Ciena 10-Q 2025-08-02

Filed 2025-09-04. 8 sections, 178K characters. Original on sec.gov · Markdown · JSON

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark one)

☑QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended August 2, 2025

OR

☐TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number: 001-36250

Ciena_Logo_Red_1_RGB.jpg

Ciena Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

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:

Title of each classTrading Symbol(s)Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per shareCIENNew York Stock Exchange

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.

Large accelerated filer☑Accelerated filer☐Non-accelerated filer☐Smaller reporting company☐
Emerging growth company☐

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:

ClassOutstanding as of August 29, 2025
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share141,055,908

CIENA CORPORATION

INDEX

FORM 10-Q

PAGE NUMBER
PART I — FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1. Financial Statements (unaudited)3
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Quarters and Nine Months Ended August 2, 2025 and July 27, 20243
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the Quarters and Nine Months Ended August 2, 2025 and July 27, 20244
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets at August 2, 2025 and November 2, 20245
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Nine Months Ended August 2, 2025 and July 27, 20246
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity for the Nine Months Ended August 2, 2025 and July 27, 20247
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements8
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations25
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk36
Item 4. Controls and Procedures37
PART II — OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings37
Item 1A. Risk Factors37
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds38
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities38
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures38
Item 5. Other Information38
Item 6. Exhibits40
Signatures41

PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements

CIENA CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands, except per share data)

(unaudited)

Quarter EndedNine Months Ended
August 2,July 27,August 2,July 27,
2025202420252024
Revenue:
Products$976,801$729,503$2,730,167$2,266,596
Services242,584212,805687,356624,247
Total revenue1,219,385942,3083,417,5232,890,843
Cost of goods sold:
Products580,028433,5331,620,8161,315,737
Services136,278104,830368,969315,538
Total cost of goods sold716,306538,3631,989,7851,631,275
Gross profit503,079403,9451,427,7381,259,568
Operating expenses:
Research and development211,898188,888619,429571,537
Selling and marketing148,724121,520424,911373,749
General and administrative60,59658,248171,450162,504
Significant asset impairments and restructuring costs1,7701,3615,26221,987
Amortization of intangible assets6,5567,18519,64622,384
Total operating expenses429,544377,2021,240,6981,152,161
Income from operations73,53526,743187,040107,407
Interest and other income, net15,09014,01334,53936,460
Interest expense(22,806)(24,401)(67,421)(72,038)
Loss on extinguishment and modification of debt——(729)—
Income before income taxes65,81916,355153,42971,829
Provision for income taxes15,5112,12549,58024,901
Net income$50,308$14,230$103,849$46,928
Basic net income per common share$0.35$0.10$0.73$0.32
Diluted net income per potential common share$0.35$0.10$0.72$0.32
Weighted average basic common shares outstanding141,846144,394142,437144,876
Weighted average dilutive potential common shares outstanding144,499145,361145,158145,795

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

CIENA CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(in thousands)

(unaudited)

Quarter EndedNine Months Ended
August 2,July 27,August 2,July 27,
2025202420252024
Net income$50,308$14,230$103,849$46,928
Unrealized gain (loss) on available-for-sale securities, net of tax(31)775(430)493
Unrealized gain (loss) on foreign currency forward contracts, net of tax(882)(872)5,8033,736
Unrealized loss on interest rate swaps, net of tax(2,229)(13,680)(9,110)(9,615)
Change in cumulative translation adjustments(2,092)(4,686)5,6192,961
Other comprehensive income (loss)(5,234)(18,463)1,882(2,425)
Total comprehensive income (loss)$45,074$(4,233)$105,731$44,503

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)

August 2, 2025November 2, 2024
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents$1,055,976$934,863
Short-term investments270,380316,343
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for credit losses of $9.5 million and $9.9 million as of August 2, 2025 and November 2, 2024, respectively.1,025,563908,597
Inventories, net860,403820,430
Prepaid expenses and other473,901564,183
Total current assets3,686,2233,544,416
Long-term investments64,39780,920
Equipment, building, furniture and fixtures, net368,348337,722
Operating right-of-use assets40,34727,417
Goodwill444,828444,707
Other intangible assets, net138,673165,020
Deferred tax asset, net851,903886,441
Other long-term assets154,059154,694
Total assets$5,748,778$5,641,337
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable$464,684$423,401
Accrued liabilities and other short-term obligations436,312393,905
Deferred revenue196,209156,379
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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

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 the fiscal year ended November 2, 2024, which we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on December 20, 2024 (our “2024 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 is designed to provide an understanding of our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows, and it 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 2024 Annual Report.

