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Ciena — Earnings Presentation — Fiscal Third Quarter 2026 (Q3 FY2026)
Ciena (CIEN) · 26 slides · Filed Sep 3, 2026
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Slide 1 — Ciena Corporation
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. Ciena Corporation Fiscal Q3 2026 Earnings Presentation Period ended August 1, 2026 September 3, 2026
Slide 2 — Forward
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. 2 Forward - loking statements and non - GAP measures You are encouraged to review the Investors section of our website, where we routinely post pres releases, Securities and Exc han ge Comision (SEC) filings, recent news, financial results, suplemental financial information, and other anouncements. From time to time, we exclusively post material information to t his website along with other disclosure chanels that we use. Information in this presentation and related coments of presenters contains certain forward - loking statements that involve ris ks and uncertainties. These statements are based on curent expectations, forecasts, asumptions and other information available to the Company as of the date hereof. Forward - loking state ments include statements regarding Ciena's expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward - loking words such as "anticipate," "bel ieve," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," "wil," and "would" or similar words. Ciena's actual results, performance or events may difer materialy from these forward - loking statements made or implied due to a number of risks and uncertainties relating to Ciena's busines, including: the efect of broader economic and market conditions on our busines and that of our customers, including their sp end ing; the development and use of artificial inteligence and its impact on overal networking technology spending; our ability to execute our busines and growth strategies; suply chain con str aints or disruptions including increased costs and lead times; the introduction of new technologies by us or our competitors; the timing and size of customer orders, their delivery dates and our ability to fulfil and recognize revenue relating to such sales; the level of competitive presure we encounter; the product, customer and geographic mix of sales within the period; changes in f ore ign curency exchange rates; factors beyond our control such as natural disasters, climate change, acts of war or terorism, geopolitical tensions or events, and public health emergencies, epi demics, or pandemics; changes in tax or trade regulations, including the imposition of tarifs, duties or eforts to withdraw from or materialy modify international trade agrements; cyberatac ks, data breaches or other security incidents involving our enterprise network environment or our products; regulatory changes, litigation involving our intelectual property or government investi gat ions; and the other risk factors di filed with the Securities and Exchange Comision (SEC) including its Anual Report on Form 10 - K filed with the SEC on December 12, 2025 and included in its Quarterly Report on Form 10 - Q for the third quarter of fiscal 2026 to be filed with the SEC. Al information, statements, and projections in this presentation and the related earnings cal speak only as of the date of thi s presentation and related earnings cal. Ciena asumes no obligation to update any forward - loking or other information included in this presentation or related earnings cals, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In adition, this presentation includes historical, and may include prospective, non - GAAP measures of Ciena‘s gross margin, oper ating expense, operating margin, EBITDA, and net income per share. These measures are not intended to be a substitute for financial information presented in acordance with GAP. A reco nci liation of non - GAP measures used in this presentation to Ciena‘s GAAP results for the relevant period can be found in the Appendix to this presentat so be found in our pres release filed this morning and in our reports on Form 10 - Q and Form 10 - K filed with the Securities and Exchange Comision. With respect to Ciena‘s expectations under —Business Outlook", Ciena is not able to provid the adjusted (non - GAP) gros margin, adjusted (non - GAP) operating expense, and adjusted (non - GAP) operating margin guidance measures to the coresponding gros margin, operating expense, and op erating margin GAP measures without unreasonable eforts. Ciena canot provide meaningful estimates of the non - recuring charges and credits excluded from these non - GAP measure s due to the forward - loking nature of these estimates and their inherent variability and uncertainty. For the same reasons, Ciena is unable to adres the probable significance of the un available information. Note Regarding Market Data: Any market definitions, market share estimates, and competitive landscape depicted herein are pro vid ed for ilustrative and discusion purposes only. They are based on third - party industry analyst information and/or internal analyses derived from third - party inputs and may not reflect a ctual market conditions, competitive dynamics, or an exhaustive list of products, services, competitors, or technologies that may be relevant for any particular aplication.
