CSCO vs DGII vs CIEN Stock Comparison

Cisco Systems, Digi International and Ciena Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc.
$108.59 +1.5% 1M +52.2% 1Y
Market cap
$412.20B
P/E
31.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.33B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
6 wins
DGII Digi International Inc
$77.63 +1.5% 1M +103.5% 1Y
Market cap
$2.75B
P/E
56.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$506.21M
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
2 wins
CIEN Ciena Corp
$349.15 -1.6% 1M +84.5% 1Y
Market cap
$45.23B
P/E
69.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.02B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Cisco Systems leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Cisco Systems 6, Ciena 3, Digi International 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCSCODGIICIENLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $412.20B $2.75B $45.23B CSCO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 31.1x 56.5x 69.1x CSCO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.9x 27.9x 45.9x CSCO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.8% +20.3% +32.6% CIEN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.0% 9.6% 10.9% CSCO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% 6.9% 12.4% CSCO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 0.7x 0.7x CIEN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +52.2% +103.5% +84.5% DGII
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +14.2%/yr +29.2%/yr +45.1%/yr CIEN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.5% 40.8% 77.9% CSCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 59/100 55/100 DGII

Percentile Scorecard

CSCODGIICIEN

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

AxisCSCODGIICIEN
Valuation 33 #75 of 112 42 #65 of 112 21 #89 of 112
Growth 40 #65 of 108 70 #33 of 108 94 #7 of 108
Profitability 88 #13 of 104 82 #20 of 104 84 #18 of 104
Financial Health 30 #81 of 116 48 #61 of 116 41 #69 of 116
Shareholder Returns 81 #16 of 78 53 #37 of 78 36 #50 of 78
Overall 55 59 55
  • CSCO ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • DGII ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • CIEN ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCSCODGIICIENSPY
1 month +1.5%+1.5%-1.6% +0.7%
3 months -4.4%+13.8%-6.1% +3.7%
6 months +18.7%+38.5%-33.8% +7.1%
Year to date +41.0%+79.3%+49.3% +12.8%
1 year +52.2%+103.5%+84.5% +11.9%
3 years +110.6%+206.2%+750.3% +85.2%
3 years, per year +28.2%+45.3%+104.2% +22.8%
5 years +94.0%+260.2%+543.1% +67.6%
5 years, per year +14.2%+29.2%+45.1% +10.9%
10 years +255.0%+700.3%+1,689.6% +262.0%
10 years, per year +13.5%+23.1%+33.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCSCODGIICIENSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.5%40.8%77.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.1%38.6%82.7% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.101.432.80 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.472.541.08 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.6%-48.6%-49.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.5%-8.9%-44.3% -1.2%
52-week high $130.00$85.24$627.00 $779.14
52-week low $71.04$35.40$176.45 $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.

MultipleCSCODGIICIEN
P/E now vs peer median 32.4xmedian 32.9x 60.2xmedian 32.9x 75.8xmedian 32.9x
P/S now vs peer median 6.8xmedian 2.9x 5.8xmedian 2.9x 8.2xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 24.7xmedian 20.0x 26.8xmedian 20.0x 55.9xmedian 20.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 33.6xmedian 30.2x 21.7xmedian 30.2x 60.8xmedian 30.2x
P/B now vs peer median 8.5xmedian 2.9x 4.3xmedian 2.9x 16.2xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 12.01median 1.08 3.79median 1.08 1.69median 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 monthsCSCODGIICIEN
Revenue $63.33B $506.21M $6.02B
Gross profit $40.86B $323.07M $2.65B
Operating income $15.37B $70.58M $738.95M
Net income $13.27B $48.74M $654.41M
Free cash flow $12.77B $135.98M $814.36M
R&D $9.56B $73.84M $924.94M
EPS (diluted) $3.33 $1.25 $4.48
Cash & equivalents $7.22B $27.97M $2.45B
Total debt $29.53B $108.13M $3.23B
Shares (diluted) 3.99B 38.92M 145.97M
Enterprise value $348.13B $2.64B $38.79B

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
MetricCSCODGIICIEN
P/E 32.4x 60.2x 75.8x
P/FCF 33.6x 21.7x 60.8x
P/Operating cash flow 30.2x 21.3x 47.0x
P/S 6.8x 5.8x 8.2x
P/B 8.5x 4.3x 16.2x
P/Tangible book 10.0x 9.2x 17.3x
EV/EBITDA 24.7x 26.8x 55.9x
EV/EBIT 28.8x 42.9x 67.9x
EV/Revenue 7.0x 6.0x 8.3x
EV/FCF 34.6x 22.3x 61.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 31.2x 21.9x 47.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 12.01 3.79 1.69

