Ciena vs F5
Ciena reported revenue of $4.8 billion in fiscal 2025, 1.5 times F5's $3.1 billion in fiscal 2025. Ciena's revenue grew 18.8% in its latest year, and F5's grew 9.7%. Ciena had an operating margin of 4.1%, against 24.8% at F5. Free cash flow was $665 million at Ciena and $906 million at F5. Their fiscal years end in different months (November 1 and September 30), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| Ciena | F5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Nov 1, 2025 | FY2025, Sep 30, 2025 |
| Revenue | $4.8B | $3.1B |
| Revenue growth | 18.8% | 9.7% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 6.2% | 5.6% |
| Gross margin | 42.0% | 81.4% |
| Operating margin | 4.1% | 24.8% |
| Net margin | 2.6% | 22.4% |
| Free cash flow | $665M | $906M |
| Free cash flow margin | 13.9% | 29.4% |
| Return on capital | 5.1% | 30.5% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 0.8x | −1.6x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $334M | $502M |
| Change in diluted share count | −0.5% | −1.1% |
| Last close | $335.93 | $461.60 |
| P/E at the last close | 75.0× | 36.8× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | sold $101.4 million | sold $29.1 million |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 of 9 | 8 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
CienaF5
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
CienaF5
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
CienaF5