Ciena (CIEN) Q3 FY2026 earnings: revenue $1.7 billion, up 37.0% on the year

Ciena Corp. (CIEN) reported revenue of $1.7 billion for Q3 FY2026, the quarter ended 1 August 2026, up 37.0% on the same quarter a year earlier. Net income was $266 million, up 429.6% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $1.83. The figures are the company's own, from the 10-Q it filed with the SEC on 3 September 2026.

Revenue

$1.7 billion

+37.0% on the year · +6.4% on the quarter

Q4 FY2024Q3 FY2026

Operating margin

18.0%

6.0% a year earlier

Q4 FY2024Q3 FY2026

Net income

$266 million

+429.6% on the year · +22.1% on the quarter

Q4 FY2024Q3 FY2026

Diluted EPS

$1.83

+422.9% on the year · +22.8% on the quarter

Q4 FY2024Q3 FY2026

this quarterthe same quarter a year earlierHover a bar for its figure.

What management said

Guidance figures: 1 raised, 4 new.

Revenue rose 37% year over year: Revenue was $1.67 billion against $1.22 billion a year earlier, a 37% increase.
Adjusted EPS rose to $2.11: Adjusted diluted EPS was $2.11 against $0.67; GAAP diluted EPS was $1.83 against $0.35. Adjusted EPS was up 215%.
Optical networking was the largest line: Optical Networking revenue was $1,191.3 million, or 71.3% of the total, against $815.5 million, or 66.9%, a year earlier.

Read the earnings call summary

Income statement (profit and loss)

$ million	Q3 FY2026	Q2 FY2026	Q3 FY2025	On the quarter	On the year
Revenue	1,671	1,571	1,219	+6.4%	+37.0%
Cost of revenue	912	879	716	+3.7%	+27.3%
Gross profit	759	692	503	+9.8%	+50.9%
Gross margin	45.4%	44.0%	41.3%
Research and development	237	238	212	-0.5%	+11.7%
Operating income	301	238	73.5	+26.6%	+309.6%
Operating margin	18.0%	15.1%	6.0%
Interest expense	5.8	20.9	22.8	-72.3%	-74.6%
Pre-tax income	311	231	65.8	+34.4%	+371.9%
Income tax	44.2	12.8	15.5	+244.3%	+185.0%
Effective tax rate	14.2%	5.6%	23.6%
Net income	266	218	50.3	+22.1%	+429.6%
Net margin	15.9%	13.9%	4.1%
Diluted EPS	$1.83	$1.49	$0.35	+22.8%	+422.9%

$ million except per share.

Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Those four are arithmetic on the filed numbers; everything else is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and share counts are as they are.

Cash flow

$ million	Q3 FY2026	Q2 FY2026	Q3 FY2025	On the quarter	On the year
Operating cash flow	196	260	174	-24.4%	+12.6%
Capital expenditure	80.0	41.0	39.8	+94.8%	+101.2%
Free cash flow	116	219	135	-46.8%	-13.6%
Free cash flow margin	7.0%	13.9%	11.0%
Cash from investing	-117	-154	19.7
Cash from financing	1,323	-181	-84.9
Depreciation and amortisation	39.0	38.4	33.4	+1.6%	+16.8%
Share-based compensation	57.9	55.5	46.9	+4.3%	+23.3%
Buybacks	173	84.4	81.8	+105.0%	+111.4%
Diluted shares, weighted	146m	146m	144m	-0.2%	+1.0%
Shares outstanding at period end	142m	142m	141m	+0.2%	+0.4%

Cash flow lines for the quarter; where the company files them year to date, the quarter is the difference between two filings.

Balance sheet

$ million	Q3 FY2026	Q2 FY2026	Q3 FY2025	On the quarter	On the year
Shareholders' equity	3,057	2,892	2,787	+5.7%	+9.7%
Debt	3,230	1,531	1,538	+110.9%	+110.0%
Operating lease liabilities	38.6	32.0	34.5	+20.7%	+12.0%
Other liabilities	1,672	1,584	1,389	+5.5%	+20.4%
Total liabilities and equity	7,997	6,039	5,749	+32.4%	+39.1%
Fixed assets	492	n/a	n/a
Goodwill	513	520	445	-1.4%	+15.4%
Intangible assets	189	202	139	-6.6%	+36.2%
Investments	398	358	335	+11.2%	+18.8%
Cash and equivalents	2,446	1,045	1,056	+134.0%	+131.6%
Receivables	1,234	1,053	1,026	+17.2%	+20.3%
Inventory	872	808	860	+7.9%	+1.3%
Other assets	1,854	2,053	1,889	-9.7%	-1.8%
Total assets	7,997	6,039	5,749	+32.4%	+39.1%

Questions

What was Ciena's revenue in Q3 FY2026?

