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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 52 cents per share, implying a 48.6% increase from the year-ago level.
The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $1.17 billion, suggesting a 24.4% rise from the prior-year level. For the fiscal third quarter, management expects revenues to be in the range of $1.13 billion to $1.21 billion.
Ciena’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the last four quarters while lagging in the remaining. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 15.3%, on average. Shares of the company have risen 63% in the past year compared with the Zacks Communication-Components industry's growth of 57.5%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Factors Shaping CIEN’s Q3 Results
Ciena is likely to have benefited from strong performance in cloud provider revenues, WaveLogic (WLe) platform traction and increasing adoption of Blue Planet automation software in the fiscal third quarter. Direct cloud provider revenues hit a record 38% of total revenues in the fiscal second quarter, driven by 85% year-over-year growth, with orders in the previous quarter surpassing revenues. The company is on track to double cloud provider orders in fiscal 2025, with two major new data center-related wins expected to generate additional revenues later in fiscal 2025 and in 2026.
Ciena generates most of its revenues from packet optical transport, switching products and network management software, while expanding into data center connectivity to enhance its end-to-end optical and data solutions. Increasing bandwidth demand is prompting telecom carriers to upgrade their networks, supporting Ciena’s long-term growth. As a leading provider of 40G and 100G optical transport, the company sees strong adoption of its Fiber Deep technology among major global cable operators.
With its interconnect and pluggables portfolio gaining traction, Ciena projects its addressable market to reach $13 billion by 2028 at a 26% CAGR. It remains on track to double year-over-year revenues from coherent pluggable optics to at least $150 million in fiscal 2025. Management acknowledged that pluggables and RLS currently have lower-than-average margins but expects improvement as cost reductions and scale are realized. We estimate sales from optical networking to reach $780 million in the fiscal third quarter, up 28.5% year over year.
CIEN’s WaveLogic portfolio is essential for constructing top-tier network backbones for the AI and cloud economy, both on land and underwater. In the fiscal second quarter, the company added 10 new WaveLogic 5 Extreme customers, increasing the total to 344 worldwide. WaveLogic 5 Nano pluggables are gaining momentum, now shipping to 178 cloud and service provider customers. A global cloud provider selected Ciena’s 800G pluggables and RLS photonics for its regional GPU clusters. Revenues from this initiative are expected to start coming in later this year and expand in 2026. We anticipate revenues from Blue Planet Automation Software and Services to rise 70.4% year over year to $44 million in the quarter.
Nonetheless, Ciena faces risks from new tariffs and trade actions, which could raise component costs, disrupt supply chains and dampen global demand, pressuring margins and slowing international growth. Expenses are climbing, with quarterly costs now expected to be $360–$370 million per quarter for the year compared with the prior view of $350-$360 million, due to expansion investments and $10 million higher incentive payouts. We estimate fiscal third-quarter adjusted operating costs to be $371.4 million, up 10.5%.
Furthermore, it remains exposed to customer concentration risk, with two clients contributing 23.9% of total fiscal second-quarter revenues, making the loss of any key account a potential performance setback. Management also noted margin pressure from a higher mix of lower-margin pluggables and RLS, though efficiencies and mix shifts are expected to improve profitability.
For the fiscal third quarter, revenues from Global Services and Platform Software and Services are pegged at $146.9 million and $100.7 million, respectively, up 9.8% and 21% year over year.
Key Business Updates
In August 2025, Ciena’s WLe6 was adopted by BR.Digital to meet Brazil’s rising need for high-capacity connectivity. Using WL6e technology, the company achieved a milestone of transmitting 1.1 Tb/s on a single wavelength over distances exceeding 800 km, showcasing its capability to deliver large-scale, high-speed data transfer.
Also, DFA and Ciena achieved a world-first by transmitting 1.6 Tbps over a single wavelength using WaveRouter and WLe6 Extreme, quadrupling prior trial performance on a 40 km route in South Africa.
