Ciena 10-Q 2023-04-29

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark one)

For the quarterly period ended April 29, 2023

OR

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number: 001-36250

Ciena Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)

7035 Ridge Road, Hanover, MD

(Address of principal executive offices)

23-2725311

(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

21076

(Zip Code)

(410) 694-5700

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☑ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☑ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☑

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date:

CIENA CORPORATION

INDEX

FORM 10-Q

PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION

CIENA CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands, except per share data)

(unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

CIENA CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(in thousands)

(unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

CIENA CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands, except share data)

(unaudited)

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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This report contains statements that discuss future events or expectations, projections of results of operations or financial condition, changes in the markets for our products and services, trends in our business, operational matters including the expansion of manufacturing capacity and accumulation of inventory, business prospects and strategies and other “forward-looking” information. Forward-looking statements may appear throughout this report, including in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors.” In some cases, you can identify “forward-looking statements” by words like “may,” “will,” “would,” “can,” “should,” “could,” “expects,” “future,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “intends,” “potential,” “projects,” “targets,” “prepare,” or “continue” or the negative of those words and other comparable words. You should be aware that the forward-looking statements contained in this report are based on our current views and assumptions, and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially.

For a discussion identifying some of the important factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” in this report. For a more complete understanding of the risks associated with an investment in our securities, you should review these factors and the rest of this report in combination with the more detailed description of our business and management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and risk factors described in our annual report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2022, which we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on December 16, 2022 (our “2022 Annual Report”). However, we operate in a very competitive and dynamic environment and new risks and uncertainties emerge, are identified or become apparent from time to time and therefore may not be identified in this report. We cannot predict all risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements contained in this report. You should be aware that the forward-looking statements contained in this report are based on our current views and assumptions. We undertake no obligation to revise or to update any forward-looking statements made in this report to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. The forward-looking statements in this report are intended to be subject to protection afforded by the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Unless the context requires otherwise, references in this report to “Ciena,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Ciena Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Overview

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations should be read in conjunction with our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying notes thereto included in Item 1 of Part I of this report and in Item 8 of Part II of our 2022 Annual Report.

We are a networking systems, services, and software company, providing solutions that enable a wide range of network operators to deploy and manage next-generation networks that deliver services to businesses and consumers. We provide hardware, software, and services that support the delivery of video, data, and voice traffic over core, metro, aggregation, and access communications networks. Our solutions are used globally by communications service providers, cable and multiservice operators, Web-scale providers, submarine network operators, governments, and enterprises across multiple industry verticals. Our portfolio is designed to enable the Adaptive Network, which is our vision for a network end state that leverages a programmable and scalable network infrastructure, driven by software control and automation capabilities, that are informed by analytics and intelligence. Our solutions include Networking Platforms, including our Converged Packet Optical and Routing and Switching portfolios, which can be applied from the network core to end-user access points, and which allow network operators to scale capacity, increase transmission speeds, allocate traffic efficiently and adapt dynamically to changing end-user service demands. To complement our Networking Platforms, we offer Platform Software, which includes our Manage, Control and Plan (“MCP”) applications that deliver advanced multi-layer domain control and operations. Through our Blue Planet Software we also enable complete service lifecycle management automation with productized open source software (OSS) and service assurance solutions that help our customers to achieve closed loop automation across multi-vendor and multi-domain environments.

Order Volumes

From the second quarter of fiscal 2021 through the third quarter of fiscal 2022, we received an unprecedented volume of orders for our products and services. Our quarterly order volumes during this period significantly exceeded our revenue and historical order volumes, with concentration of orders among certain existing Web-scale and North America-based service provider customers. We believe some portion of these orders reflected customer acceleration of future orders due to lengthened

lead times or the implementation of security of supply strategies to address the supply constraints described below. We also believe some portion of these orders reflected pre-pandemic design wins for which orders were delayed due to the dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our order volumes began to moderate in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022. We have continued to experience reduced orders relative to revenue in the first half of fiscal 2023 and order volumes lower than those received during the second quarter of fiscal 2021 through the third quarter of fiscal 2022. We believe this reduction has been in part due to customers no longer needing to place significant advanced orders as supply chain conditions and lead times have improved. However, over the longer term, we continue to believe that certain trends and shifts in business and consumer behaviors, including enterprise and consumer cloud network adoption, 5G, high-definition video, generative AI, and network operator focus on resilience and automation, represent positive, long-term opportunities for our business.

