CSCO vs ZM vs CIEN Stock Comparison

Cisco Systems, Zoom Communications and Ciena Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc.
$106.50 +0.1% 1M +51.6% 1Y
Market cap
$436.07B
P/E
32.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.33B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
3 wins
ZM Zoom Communications, Inc.
$95.77 +4.2% 1M +15.7% 1Y
Market cap
$28.72B
P/E
9.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.97B
Div. yield
–
Communications Platforms Technology
4 wins
CIEN Ciena Corp
$320.30 -10.0% 1M +85.6% 1Y
Market cap
$47.78B
P/E
73.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.02B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Zoom Communications leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Zoom Communications 4, Ciena 4, Cisco Systems 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCSCOZMCIENLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $436.07B $28.72B $47.78B CSCO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.9x 9.0x 73.0x ZM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.5x 14.8x 42.1x ZM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.8% +4.6% +32.6% CIEN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.0% 64.1% 10.9% ZM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% — 12.4% CSCO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x — 0.7x CIEN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +51.6% +15.7% +85.6% CIEN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +14.1%/yr -19.2%/yr +43.5%/yr CIEN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.4% 44.7% 77.7% CSCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 79/100 55/100 ZM

Percentile Scorecard

CSCOZMCIEN

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

AxisCSCOZMCIEN
Valuation 32 #77 of 112 66 #11 of 30 22 #88 of 112
Growth 40 #66 of 109 69 #9 of 27 95 #6 of 109
Profitability 88 #14 of 105 84 #5 of 26 83 #19 of 105
Financial Health 28 #84 of 117 97 #2 of 32 44 #66 of 117
Shareholder Returns 77 #20 of 82 – 32 #56 of 82
Overall 53 79 55
  • CSCO ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • ZM ranked among 33 companies in Workplace Software
  • CIEN ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCSCOZMCIENSPY
1 month +0.1%+4.2%-10.0% -1.0%
3 months -6.7%+8.8%-18.0% +2.9%
6 months +19.6%+4.1%-38.5% +6.4%
Year to date +38.3%+11.0%+37.0% +11.4%
1 year +51.6%+15.7%+85.6% +13.1%
3 years +100.9%+54.1%+670.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year +26.2%+15.5%+97.6% +21.5%
5 years +93.2%-65.5%+508.1% +67.7%
5 years, per year +14.1%-19.2%+43.5% +10.9%
10 years +253.2%—+1,507.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +13.5%—+32.0% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCSCOZMCIENSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.4%44.7%77.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.3%42.6%82.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.091.032.76 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.460.351.10 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.6%-80.6%-49.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.1%-14.4%-48.9% -2.5%
52-week high $130.00$111.88$627.00 $779.14
52-week low $70.27$72.72$172.58 $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.

MultipleCSCOZMCIEN
P/E now vs peer median 31.7xmedian 31.3x 8.8xmedian 32.3x 69.5xmedian 31.3x
P/S now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 2.6x 5.6xmedian 2.4x 7.5xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 24.2xmedian 19.6x 13.5xmedian 11.5x 51.3xmedian 19.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 32.9xmedian 28.3x 14.2xmedian 14.2x 55.8xmedian 28.3x
P/B now vs peer median 8.4xmedian 2.9x 2.5xmedian 2.7x 14.9xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 11.78median 1.15 0.05median 0.77 1.55median 1.15

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 monthsCSCOZMCIEN
Revenue $63.33B $4.97B $6.02B
Gross profit $40.86B $3.84B $2.65B
Operating income $15.37B $1.20B $738.95M
Net income $13.27B $3.19B $654.41M
Free cash flow $12.77B – $814.36M
R&D $9.56B $881.96M $924.94M
EPS (diluted) $3.33 $10.64 $4.48
Cash & equivalents $7.22B $931.99M $2.45B
Total debt $29.53B – $3.23B
Shares (diluted) 3.99B 299.75M 145.97M
Enterprise value $371.99B -$2.07B $41.34B

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
MetricCSCOZMCIEN
P/E 31.7x 8.8x 69.5x
P/FCF 32.9x 14.2x 55.8x
P/Operating cash flow 29.6x – 43.1x
P/S 6.6x 5.6x 7.5x
P/B 8.4x 2.5x 14.9x
P/Tangible book 9.8x 2.5x 15.8x
EV/EBITDA 24.2x 13.5x 51.3x
EV/EBIT 28.2x 17.3x 62.3x
EV/Revenue 6.9x 4.2x 7.6x
EV/FCF 34.0x – 56.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 30.6x – 43.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 11.78 0.05 1.55