In June, Ciena partnered with Telxius to achieve the industry’s first 1.3 Tb/s single-wavelength optical transmission across the 6,600-km Marea submarine cable, connecting Virginia Beach, USA, to Bilbao, Spain. The project aims to meet the increasing global demand for high-capacity, low-latency bandwidth driven by the ongoing growth in AI and cloud computing.
Also, EY and Ciena (via Blue Planet) tied up to help clients speed up digital transformation, boost efficiency and enhance customer experience using Ciena’s cloud and AI-based automation software for inventory, orchestration and assurance.
What Our Model Predicts for CIEN
Our proven model does not predict an earnings beat for CIEN in this earnings season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. This is not the case here.
CIEN has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Stocks With the Favorable Combination
Here are some companies that, according to our model, have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this season:
Dollar Tree Inc. ((DLTR - Free Report) ) currently has an Earnings ESP of +7.90% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The consensus mark for DLTR’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $4.45 billion, which indicates a plunge of 39.6% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Dollar Tree’s earnings has moved up by a penny in the past seven days to 38 cents per share. The consensus estimate indicates a fall of 43.3% from the year-ago quarter’s actual. It is set to report quarterly results on Sept. 3, before market open.
Macy’s ((M - Free Report) ) currently has an Earnings ESP of +7.53% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The consensus mark for M’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $4.72 billion, which indicates a decline of 4.4% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for M’s earnings has moved up by a penny in the past 30 days to 19 cents per share. The consensus estimate indicates a fall of 64% from the year-ago quarter’s actual. It is set to report quarterly results on Sept. 3, before market open.
Broadcom Inc. ((AVGO - Free Report) ) currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.16% and a Zacks Rank of 2. The consensus mark for AVGO’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $15.8 billion, which indicates a rise of 21% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AVGO’s earnings has remained unchanged in the past 60 days at $1.66 per share. The consensus estimate indicates growth of 33.9% from the year-ago quarter’s actual. It is set to report quarterly results on Sept. 4, after market close.
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Ciena Gears Up to Release Q3 Earnings: Here's What to Expect
Key Takeaways
Ciena Corporation ((CIEN - Free Report) ) is scheduled to report third-quarter fiscal 2025 results on Sept. 4, before market open.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 52 cents per share, implying a 48.6% increase from the year-ago level.
The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $1.17 billion, suggesting a 24.4% rise from the prior-year level. For the fiscal third quarter, management expects revenues to be in the range of $1.13 billion to $1.21 billion.
Ciena’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the last four quarters while lagging in the remaining. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 15.3%, on average. Shares of the company have risen 63% in the past year compared with the Zacks Communication-Components industry's growth of 57.5%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Factors Shaping CIEN’s Q3 Results
Ciena is likely to have benefited from strong performance in cloud provider revenues, WaveLogic (WLe) platform traction and increasing adoption of Blue Planet automation software in the fiscal third quarter. Direct cloud provider revenues hit a record 38% of total revenues in the fiscal second quarter, driven by 85% year-over-year growth, with orders in the previous quarter surpassing revenues. The company is on track to double cloud provider orders in fiscal 2025, with two major new data center-related wins expected to generate additional revenues later in fiscal 2025 and in 2026.
Ciena generates most of its revenues from packet optical transport, switching products and network management software, while expanding into data center connectivity to enhance its end-to-end optical and data solutions. Increasing bandwidth demand is prompting telecom carriers to upgrade their networks, supporting Ciena’s long-term growth. As a leading provider of 40G and 100G optical transport, the company sees strong adoption of its Fiber Deep technology among major global cable operators.
With its interconnect and pluggables portfolio gaining traction, Ciena projects its addressable market to reach $13 billion by 2028 at a 26% CAGR. It remains on track to double year-over-year revenues from coherent pluggable optics to at least $150 million in fiscal 2025. Management acknowledged that pluggables and RLS currently have lower-than-average margins but expects improvement as cost reductions and scale are realized. We estimate sales from optical networking to reach $780 million in the fiscal third quarter, up 28.5% year over year.