Backlog and Order Delivery Timing

Historically, a meaningful portion of our quarterly revenue was generated from customer orders received during that same quarter (which we refer to as “book to revenue”) and therefore less predictable and subject to fluctuation. As a result of elevated order volumes in recent prior periods and the supply chain constraints described below, however, we generated a significant backlog of customer orders, and, more recently, our quarterly results have been more significantly impacted by availability of supply, as well as customer delivery deferrals of existing backlog. Our backlog grew from $1.2 billion at the end of fiscal 2020 to $4.2 billion at the end of fiscal 2022. As supply chain conditions have begun to improve and we have been able to increase shipment volumes and reduce lead times, our backlog has decreased during the first half of fiscal 2023. We expect our backlog to continue to reduce during the remainder of fiscal 2023 as supply chain conditions improve and customers place fewer advanced orders. As that happens, we expect our reliance upon securing quarterly book to revenue orders to grow and those orders to represent a more typical compositio

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We are exposed to market risk related to changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates. For a discussion of quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk, see Item 7A of Part II of our 2022 Annual Report.

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

As of the end of the period covered by this report, we carried out an evaluation under the supervision and with the participation of management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). Based upon this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) during the most recently completed fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

PART II — OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

The information set forth under the heading “Litigation” in Note 23 to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this report, is incorporated herein by reference.

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before investing in our securities, you should consider carefully the information contained in this report and in our 2022 Annual Report, including the risk factors identified in Item 1A of Part I thereof (Risk Factors). This report contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations” above. Our actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Any of the risks discussed in our 2022 Annual Report, in this report, in other reports we file with the SEC, and other risks we have not anticipated or discussed, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Except as set forth below, there has been no material change to our Risk Factors from those presented in our 2022 Annual Report.

Our revenue, gross margin, and operating results can fluctuate significantly and unpredictably from quarter to quarter.

Our revenue, gross margin, and results of operations can fluctuate significantly and unpredictably from quarter to quarter. Our budgeted expense levels are based on our visibility into customer spending plans and our projections of future revenue and

gross margin. Visibility into customer spending levels can be uncertain, spending patterns are subject to change, and reductions in our expense levels can take significant time to implement. Historically, a significant portion of our quarterly revenue was generated from customer orders received during that same quarter (which we refer to as “book to revenue”) and therefore less predictable and subject to fluctuation due to a quarterly shortfall in orders from expectations. During fiscal 2022, however, we generated a significant backlog of customer orders, and more recently, our quarterly results have been more significantly impacted by availability of supply, as well as customer delivery deferrals of existing backlog. Given their elevated order levels in prior periods, during the first half of fiscal 2023, certain customers, including communications service providers and cable and multiservice operators in North America and Web-scale providers, have rescheduled deliveries of existing orders, including in some cases until after the end of fiscal 2023. We expect our backlog to continue to reduce during the remainder of fiscal 2023 as supply chain conditions improve and customers place fewer advanced orders. As that happens, we expect our reliance upon securing quarterly book to revenue orders to grow and those orders to represent a more typical composition of our quarterly revenue over time. However, within these dynamics, our results for a particular period can be difficult to predict. These dynamics, as well as a range of factors, including those set forth below, can materially adversely affect quarterly revenue, gross margin, and operating results:

• changes in spending levels or network deployment plans by customers, particularly with respect to our service provider and Web-scale provider customers;

• order timing and volume, including book to revenue orders;

• the timing of revenue recognition on sales, particularly relating to large orders;

• availability of components and manufacturing capacity;

• shipment and delivery timing;

• backlog levels;

• the level of competition and pricing pressure in our industry;

• the pace and impact of price erosion that we regularly encounter in our markets;