Slide 3 — Table of Contents
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. 3 Table of Contents 1. Introduction to Ciena 2. Fiscal Q3 2026 financial performance 3. Fiscal Q4 2026 outlok and ful - year 2027 preliminary outlok 4. Apendix
Slide 4 — Executive Sumary
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. 4 Executive Sumary Optical technology is the transport engine that is the key enabler for customers to monetize their AI investments Ciena is the only pure - play optical systems provider operating at scale today Q3 2026 results demonstrate outstanding growth and operational excelence Delivered a record quarter acros the board Demand for our inovative solutions continues to increase as evidenced by our growing backlog and customer comitments, resulting in multi - year visibility To adres this long - term elevated demand, we have entered into long - term agrements (LTAs) with supliers and are confident in our ability to continue to take share
Slide 5 — Introduction to Ciena
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. Introduction to Ciena
Slide 6 — Ciena has global network reach and scale
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. 6 Ciena has global network reach and scale *Based on FYE2025 * Market share measures as of Q2 2026 exclude China. Market data is derived from third - party industry analysts. Such data is su bject to the asumptions, methodologies, and limitations of those sources and may not reflect actual, curent or complete market conditions. Ciena has not independently v eri fied the acuracy or completenes of this information. Scale and reach Recognized leadership Strategic focus $4.8B FY2025 Revenue 19% YoY growth 9,0+ Employes * Including 4,50+ R&D specialists 80+ Countries* Customers on six continents 1,70+ Customers * Worldwide #1 in Data Center Interconect Globaly * Del'Oro Group #1 in Total Optical Networking in N. America * Cignal AI, Del'Oro Group, Omdia #1 in Submarine Networks Globaly * Omdia Traditional Network WAN Network backbone, edge, and operations AI - WAN Data center interconect (DCI) and scale - acros Interconects Scale - up, scale - out and DC operations
Slide 7 — Data generation and bandwidth are continuing to grow
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. 7 Data generation and bandwidth are continuing to grow The size and scale of AI - driven investments are resulting in sustained high bandwidth growth
Slide 8 — Cloud Providers are the drivers of industry change
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. 8 Cloud Providers are the drivers of industry change Cloud Providers (CP) œand especialy the Hyperscalers œare funding an unprecedented scale of investment
Slide 9 — Q3 FY 2026 results
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. Q3 FY 2026 results
Slide 10 — Ciena's diferentiated position in AI is driving record Q3 performance
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. 10 Ciena's diferentiated position in AI is driving record Q3 performance ƒ Revenue: $1.7B, up 37% YoY • Cloud provider revenue: 53% of total, up 82% YoY • RLS and Waveserver revenue each grew more than 5% YoY • Plugables revenue more than doubled YoY as WaveLogic 6 Nano (WL6n) ramped meaningfuly • APAC revenue increased 58% YoY, with strength acros the region • Received a significant direct performance optics module order, expanding Ciena‘s participation in new hyperscaler technology consumption models • Secured a second multi - rail win, further validating Ciena‘s technology leadership in high - density photonic architectures for AI infrastructure • Record shipments in WL5e, WL6e, and WL6n, demonstrating strength acros high - performance modems and coherent plugables ƕ WL6n 80ZR plugables shipments more than doubled QoQ • Adj. gros margin: 46.4%, up +450bps YoY • Adj. operating margin: 2.5%, up +1,180bps YoY • Repurchased $172M in Q3; ~$65M returned under the $1B program • Completed a $2.9B, 0.0% coupon convertible debt ofering, lowering overal interest expense and enhancing financial flexibility Achieving broad - based growth Prioritizing long - term shareholder value Driving the pace of inovation
Slide 11 — Q3 FY 2026 comparative financial highlights
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. 1 Q3 FY 2026 comparative financial highlights * Reconciliations of these non - GAP measures to our GAP results are included in the Apendix and in the pres release for the r elative period. * Denotes % change, or in the case of margin, absolute change GAP Results Q3 FY 2025 Q2 FY2026 Q3 FY2026 YoY Change* Revenue $1.2B $1.57B $1.67B 37% Gros Margin 41.3% 4.0% 45.4% 410 bps Operating Expense $430M $454M $458M 7% Operating Margin 6.1% 15.1% 18.0% 1,190 bps EBITDA $109M $283M $350M 20% Fuly Diluted EPS $0.35 $1.49 $1.83 423% Non - GAP Results Q3 FY 2025 Q2 FY2026 Q3 FY2026 YoY Change* Revenue $1.2B $1.57B $1.67B 37% Adjusted Gros Margin* 41.9% 4.9% 46.4% 450 bps Adjusted Operating Expense* $380M $398M $40M 5% Adjusted Operating Margin* 10.7% 19.5% 2.5% 1,180 bps Adjusted EBITDA* $158M $342M $41M 160% Adjusted EPS* $0.67 $1.64 $2.1 215%
Slide 12 — Q3 FY 2026 comparative operating metrics
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. 12 Q3 FY 2026 comparative operating metrics Q3 FY 2025 Q3 FY 2026 YoY Change* Cash and investments $1.4B $2.8B 10% Cash provided by operations $174M $196M 13% Fre cash flow $135M $16M (14)% DSO 8 76 (12) Inventory turns 2.7x 3.5x 0.8x Net debt $204M $431M 11% Gros leverage 2.8x 2.6x (0.2)x * Denotes % change, or in the case of DSO, inventory turns, and gros leverage, absolute change
Slide 13 — Busines outlok
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. Busines outlok
Slide 14 — Key asumptions underlying our outlok
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. 14 Key asumptions underlying our outlok AI infrastructure investment: Cloud providers continue to execute on capital expenditure investment plans on AI infrastructure buildouts at levels consistent with recent public comitments. Suply chain: Global suply of optical components and substrates remains broadly stable, with no material disruptions to our ability to fulfil customer orders. Trade and tarif policy: No material change to curent US and international tarif and trade policy afecting our products or our customers‘ purchasing decisions. Foreign exchange: Curency exchange rates remain broadly consistent with levels prevailing at the time of this report. For aditional considerations relating to our outlok, please refer to our note about forward loking statements on Slide 2 a nd the risk factors disclosed in Ciena's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Comision.
