41 60
  • CIEN ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • RBBN ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • ERIC ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCIENRBBNERICSPY
1 month -1.6%-8.9%+19.5% +0.7%
3 months -6.1%-23.1%+14.0% +3.7%
6 months -33.8%-38.3%-5.7% +7.1%
Year to date +49.3%-43.4%+15.4% +12.8%
1 year +84.5%-52.8%+10.3% +11.9%
3 years +750.3%-14.2%+155.5% +85.2%
3 years, per year +104.2%-5.0%+36.7% +22.8%
5 years +543.1%-70.2%+2.5% +67.6%
5 years, per year +45.1%-21.5%+0.5% +10.9%
10 years +1,689.6%-71.3%+128.7% +262.0%
10 years, per year +33.4%-11.7%+8.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCIENRBBNERICSPY
Volatility, 1Y 77.9%69.3%36.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 82.7%79.5%36.5% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.801.331.02 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.08-0.760.28 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.7%-78.9%-65.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -44.3%-52.8%-18.9% -1.2%
52-week high $627.00$3.45$13.74 $779.14
52-week low $176.45$1.32$9.15 $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.

MultipleCIENRBBNERIC
P/E now vs peer median 75.8xmedian 32.9x 15.7xmedian 32.9x 18.2xmedian 32.9x
P/S now vs peer median 8.2xmedian 2.9x 0.4xmedian 2.9x 1.5xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 55.9xmedian 20.0x 18.5xmedian 20.0x 9.4xmedian 20.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 60.8xmedian 30.2x -10.0xmedian 30.2x 10.0xmedian 30.2x
P/B now vs peer median 16.2xmedian 2.9x 0.8xmedian 2.9x 3.4xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 1.69median 1.08 0.48median 1.08 0.42median 1.08

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 monthsCIENRBBNERIC
Revenue $6.02B $800.98M $24.56B
Gross profit $2.65B $386.62M $11.51B
Operating income $738.95M -$29.02M $2.90B
Net income $654.41M $18.59M $2.04B
Free cash flow $814.36M -$29.11M $3.76B
R&D $924.94M $178.44M $5.22B
EPS (diluted) $4.48 $0.10 $0.61
Cash & equivalents $2.45B $40.38M $5.11B
Total debt $3.23B $342.88M $3.73B
Shares (diluted) 145.97M 178.86M 3.34B
Enterprise value $43.10B $43.80M $15.17B

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
MetricCIENRBBNERIC
P/E 75.8x 15.7x 18.2x
P/FCF 60.8x -10.0x 10.0x
P/Operating cash flow 47.0x -15.6x 10.9x
P/S 8.2x 0.4x 1.5x
P/B 16.2x 0.8x 3.4x
P/Tangible book 17.3x 1.1x 3.4x
EV/EBITDA 55.9x 18.5x 9.4x
EV/EBIT 67.9x -20.5x 12.2x
EV/Revenue 8.3x 0.7x 1.4x
EV/FCF 61.6x -20.4x 9.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 47.5x -31.8x 10.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.69 0.48 0.42

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCIENRBBNERIC
Revenue growth (1Y) 32.6% -7.8% -38.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.5% -1.3% -2.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 40.6% -12.1% 3.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.3% -1.2% 4.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 200.1% -240.9% -18.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 29.1% 9.9% 55.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 364.5% 143.2% -18.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 43.5% 33.0% 43.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 359.9% 142.6% -17.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 44.8% 32.7% 43.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% -122.3% 4.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 201.2% -50.8% 44.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 34.5% -155.4% 6.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 95.4% -90.6% 34.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCIENRBBNERIC
Gross margin 44.1% 48.3% 46.8%
EBITDA margin 14.9% 4.0% 15.4%
Operating margin 12.3% -3.6% 11.8%
Pretax margin 12.1% -8.9% 11.2%
Net margin 10.9% 2.3% 8.3%
FCF margin 13.5% -3.6% 15.3%
Operating cash flow margin 17.5% -2.3% 14.0%
Return on equity 22.0% 4.8% 18.7%
Return on assets 9.3% 1.6% 6.8%
Return on invested capital 12.4% 0.0% 20.0%
Return on capital employed 13.1% -3.5% 17.8%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.7x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x -1.0x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue 3.5% 2.7% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCIENRBBNERIC
Debt / assets 40.4% 29.8% 12.4%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.9x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 9.4x -0.6x
Debt / FCF 4.0x -11.8x 1.0x
Liabilities / assets 61.8% 66.2% 63.1%
Equity / assets 38.2% 33.8% 36.9%
Interest coverage 10.6x – –
Current ratio 3.8x 1.3x 1.2x
Quick ratio 2.8x 1.1x 0.8x
Cash ratio 1.9x 0.1x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 7.21 -1.00 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCIENRBBNERIC
Dividend yield – – 2.8%
Net buyback yield -1.0% 1.4% -2.2%
Shareholder yield -1.0% 1.4% 0.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 50.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 27.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – -13.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – -7.7%

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.

ConsensusCIENRBBNERIC
Forward P/E 45.9xFY2026 32.6xFY2026 17.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.60FY2026 $0.05FY2026 $0.65FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +187.9%FY2026 -92.4%FY2026 -30.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +64.7% +200.0% -3.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.86BFY2026 $790.52MFY2026 $24.16BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +43.8%FY2026 -6.4%FY2026 -8.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.0% +11.9% +1.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCIENRBBNERIC
Held by institutions 92.9% 71.8% 9.5%
Institutions holding 1,221 161 389
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.7% -0.7% +0.4%
Institutions buying 730 88 220
Institutions selling 379 41 110
Buyers to sellers 1.93 2.15 2.00

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.

CIENRBBNERIC
CIEN 1.00 0.25 0.31
RBBN 0.25 1.00 0.09
ERIC 0.31 0.09 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CIEN, RBBN and ERIC?

Ciena (CIEN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ciena (CIEN) $49.54B, Ribbon Communications (RBBN) $291.65M, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) $37.56B.

Which stock is cheaper, CIEN, RBBN and ERIC?

Ribbon Communications (RBBN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ciena (CIEN) 75.8x, Ribbon Communications (RBBN) 15.7x, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 18.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) is cheapest (Ciena (CIEN) 45.9x, Ribbon Communications (RBBN) 32.6x, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 17.1x). 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%, Ribbon Communications (RBBN) -7.8%, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) -38.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ciena (CIEN) has the highest net margin (Ciena (CIEN) 10.9%, Ribbon Communications (RBBN) 2.3%, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 8.3%). On return on invested capital, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) leads (Ciena (CIEN) 12.4%, Ribbon Communications (RBBN) 0.0%, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 20.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ciena (CIEN) returned the most: Ciena (CIEN) +84.5%, Ribbon Communications (RBBN) -52.8%, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) +10.3%. Over five years, Ciena (CIEN) compounded fastest (Ciena (CIEN) +45.1%/yr, Ribbon Communications (RBBN) -21.5%/yr, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) +0.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 2.78%. Ciena (CIEN) and Ribbon Communications (RBBN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) has been the steadiest (Ciena (CIEN) 77.9%, Ribbon Communications (RBBN) 69.3%, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 36.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.