• the impact of commercial concessions or unfavorable commercial terms required to maintain incumbency or secure new opportunities with key customers;

• the mix of revenue by product segment, geography, and customer in any particular quarter;

• our level of success in achieving targeted cost reductions and improved efficiencies in our supply chain;

• our incurrence of start-up costs, including lower margin phases of projects required to support initial deployments, gain new customers or enter new markets;

• our level of success in accessing new markets and obtaining new customers;

• long- and short-term changing behaviors or customer needs that impact demand for our products and services or the products and services of our customers;

• technology-based price compression and our introduction of new platforms with improved price for performance;

• changing market, economic, and political conditions, including the impact of tariffs and other trade restrictions or efforts to withdraw from or materially modify international trade agreements;

• factors beyond our control such as natural disasters, climate change, acts of war or terrorism, and public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic;

• the financial stability of our customers and suppliers;

• consolidation activity among our customers, suppliers. and competitors;

• installation service availability and readiness of customer sites;

• adverse impact of foreign exchange; and

• seasonal effects in our business.

As a result of these factors and other conditions affecting our business and operating results, we believe that quarterly comparisons of our operating results are not necessarily a good indication of possible future performance. Quarterly fluctuations from the above factors may cause our revenue, gross margin, and results of operations to underperform in relation to our guidance, long-term financial targets or the expectations of financial analysts or investors, which may cause volatility or decreases in our stock price.

Our backlog may not be an accurate indicator of our level and timing of future revenues.

As a result of order volumes growth in prior periods, together with supply chain constrains, our backlog grew from $1.2 billion at the end of fiscal 2020 to $4.2 billion at the end of fiscal 2022. However, our order volumes began to moderate in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022. We expect order volumes to continue to moderate and normalize over time and we do not expect the very high level of orders we experienced in earlier periods in fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022 to continue in the long-term. As order growth moderates and supply chain conditions improve, we expect our backlog to reduce, which was the case in the first half of fiscal 2023. Backlog may be fulfilled several quarters following receipt of a purchase order, either due to customer schedules or delays caused by supply chain constraints. Generally, our customers may cancel, delay delivery or change their orders with limited advance notice, or they may decide not to accept our products and services, although instances of both

cancellation and non-acceptance have been rare historically. Backlog also includes certain service obligations that may relate to a multi-year support period. As a result, backlog should not necessarily be viewed as an accurate indicator of future revenue for any particular period.

Accurately matching necessary inventory levels to customer demand within the current environment is challenging, and we may incur additional costs or be required to write off significant inventory that would adversely impact our results of operations.

From the second quarter of fiscal 2021 through the third quarter of fiscal 2022, we received unprecedented orders for our products and services, and matching necessary inventory to fulfill that demand within the current supply constrained environment is challenging. We have taken and continue to take a number of steps to mitigate these challenges, including extending our purchase commitments and placing non-cancellable, advanced orders with or through suppliers, particularly for long lead time components. As of April 29, 2023 we had $2.2 billion in outstanding purchase order commitments to our contract manufacturers and component suppliers for inventory. We have also been expanding our manufacturing capacity and have been accumulating raw materials inventory of components that are available, in some cases with expanded lead times, in an effort to prepare us to be able to produce finished goods more quickly when supply constraints ease for certain common components, including integrated circuit components, for which delivery continues to be delayed. As a result of this strategy, our inventory has increased from $374.3 million at the end of fiscal 2021 to $1.1 billion at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2023. These inventory practices, and their associated costs, have had, and we expect them to continue to have, an adverse impact on our cash from operations.

These inventory practices also further introduce obsolescence risk that can impact our results of operations and financial condition. If our customers were to cancel or delay orders as a result of increased lead times or otherwise, inventory could become obsolete and we could be required to write off or write down the inventory associated with those orders. In addition, if customers were to cancel or delay existing or forecasted orders for which we have significant outstanding commitments to our contract manufacturers or suppliers, we may be required to purchase inventory under these commitments that we are unable to sell. If we are required to write off or write down a significant amount of inventory, our results of operations for the applicable period would be materially adversely affected. Our inability to effectively manage the matching of inventory with customer demand within the current environment could adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition, and could result in loss of revenue, increased costs, or delays that could adversely impact customer satisfaction.

