ERIC vs CIEN Stock Comparison

Ericsson Lm Telephone and Ciena Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ERIC Ericsson Lm Telephone Co
$10.66 +9.6% 1M +12.4% 1Y
Market cap
$36.28B
P/E
17.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$24.56B
Div. yield
-0.03%
Networking Equipment Technology
6 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
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ericsson Lm Telephone leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Ericsson Lm Telephone 6, Ciena 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionERICCIENLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $36.28B $47.78B CIEN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.8x 73.0x ERIC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.7x 42.1x ERIC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -38.5% +32.6% CIEN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.3% 10.9% CIEN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 20.0% 12.4% ERIC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.6x 0.7x ERIC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield -0.03% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.4% +85.6% CIEN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -1.6%/yr +43.5%/yr CIEN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.4% 77.7% ERIC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 55/100 ERIC

Percentile Scorecard

ERICCIEN

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

AxisERICCIEN
Valuation 88 #14 of 112 22 #88 of 112
Growth 46 #59 of 109 95 #6 of 109
Profitability 87 #15 of 105 83 #19 of 105
Financial Health 41 #70 of 117 44 #66 of 117
Shareholder Returns 37 #52 of 82 32 #56 of 82
Overall 60 55
  • ERIC ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • 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

PeriodERICCIENSPY
1 month +9.6%-10.0% -1.0%
3 months +14.1%-18.0% +2.9%
6 months -5.4%-38.5% +6.4%
Year to date +10.5%+37.0% +11.4%
1 year +12.4%+85.6% +13.1%
3 years +140.6%+670.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year +34.0%+97.6% +21.5%
5 years -7.9%+508.1% +67.7%
5 years, per year -1.6%+43.5% +10.9%
10 years +109.0%+1,507.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +7.7%+32.0% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureERICCIENSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.4%77.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 36.4%82.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.012.76 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.341.10 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.8%-49.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -22.4%-48.9% -2.5%
52-week high $13.74$627.00 $779.14
52-week low $9.15$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.

MultipleERICCIEN
P/E now vs peer median 17.4xmedian 31.3x 69.5xmedian 31.3x
P/S now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 2.6x 7.5xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.9xmedian 19.6x 51.3xmedian 19.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.6xmedian 28.3x 55.8xmedian 28.3x
P/B now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 2.9x 14.9xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 0.40median 1.15 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 monthsERICCIEN
Revenue $24.56B $6.02B
Gross profit $11.51B $2.65B
Operating income $2.90B $738.95M
Net income $2.04B $654.41M
Free cash flow $3.76B $814.36M
R&D $5.22B $924.94M
EPS (diluted) $0.61 $4.48
Cash & equivalents $5.11B $2.45B
Total debt $14.14B $3.23B
Shares (diluted) 3.34B 145.97M
Enterprise value $13.89B $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
MetricERICCIEN
P/E 17.4x 69.5x
P/FCF 9.6x 55.8x
P/Operating cash flow 10.4x 43.1x
P/S 1.5x 7.5x
P/B 3.2x 14.9x
P/Tangible book 3.2x 15.8x
EV/EBITDA 8.9x 51.3x
EV/EBIT 11.7x 62.3x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 7.6x
EV/FCF 9.0x 56.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 9.8x 43.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.40 1.55

Growth

14 metrics
MetricERICCIEN
Revenue growth (1Y) -38.5% 32.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.0% 12.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 3.7% 40.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.0% 13.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) -18.4% 200.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 55.0% 29.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -18.7% 364.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 43.4% 43.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -17.7% 359.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 43.1% 44.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 4.3% 34.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 44.0% 201.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 6.1% 34.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 34.7% 95.4%

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricERICCIEN
Debt / assets 12.4% 40.4%
Debt / equity 0.3x 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.6x 0.7x
Debt / FCF 1.0x 4.0x
Liabilities / assets 63.1% 61.8%
Equity / assets 36.9% 38.2%
Interest coverage – 10.6x
Current ratio 1.2x 3.8x
Quick ratio 0.8x 2.8x
Cash ratio 0.4x 1.9x
Altman Z-score – 6.72

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricERICCIEN
Dividend yield 2.9% –
Net buyback yield -2.3% -1.1%
Shareholder yield 0.6% -1.1%
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.

ConsensusERICCIEN
Forward P/E 16.7xFY2026 42.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.64FY2026 $7.60FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -31.9%FY2026 +187.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after 0.0% +64.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $24.06BFY2026 $6.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -8.5%FY2026 +43.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.7% +18.0%

Institutional Ownership

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

ERICCIEN
ERIC 1.00 0.31
CIEN 0.31 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ERIC and CIEN?

Ciena (CIEN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) $36.28B, Ciena (CIEN) $47.78B.

Which stock is cheaper, ERIC and CIEN?

Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 17.8x, Ciena (CIEN) 73.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) is cheapest (Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 16.7x, 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: Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) -38.5%, Ciena (CIEN) +32.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ciena (CIEN) returned the most: Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) +12.4%, Ciena (CIEN) +85.6%. Over five years, Ciena (CIEN) compounded fastest (Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) -1.6%/yr, Ciena (CIEN) +43.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) has been the steadiest (Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 36.4%, Ciena (CIEN) 77.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do ERIC and CIEN move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.31, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, ERIC 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, Ericsson Lm Telephone (ERIC) 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.