CIEN’s WaveLogic portfolio is essential for constructing top-tier network backbones for the AI and cloud economy, both on land and underwater. In the fiscal second quarter, the company added 10 new WaveLogic 5 Extreme customers, increasing the total to 344 worldwide. WaveLogic 5 Nano pluggables are gaining momentum, now shipping to 178 cloud and service provider customers. A global cloud provider selected Ciena’s 800G pluggables and RLS photonics for its regional GPU clusters. Revenues from this initiative are expected to start coming in later this year and expand in 2026. We anticipate revenues from Blue Planet Automation Software and Services to rise 70.4% year over year to $44 million in the quarter.
Ciena Corporation Price and EPS Surprise
Ciena Corporation price-eps-surprise | Ciena Corporation Quote
Nonetheless, Ciena faces risks from new tariffs and trade actions, which could raise component costs, disrupt supply chains and dampen global demand, pressuring margins and slowing international growth. Expenses are climbing, with quarterly costs now expected to be $360–$370 million per quarter for the year compared with the prior view of $350-$360 million, due to expansion investments and $10 million higher incentive payouts. We estimate fiscal third-quarter adjusted operating costs to be $371.4 million, up 10.5%.
Furthermore, it remains exposed to customer concentration risk, with two clients contributing 23.9% of total fiscal second-quarter revenues, making the loss of any key account a potential performance setback. Management also noted margin pressure from a higher mix of lower-margin pluggables and RLS, though efficiencies and mix shifts are expected to improve profitability.
For the fiscal third quarter, revenues from Global Services and Platform Software and Services are pegged at $146.9 million and $100.7 million, respectively, up 9.8% and 21% year over year.
Key Business Updates
In August 2025, Ciena’s WLe6 was adopted by BR.Digital to meet Brazil’s rising need for high-capacity connectivity. Using WL6e technology, the company achieved a milestone of transmitting 1.1 Tb/s on a single wavelength over distances exceeding 800 km, showcasing its capability to deliver large-scale, high-speed data transfer.
Also, DFA and Ciena achieved a world-first by transmitting 1.6 Tbps over a single wavelength using WaveRouter and WLe6 Extreme, quadrupling prior trial performance on a 40 km route in South Africa.
In June, Ciena partnered with Telxius to achieve the industry’s first 1.3 Tb/s single-wavelength optical transmission across the 6,600-km Marea submarine cable, connecting Virginia Beach, USA, to Bilbao, Spain. The project aims to meet the increasing global demand for high-capacity, low-latency bandwidth driven by the ongoing growth in AI and cloud computing.
Also, EY and Ciena (via Blue Planet) tied up to help clients speed up digital transformation, boost efficiency and enhance customer experience using Ciena’s cloud and AI-based automation software for inventory, orchestration and assurance.
What Our Model Predicts for CIEN
Our proven model does not predict an earnings beat for CIEN in this earnings season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. This is not the case here.
CIEN has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Stocks With the Favorable Combination
Here are some companies that, according to our model, have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this season:
Dollar Tree Inc. ((DLTR - Free Report) ) currently has an Earnings ESP of +7.90% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The consensus mark for DLTR’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $4.45 billion, which indicates a plunge of 39.6% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Dollar Tree’s earnings has moved up by a penny in the past seven days to 38 cents per share. The consensus estimate indicates a fall of 43.3% from the year-ago quarter’s actual. It is set to report quarterly results on Sept. 3, before market open.
Macy’s ((M - Free Report) ) currently has an Earnings ESP of +7.53% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The consensus mark for M’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $4.72 billion, which indicates a decline of 4.4% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for M’s earnings has moved up by a penny in the past 30 days to 19 cents per share. The consensus estimate indicates a fall of 64% from the year-ago quarter’s actual. It is set to report quarterly results on Sept. 3, before market open.
Broadcom Inc. ((AVGO - Free Report) ) currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.16% and a Zacks Rank of 2. The consensus mark for AVGO’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $15.8 billion, which indicates a rise of 21% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AVGO’s earnings has remained unchanged in the past 60 days at $1.66 per share. The consensus estimate indicates growth of 33.9% from the year-ago quarter’s actual. It is set to report quarterly results on Sept. 4, after market close.