Slide 15 — Busines outlok for fiscal Q4 2026
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. 15 Busines outlok for fiscal Q4 2026 1 1 Projections or outlok with respect to future operating results are only as of September 3, 2026, the date presented on the r el ated earnings cal. Actual results may difer materialy from these forward - loking statements. Ciena asumes no obligation to update this information, whether as a result of new inform ation, future events or otherwise. Fiscal Q4 2026 Revenue $1.75B plus or minus $50M Adjusted Gros Margin 45.0% plus or minus 50 bps Adjusted Operating Expense $415M plus or minus $10M Adjusted Operating Margin 20.0% plus or minus 50 bps
Slide 16 — Early view of outlok for fiscal year 2027
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. 16 Early view of outlok for fiscal year 2027 1 1 Projections or outlok with respect to future operating results are only as of September 3, 2026, the date presented on the r el ated earnings cal. Actual results may difer materialy from these forward - loking statements. Ciena asumes no obligation to update this information, whether as a result of new inform ation, future events or otherwise. Fiscal FY 2027 Revenue At least 30% growth Adjusted Gros Margin 45% to 46% Adjusted Operating Margin 25% to 27%
Slide 17 — Q3 FY 2026
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. Q3 FY 2026 apendix
Slide 18 — Glosary of terms
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. 18 Glosary of terms Term Definition Coherent optics A technology forsendingdataoverfberopcabesusnw – faster and more eficient than traditional methods at long distances WaveLogic Ciena‘s proprietary family of coherent optical chips – the core technology inside most of our networking products Data center interconect The optical conectionsthatlinkdatacentersoeachohe – the fastest - growing segment of the optical networking market RLS (reconfigurable line system) Optical network hardwarethatflexibyroutesampesandmanagew remotely reconfiguredwithoutphysicaysendngaechncano - site RLS Hyper - Rail Ciena's 6th generationoflinesystemsandhe2ndgeneaon fiber pairs –or rails –in paralel. Multi - rail systems are optimized for deploying multiple fibers over the same route, with each rail functioning as ahigh - capacity optical highway with dedicated amplification, monitoring, and control. DCOM Fiber - based Pasive Optical Network (PON) system that integrates Ethernet and console conectivity, enabling secure remote monitoring and controlevenwhentheprmarynewoksunavab - based out - of - band management infrastructurewithasimpermorescabeache 40G / 80G / 1.6T Shorthand for data transmisionspeds:4080o60gabpe – each generation roughly doubles the capacity of the previous Scale - acros Conects distributedAItrainingcustersacrosmupedaE separated GPU fabricsasasinglesystemdevenghebandwd - scale AI trainin g.
Slide 19 — Revenue by segment and margins
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. 19 Revenue by segment and margins * Reconciliations of these non - GAP measures to GAP results are included in this presentation. * Denotes % of total revenue
Slide 20 — Revenue by customer type
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. 20 Revenue by customer type
Slide 21 — Revenue by geographic region
© Ciena Corporation 2026. Al rights reserved. Proprietary Information. 21 Revenue by geographic region 9% 8% 1% 15% 14% 12% 76% 78% 78% 7% 14% 8% 10% 1% 79%