We are a network technology company, providing hardware, software, and services to a wide range of network operators and enabling enhanced network capacity, service delivery, and automation. Our solutions support network traffic across a wide range of applications, including cloud, video, data, artificial intelligence (“AI”), and voice. Our network solutions are used globally by communications service providers, cable and multiservice operators, cloud 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 is informed by network analytics and intelligence. Our solutions include Networking Platforms, including our Optical Networking portfolio and our Routing and Switching portfolio, which can be applied from the network core to end-user access points, and which allow network operators to scale capacity, to increase transmission speeds, to allocate traffic efficiently, and to adapt dynamically to changing end-user service demands. To complement our Networking Platforms, we offer Platform Software, which includes our Navigator Network Control Software (NCS) and advanced applications that deliver multi-layer domain control and operations for network operators. Through our Blue Planet Automation Software, we also enable complete service lifecycle management automation with productized operational support systems, including inventory, orchestration and assurance solutions that help our customers to achieve closed loop automation across multi-vendor and multi-domain environments. In addition to our systems and software, we also offer a broad range of services that help our customers build, operate, and improve their networks and associated operational environments. These include network transformation, consulting, implementation, systems integration, maintenance, network operations center (NOC) management, learning, and optimization services.

Market Opportunity and Investment in Technology Innovation

The market into which we sell our communications networking solutions is dynamic and is characterized by a high rate of change, including rapid growth in bandwidth demand and network traffic, the proliferation of cloud-based services, and new approaches, or “consumption models,” for designing and procuring networking solutions. Drivers of increased bandwidth demand include enterprise and consumer cloud network adoption, AI, 5G, high-definition video, and network operator focus on resilience and automation. To address these growing service demands and manage network cost, many network operators are looking to adopt next-generation infrastructures that are more programmable and better capable of leveraging data for network insight, analytics and automation.

We believe that our investment capacity and our efforts to push the pace of innovation are important competitive differentiators in our markets. Keeping pace with the market’s demand for technology innovation requires considerable research and development investment capacity and expenditures, and research and development spending represented 18.1% of our revenue in the first nine months of fiscal 2025. During the first nine months of fiscal 2025, we invested $619.4 million in research and development activities, an increase of 8.4% compared to the first nine months of fiscal 2024. In particular, in an effort to capture certain market opportunities created by the impact of AI on networks, we have continued to innovate, increase the performance of, and enhance the capabilities for our leading WaveLogicTM coherent modem technology in multiple form factors. Through this innovation, we seek to extend our leadership in our core business and leverage this to expand our addressable market into complementary and adjacent network applications, including inside and around the data center.

Business Momentum

The optical component industry has been experiencing increased demand, in particular as a result of cloud provider expenditures related to AI and other applications. This increased demand has led to an industry-wide constrained supply environment with extended lead times, resulting in some customers accelerating future orders.

During the third quarter of fiscal 2025, we continued to experience broad-based business momentum, with orders for our products and services significantly exceeding our revenue, resulting in increased backlog. We believe some portion of this order growth was impacted by the industry dynamics described above. We experienced year-over-year order growth in our major customer segments, particularly with cloud provider customers and large communications service provider customers, with a single cloud provider customer continuing to provide a significant volume of orders. As a result, our revenue increased by 29.4% to $1.2 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2025 as compared to $942.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2024. Two of our top five customers by revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2025 were cloud providers. Although our business remains subject to quarterly fluctuations due to customer purchasing patterns and supply chain dynamics, we continue to believe that certain trends and shifts in business and consumer behaviors and the drivers of bandwidth demand described above under the heading “Overview - Market Opportunity and Investment in Technology Innovation” in this Item 2 represent long-term opportunities for our business.

Reallocation of Innovation Investment and Fiscal 2025 Restructuring Plan

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, in order to align our strategic investments with our highest-growth demand opportunities, our executive team determined to cease forward investment in certain broadband development initiatives, primarily 25G PON, within the routing and switching product line of the Network Platforms operating segment. We intend to continue support and development of our 10G PON-based products.

Our executive team also approved a restructuring plan intended to deliver increased operating efficiencies and, as a result, commencing during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, we are implementing a workforce reduction of approximately 4% to 5% of our global headcount, which includes employees associated with the broadband development initiatives discussed above.

For additional information on the expected impact of these decisions on our financial results, see Note 19 to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this report.