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCSCODGIICIEN
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.8% 20.3% 32.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.6% 4.9% 12.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.1% 23.4% 40.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 9.3% 13.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 30.7% 24.0% 200.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.7% 9.7% 29.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 30.3% 14.2% 364.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.7% 18.0% 43.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 30.7% 10.5% 359.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 15.9% 44.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -0.1% 30.1% 34.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -10.7% 59.2% 201.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -3.9% 31.6% 34.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.5% 60.8% 95.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCSCODGIICIEN
Gross margin 64.5% 63.8% 44.1%
EBITDA margin 28.3% 22.3% 14.9%
Operating margin 24.3% 13.9% 12.3%
Pretax margin 25.3% 12.4% 12.1%
Net margin 21.0% 9.6% 10.9%
FCF margin 20.2% 26.9% 13.5%
Operating cash flow margin 22.4% 27.3% 17.5%
Return on equity 26.8% 7.2% 22.0%
Return on assets 10.4% 5.0% 9.3%
Return on invested capital 15.9% 6.9% 12.4%
Return on capital employed 17.9% 8.4% 13.1%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 2.8x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 6.0% 3.4% 3.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCSCODGIICIEN
Debt / assets 22.8% 11.2% 40.4%
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.2x 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 0.7x 0.7x
Debt / FCF 2.3x 0.8x 4.0x
Liabilities / assets 61.2% 29.0% 61.8%
Equity / assets 38.8% 71.0% 38.2%
Interest coverage 10.5x 8.9x 10.6x
Current ratio 0.9x 1.1x 3.8x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.7x 2.8x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.2x 1.9x
Altman Z-score 4.11 7.59 7.21

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCSCODGIICIEN
Dividend yield 1.5% – –
Net buyback yield 1.3% 0.0% -1.0%
Shareholder yield 2.9% 0.0% -1.0%
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.

ConsensusCSCODGIICIEN
Forward P/E 22.9xFY2027 27.9xFY2026 45.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.74FY2027 $2.78FY2026 $7.60FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.5%FY2027 +32.4%FY2026 +187.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +20.7% +9.4% +64.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $74.93BFY2027 $519.66MFY2026 $6.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.3%FY2027 +20.8%FY2026 +43.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.6% +3.8% +18.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCSCODGIICIEN
Held by institutions 80.1% 100.0% 92.9%
Institutions holding 4,047 284 1,221
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.0% +1.6% -1.7%
Institutions buying 1,847 143 730
Institutions selling 1,818 105 379
Buyers to sellers 1.02 1.36 1.93

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.

CSCODGIICIEN
CSCO 1.00 0.30 0.36
DGII 0.30 1.00 0.32
CIEN 0.36 0.32 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CSCO, DGII and CIEN?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cisco Systems (CSCO) $412.20B, Digi International (DGII) $2.75B, Ciena (CIEN) $45.23B.

Which stock is cheaper, CSCO, DGII and CIEN?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 31.1x, Digi International (DGII) 56.5x, Ciena (CIEN) 69.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cisco Systems (CSCO) is cheapest (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 22.9x, Digi International (DGII) 27.9x, Ciena (CIEN) 45.9x). 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: Cisco Systems (CSCO) +11.8%, Digi International (DGII) +20.3%, Ciena (CIEN) +32.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) has the highest net margin (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.0%, Digi International (DGII) 9.6%, Ciena (CIEN) 10.9%). On return on invested capital, Cisco Systems (CSCO) leads (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 15.9%, Digi International (DGII) 6.9%, Ciena (CIEN) 12.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Digi International (DGII) returned the most: Cisco Systems (CSCO) +52.2%, Digi International (DGII) +103.5%, Ciena (CIEN) +84.5%. Over five years, Ciena (CIEN) compounded fastest (Cisco Systems (CSCO) +14.2%/yr, Digi International (DGII) +29.2%/yr, Ciena (CIEN) +45.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cisco Systems (CSCO) has been the steadiest (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 35.5%, Digi International (DGII) 40.8%, Ciena (CIEN) 77.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Cisco Systems (CSCO) leads on 6. 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.