We rely on third-party contract manufacturers, and our business and results of operations may be adversely affected by risks associated with their businesses, financial condition, and the geographies in which they operate.

We rely on third-party contract manufacturers, including those with facilities in Canada, Mexico, Thailand, and the United States, to perform a substantial portion of our supply chain activities, including component sourcing, manufacturing, product testing and quality, and fulfillment and logistics relating to the distribution and support of our products. There are a number of risks associated with our dependence on contract manufacturers, including:

• reduced control over delivery schedules and planning;

• reliance on the quality assurance procedures of third parties;

• potential uncertainty regarding manufacturing yields and costs;

• availability of manufacturing capability and capacity, particularly during periods of high demand;

• the impact of wage inflation and labor shortages on cost;

• the impact of supply chain constraints on our contract manufacturers’ costs and business models;

• risks associated with the ability of our contract manufacturers to perform to our manufacturing needs;

• risks and uncertainties associated with the locations or countries where our products are manufactured, including potential manufacturing disruptions caused by social, geopolitical, environmental, or health factors, including pandemics or widespread health epidemics such as the COVID-19 pandemic;

• risks associated with data security breaches, interdiction, or cyber-attacks targeting our third-party manufacturers, including manufacturing disruptions or unauthorized access to information;

• changes in law or policy governing tax, trade, manufacturing, development, and investment in the countries where we currently manufacture our products, including the World Trade Organization Information Technology Agreement or other free trade agreements;

• inventory liability for excess and obsolete supply;

• limited warranties provided to us; and

• potential misappropriation of our intellectual property.

If our contract manufacturers are unable or unwilling to manufacture our products or components of our products, or if we experience a disruption in manufacturing, we may be required to identify and qualify alternative manufacturers, which could cause us to be delayed in or unable to meet our supply requirements to our customers. The process of qualifying a new contract manufacturer and commencing volume production is expensive and time-consuming, and if we are required to change or qualify a new contract manufacturer, we would likely experience significant business disruption and could lose revenue and damage our existing customer relationships. These and other risks associated with our contract manufacturers’ businesses, financial condition, and the geographies in which they operate could impair our ability to fulfill orders, harm our sales and impact our reputation with customers in ways that adversely impact our business and results of operations.

Outstanding indebtedness under our senior secured credit facilities and senior unsecured notes may adversely affect our liquidity and results of operations and could limit our business.

We are a party to credit agreements relating to a $300.0 million senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility, an outstanding senior secured term loan with approximately $672.2 million due 2025, an outstanding senior secured term loan with approximately $500.0 million due 2030, and an outstanding senior unsecured indenture pursuant to which we issued $400.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 4.00% senior notes due 2030. The agreements governing these credit facilities contain certain covenants that limit our ability, among other things, to incur additional debt, create liens and encumbrances, pay cash dividends, redeem or repurchase stock, enter into certain acquisition transactions or transactions with affiliates, repay certain indebtedness, make investments, or dispose of assets. The agreements also include customary remedies, including the right of the lenders to take action with respect to the collateral securing the loans, that would apply should we default or otherwise be unable to satisfy our debt obligations.

Our indebtedness could have important negative consequences, including:

• increasing our vulnerability to adverse economic and industry conditions;

• limiting our ability to obtain additional financing, particularly in unfavorable capital and credit market conditions;

• debt service and repayment obligations that may adversely impact our results of operations and reduce the availability of cash resources for other business purposes;

• limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the markets; and

• placing us at a possible competitive disadvantage to competitors that have better access to capital resources.

We may also enter into additional debt transactions or credit facilities, including equipment loans, working capital lines of credit, senior notes, and other long-term debt, which may increase our indebtedness and result in additional restrictions on our business. In addition, major debt rating agencies regularly evaluate our debt based on a number of factors. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our existing debt ratings, and failure to do so could adversely affect our cost of funds, liquidity and access to capital markets.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

None.

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

Not applicable.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.