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCSCOZMCIEN
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.8% 4.6% 32.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.6% 3.7% 12.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.1% 5.7% 40.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 4.5% 13.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 30.7% 23.2% 200.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.7% 112.9% 29.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 30.3% 168.3% 364.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.7% 182.3% 43.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 30.7% 175.9% 359.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 184.2% 44.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -0.1% – 34.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -10.7% – 201.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -3.9% – 34.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.5% – 95.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCSCOZMCIEN
Gross margin 64.5% 77.2% 44.1%
EBITDA margin 28.3% 30.9% 14.9%
Operating margin 24.3% 24.1% 12.3%
Pretax margin 25.3% 82.5% 12.1%
Net margin 21.0% 64.1% 10.9%
FCF margin 20.2% – 13.5%
Operating cash flow margin 22.4% – 17.5%
Return on equity 26.8% 30.2% 22.0%
Return on assets 10.4% 25.0% 9.3%
Return on invested capital 15.9% – 12.4%
Return on capital employed 17.9% 11.2% 13.1%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.4x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x – 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 6.0% – 3.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCSCOZMCIEN
Debt / assets 22.8% – 40.4%
Debt / equity 0.6x – 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x – 0.7x
Debt / FCF 2.3x – 4.0x
Liabilities / assets 61.2% 16.8% 61.8%
Equity / assets 38.8% 83.2% 38.2%
Interest coverage 10.5x – 10.6x
Current ratio 0.9x 3.8x 3.8x
Quick ratio 0.6x 3.7x 2.8x
Cash ratio 0.4x 3.4x 1.9x
Altman Z-score 4.05 9.34 6.72

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCSCOZMCIEN
Dividend yield 1.6% – –
Net buyback yield 1.3% – -1.1%
Shareholder yield 2.9% – -1.1%
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.

ConsensusCSCOZMCIEN
Forward P/E 22.5xFY2027 14.8xFY2026 42.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.74FY2027 $6.45FY2026 $7.60FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.5%FY2027 +9.0%FY2026 +187.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +20.7% +2.8% +64.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $74.93BFY2027 $4.76BFY2026 $6.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.3%FY2027 -2.4%FY2026 +43.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.6% +7.8% +18.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCSCOZMCIEN
Held by institutions 80.1% 67.2% 92.9%
Institutions holding 4,044 862 1,220
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.0% +2.9% -1.7%
Institutions buying 1,846 477 729
Institutions selling 1,816 279 379
Buyers to sellers 1.02 1.71 1.92

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.

CSCOZMCIEN
CSCO 1.00 0.11 0.35
ZM 0.11 1.00 0.04
CIEN 0.35 0.04 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CSCO, ZM and CIEN?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cisco Systems (CSCO) $436.07B, Zoom Communications (ZM) $28.72B, Ciena (CIEN) $47.78B.

Which stock is cheaper, CSCO, ZM and CIEN?

Zoom Communications (ZM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 32.9x, Zoom Communications (ZM) 9.0x, Ciena (CIEN) 73.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Zoom Communications (ZM) is cheapest (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 22.5x, Zoom Communications (ZM) 14.8x, Ciena (CIEN) 42.1x). 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: Cisco Systems (CSCO) +11.8%, Zoom Communications (ZM) +4.6%, Ciena (CIEN) +32.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Zoom Communications (ZM) has the highest net margin (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.0%, Zoom Communications (ZM) 64.1%, Ciena (CIEN) 10.9%). On return on invested capital, Cisco Systems (CSCO) leads (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 15.9%, Ciena (CIEN) 12.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ciena (CIEN) returned the most: Cisco Systems (CSCO) +51.6%, Zoom Communications (ZM) +15.7%, Ciena (CIEN) +85.6%. Over five years, Ciena (CIEN) compounded fastest (Cisco Systems (CSCO) +14.1%/yr, Zoom Communications (ZM) -19.2%/yr, Ciena (CIEN) +43.5%/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) 35.4%, Zoom Communications (ZM) 44.7%, Ciena (CIEN) 77.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CSCO, ZM 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, Zoom Communications (ZM) leads on 4. 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.