Ciena (CIEN) reported revenue of $1.7 billion for Q3 FY2026, the quarter ended 1 August 2026, up 37.0% on the same quarter a year earlier.

How much did Ciena earn in Q3 FY2026?

Net income for Q3 FY2026 was $266 million, up 429.6% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $1.83.

When did Ciena report Q3 FY2026 results?

Ciena filed its 10-Q for the quarter ended 1 August 2026 with the SEC on 3 September 2026.

Quarterly results, the last 20 quarters

	Q4 FY2021 *	Q1 FY2022	Q2 FY2022	Q3 FY2022	Q4 FY2022 *	Q1 FY2023	Q2 FY2023	Q3 FY2023	Q4 FY2023 *	Q1 FY2024	Q2 FY2024	Q3 FY2024	Q4 FY2024 *	Q1 FY2025	Q2 FY2025	Q3 FY2025	Q4 FY2025 *	Q1 FY2026	Q2 FY2026	Q3 FY2026
Revenue	1,041	844	949	868	971	1,057	1,133	1,068	1,129	1,038	911	942	1,124	1,072	1,126	1,219	1,352	1,427	1,571	1,671
Cost of revenue	564	460	547	527	537	601	645	619	643	571	522	538	664	600	673	716	775	802	879	912
Gross profit	477	384	402	341	434	456	488	449	486	467	389	404	460	472	453	503	577	626	692	759
Gross margin	46%	45%	42%	39%	45%	43%	43%	42%	43%	45%	43%	43%	41%	44%	40%	41%	43%	44%	44%	45%
R&D	147	148	159	150	167	182	190	189	189	187	195	189	196	193	215	212	229	221	238	237
Operating income	137	60.0	58.4	27.1	77.3	85.2	103	78.2	91.3	84.6	-4.0	26.7	59.2	80.7	32.8	73.5	10.5	189	238	301
Operating margin	13%	7%	6%	3%	8%	8%	9%	7%	8%	8%	-0%	3%	5%	8%	3%	6%	1%	13%	15%	18%
Interest expense	7.9	8.6	12.0	12.6	13.8	15.9	23.9	24.1	24.2	23.8	23.9	24.4	25.0	22.9	21.7	22.8	22.0	21.3	20.9	5.8
Pre-tax income	129	55.0	47.3	14.8	65.4	101	87.5	64.3	70.5	71.5	-16.0	16.4	48.0	68.6	19.0	65.8	2.9	181	231	311
Tax rate	20%	17%	18%	29%	12%	25%	34%	54%	-29%	31%	n/a	13%	23%	35%	53%	24%	-582%	17%	6%	14%
Net income	103	45.8	38.9	10.5	57.6	76.2	57.7	29.7	91.2	49.5	-16.8	14.2	37.0	44.6	9.0	50.3	19.5	150	218	266
Net margin	10%	5%	4%	1%	6%	7%	5%	3%	8%	5%	-2%	2%	3%	4%	1%	4%	1%	11%	14%	16%
Diluted EPS	$0.66	$0.29	$0.25	$0.07	$0.39	$0.51	$0.38	$0.20	$0.62	$0.34	-$0.12	$0.10	$0.25	$0.31	$0.06	$0.35	$0.13	$1.03	$1.49	$1.83
Operating cash flow	255	-54.4	107	-205	-14.5	-266	230	8.7	195	266	58.5	-159	349	104	157	174	371	228	260	196
Capital expenditure	12.3	25.8	19.4	21.7	23.9	30.0	28.0	25.4	22.8	16.6	16.9	19.6	83.5	26.9	28.7	39.8	45.4	73.9	41.0	80.0
Free cash flow	243	-80.2	87.1	-227	-38.4	-296	202	-16.7	173	249	41.6	-179	266	76.8	128	135	326	154	219	116
Buybacks	n/a	250	82.8	155	13.0	0.0	0.0	57.7	184	38.2	56.6	31.0	129	81.2	87.0	81.8	84.5	80.5	84.4	173
Shares outstanding	155m	153m	151m	148m	148m	149m	149m	149m	145m	145m	144m	144m	143m	143m	142m	141m	141m	141m	142m	142m
Filing	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q

Each quarter as filed, linked to its filing.

* The fourth quarter is the full year less the first three quarters, because the company files the year and not the quarter on its own. A fourth quarter's EPS, and its diluted share count where shown, are from the company's results press release for that quarter, checked against the company's filed figures or a second data source. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and the share count are as they are. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Cash flow lines filed year to date are the difference between two filings. Shares outstanding are at the period end where the balance sheet tags them, otherwise the count on the filing's cover page. A derived fourth-quarter EPS is left blank when a split in the year makes the arithmetic meaningless.

10-Q for the period ended 1 August 2026, filed 3 September 2026: the filing.