For additional information regarding our business, industry, market opportunity, competitive landscape, and strategy, see our 2024 Annual Report.

Consolidated Results of Operations

Operating Segments

Our results of operations are presented based on the following operating segments: (i) Networking Platforms; (ii) Platform Software and Services; (iii) Blue Planet Automation Software and Services; and (iv) Global Services. See Note 3 to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this report.

Revenue

Our revenue increased by 29.4%, or $277.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2025 as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2024, and 18.2%, or $526.7 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2025 as compared to the first nine months of fiscal 2024.

Operating Segment Revenue

The table below sets forth the changes in our operating segment revenue for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage data):

Quarter EndedNine Months Ended
August 2, 2025July 27, 2024%*August 2, 2025July 27, 2024%*
Revenue:
Networking Platforms
Optical Networking$815,497$606,84534.4%$2,317,062$1,862,91724.4%
%**66.9%64.4%67.8%64.4%
Routing and Switching125,85792,69235.8%311,749320,113(2.6)%
%**10.3%9.8%9.1%11.1%
Total Networking Platforms941,354699,53734.6%2,628,8112,183,03020.4%
%**77.2%74.2%76.9%75.5%
Platform Software and Services89,96183,2128.1%270,469258,4024.7%
%**7.4%8.9%7.9%8.9%
Blue Planet Automation Software and Services27,80525,7917.8%81,78754,16751.0%
%**2.3%2.7%2.4%1.9%
Global Services
Maintenance Support and Training80,74374,3448.6%234,758225,8693.9%
%**6.6%7.9%6.9%7.8%
Installation and Deployment65,87846,48441.7%171,735132,99329.1%
%**5.4%4.9%5.0%4.6%
Consulting and Network Design13,64412,9405.4%29,96336,382(17.6)%
%**1.1%1.4%0.9%1.3%
Total Global Services160,265133,76819.8%436,456395,24410.4%
%**13.1%14.2%12.8%13.7%
Total revenue$1,219,385$942,30829.4%$3,417,523$2,890,84318.2%

  • Denotes % change from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025

** Denotes % of total revenue

Quarter ended August 2, 2025 as compared to the quarter ended July 27, 2024

  • Networking Platforms segment revenue increased by $241.9 million.

  • Optical Networking products revenue increased by $208.7 million, primarily driven by increases in sales of our 6500 Reconfigurable Line Systems (“RLS”), as well as increases in sales of our Waveserver® system and our coherent pluggables, in each case primarily to cloud provider customers. These sales were partially offset by a sales decrease of our 6500 Packet-Optical Platform, primarily to enterprise customers.

  • Routing and Switching products revenue increased by $33.2 million, primarily driven by an increase in sales of our 3000 and 5000 series of service delivery and aggregation platforms to communications service providers and cloud provider customers, partially offset by a decrease in sales of our virtualization software to communications service providers.

  • Platform Software and Services segment revenue increased by $6.7 million, primarily reflecting sales increases of our Navigator Network Control SuiteTM domain controller solution.

  • Blue Planet Automation Software and Services segment revenue increased by $2.0 million, primarily reflecting sales increases in our orchestration software and inventory management software services, partially offset by sales decreases of our inventory management software.

  • Global Services segment revenue increased by $26.5 million, primarily reflecting a sales increase in our installation and deployment and maintenance support and training services.

Nine months ended August 2, 2025 as compared to the nine months ended July 27, 2024

  • Networking Platforms segment revenue increased by $445.8 million.

  • Optical Networking sales increased by $454.1 million, primarily driven by increases in sales of our RLS as well as increases in sales of our coherent pluggables, both primarily to cloud provider customers, and our 6500 Packet-Optical Platforms, primarily to communications service provider customers.

  • Routing and Switching sales decreased by $8.3 million, primarily driven by decreases in sales of other software.

  • Platform Software and Services segment revenue increased by $12.1 million, primarily reflecting sales increases of our software consulting services and our software maintenance services.

  • Blue Planet Automation Software and Services segment revenue increased by $27.6 million, primarily reflecting sales increases in our unified assurance and analytics software, orchestration software, and our inventory management software services.

  • Global Services segment revenue increased by $41.2 million, primarily reflecting sales increases in our installation and deployment and maintenance support and training services, partially offset by a sales decrease in our consulting and network design services.

