Sifting through countless of stocks in the Communications Equipment industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Cisco Systems, Inc. or Ciena Corporation because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Cisco Systems, Inc. and Ciena Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Cisco Systems, Inc. and Ciena Corporation

Cisco Systems, Inc. designs, develops, and sells technologies that help to power, secure, and draw insights from the internet in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Japan, and China. The company offers data center switching; network security, identity and access management, and secure access service edge; threat intelligence, detection, and response solutions; interconnects public and private wireline and mobile networks, delivering connectivity to campus, data center, and branch networks; WEBEX suite, collaboration devices, and contact center; communication platform as a service software, including perpetual licenses, subscription arrangements, and hardware solutions; network assurance, monitoring and analytics, and observability suite; issue resolution, software support, and hardware replacement; professional services, such as planning, design, implementation, and high-value consulting; service and support packages, financing, and managed network services; and regional, national, and international wireline carriers, webscale products, internet, and cable. It also delivers connectivity to campus, data center, and branch networks; wireless products, including indoor and outdoor wireless coverage designed for seamless roaming use of voice, video, and data applications; end-to-end collaboration solutions through cloud, on-premise, or within hybrid cloud environments, transition collaboration solutions from on-premise to the cloud; and network assurance, monitoring and analytics, and observability suite. In addition, it offers technical support and advisory services. The company serves businesses, public institutions, governments, and service providers. It sells its products and services directly, through systems integrators, service providers, resellers, and distributors. Cisco Systems, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Ciena Corporation, a network technology company, provides hardware, software, and services for various network operators in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Japan, and India. It operates through Networking Platforms, Platform Software and Services, Blue Planet Automation Software and Services, and Global Services segments. The Networking Platforms segment consists optical networking, routing, and switching products and services. This segment products include the 6500 Packet-Optical Platform, Waveserver modular interconnect system, the 6500 Reconfigurable Line System, and coherent pluggable transceivers; and the 3000 family of service delivery platforms and the 5000 family of service aggregation, as well as the 8100 Coherent Routing platforms and virtualization software. The Platform Software and Services segment offers navigator network control suite; and software subscription services, consulting, network migration and integration, installation and upgrade support services, and technical support solutions. The Blue Planet Automation Software and Services segment inventory management, orchestration, route optimization and analysis, and unified assurance and analytics software; and sells subscription, installation, support, consulting, and design services related to the Blue Planet automation platform. The Global Services segment provides services for advisory and enablement, implementation, and maintenance, support, and learning activities. Ciena Corporation was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Hanover, Maryland.

Latest Communications Equipment and Cisco Systems, Inc., Ciena Corporation Stock News

As of June 2, 2026, Cisco Systems, Inc. had a $504.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Communications Equipment median of $621.6 million. Cisco Systems, Inc.’s stock is up 66.2% in 2026, up 8.2% in the previous five trading days and up 103.05% in the past year.

Currently, Cisco Systems, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 42.7. Cisco Systems, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $60.7 billion with a 19.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 12.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.278 per share for the current fiscal year. Cisco Systems, Inc. currently has a 1.3% dividend yield.

As of June 2, 2026, Ciena Corporation had a $88.7 billion market cap, putting it in the 96th percentile of all stocks. Ciena Corporation’s stock is up 168.1% in 2026, up 4.1% in the previous five trading days and up 683.16% in the past year.

Currently, Ciena Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 398.6. Ciena Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $5.1 billion with a 4.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 33.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.248 per share for the current fiscal year. Ciena Corporation does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Cisco Systems, Inc. and Ciena Corporation Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Cisco Systems, Inc. and Ciena Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Cisco Systems, Inc. and Ciena Corporation Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Cisco Systems, Inc.	CSCO	B
Ciena Corporation	CIEN	B

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Cisco Systems, Inc. has a Growth Score of 73, which is Strong. Ciena Corporation has a Growth Score of 61, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both Cisco Systems, Inc. and Ciena Corporation have a grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

Cisco Systems, Inc. and Ciena Corporation’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Cisco Systems, Inc.	CSCO	A
Ciena Corporation	CIEN	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Cisco Systems, Inc. has a Quality Score of 87, which is Very Strong. Ciena Corporation has a Quality Score of 81, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both Cisco Systems, Inc. and Ciena Corporation have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

Cisco Systems, Inc. and Ciena Corporation’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Cisco Systems, Inc.	CSCO	A
Ciena Corporation	CIEN	A

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Cisco Systems, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 89, which is Very Strong. Ciena Corporation has a Momentum Score of 98, which is Very Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Momentum Grade breakdown above, both Cisco Systems, Inc. and Ciena Corporation have a grade of A. For those who focus solely on a company’s momentum, further research will need to be conducted into both companies to see if they fit your individual needs as an investor.

Other Cisco Systems, Inc. and Ciena Corporation Grades

In addition to Growth, Momentum and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Estimate Revisions.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Cisco Systems, Inc. and Ciena Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Cisco Systems, Inc. or Ciena Corporation Stock?

Overall, Cisco Systems, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 73, Momentum Score of 89 and Quality Score of 87.

Ciena Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 61, Momentum Score of 98 and Quality Score of 81.

Comparing Cisco Systems, Inc. and Ciena Corporation’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.