Revenue by Geographic Region

Our operating segments engage in business and operations across three geographic regions: the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America (“Americas”); Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”); and Asia Pacific, Japan and India (“APAC”). The geographic distribution of our revenue can fluctuate significantly from period to period, and the timing of revenue recognition for large network projects, particularly outside of the United States, can result in variations in geographic revenue results in any particular period.

The following table reflects our geographic distribution of revenue, principally based on the relevant location for our delivery of products and performance of services. The table sets forth the changes in geographic distribution of revenue for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage data):

Quarter EndedNine Months Ended
August 2, 2025July 27, 2024%*August 2, 2025July 27, 2024%*
Americas$923,627$718,60528.5%$2,553,081$2,099,68021.6%
%**75.7%76.3%74.7%72.6%
EMEA186,018135,00937.8%535,519498,2127.5%
%**15.3%14.3%15.7%17.3%
APAC109,74088,69423.7%328,923292,95112.3%
%**9.0%9.4%9.6%10.1%
Total$1,219,385$942,30829.4%$3,417,523$2,890,84318.2%

  • Denotes % change from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025

** Denotes % of total revenue

Quarter ended August 2, 2025 as compared to the quarter ended July 27, 2024

  • Americas revenue increased by $205.0 million, primarily driven by increased sales to cloud providers in the United States.

  • EMEA revenue increased by $51.0 million, primarily driven by increased sales to cloud providers in the Netherlands.

  • APAC revenue increased by $21.1 million, primarily driven by increased sales to communications service providers and cloud providers, partially offset by decreased sales to enterprise customers.

Nine months ended August 2, 2025 as compared to the nine months ended July 27, 2024

  • Americas revenue increased by $453.4 million, primarily driven by increased sales to cloud providers as well as increased sales to communications service providers, each primarily in the United States.

  • EMEA revenue increased by $37.3 million, primarily driven by increased sales to cloud providers and communications service providers partially offset by decreased sales to submarine network operators.

  • APAC revenue increased by $36.0 million, primarily driven by increased sales to communications service providers in India and Japan, partially offset by decreased sales to enterprise customers in Australia and Vietnam.

Currency Fluctuations

During the third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2025, approximately 13.3% and 13.8% of our revenue was non-U.S. Dollar-denominated, respectively. During the third quarter of fiscal 2025 as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2024, the U.S. Dollar generally weakened against other currencies, and during the first nine months of fiscal 2025 as compared to the first nine months of fiscal 2024, the U.S. Dollar generally strengthened against other currencies. These currency fluctuations had a positive effect on our revenue reported in U.S. Dollars of approximately $3.6 million, or 0.3%, as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2024, and had an adverse effect on our revenue reported in U.S Dollars of approximately $5.6 million, or 0.2%, as compared to the first nine months of fiscal 2024.

Cost of Goods Sold and Gross Profit

There are a number of important factors or conditions that can adversely affect or cause our gross profit as a percentage of product or service revenue, or “gross margin,” to fluctuate on a quarterly basis. For example, early stages of new network builds also often include an increased concentration of lower margin “common” equipment, photonic line systems, and installation services, with the intent to improve margin as we sell channel cards, advanced software, and maintenance services to customers as they add capacity. In addition, products that are in early or introductory phases may carry lower margins. The component elements that comprise our product cost of goods sold and services cost of goods sold, and certain factors that can cause gross margin to fluctuate, are described in detail in the “Consolidated Results of Operations - Cost of Goods Sold and Gross Profit” in Item 7 of Part II and “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I of our 2024 Annual Report.

The tables below set forth the changes in revenue, cost of goods sold and gross profit for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage data):

Quarter EndedNine Months Ended
August 2, 2025July 27, 2024%*August 2, 2025July 27, 2024%*
Total revenue$1,219,385$942,30829.4%$3,417,523$2,890,84318.2%
Total cost of goods sold716,306538,36333.1%1,989,7851,631,27522.0%
Gross profit$503,079$403,94524.5%$1,427,738$1,259,56813.4%
%**41.3%42.9%41.8%43.6%

  • Denotes % change from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025

** Denotes % of total revenue

Quarter ended August 2, 2025 as compared to the quarter ended July 27, 2024

  • Gross profit increased by $99.1 million. Gross margin decreased by 160 basis points, primarily reflecting decreased services margins.

  • Gross profit on products increased by $100.8 million from $296.0 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 to $396.8 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2025. Product gross margin of 40.6% did not change for the third quarter of fiscal 2025 as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2024. However, in the third quarter of fiscal 2025, we experienced unfavorable product mix partially offset by improved manufacturing efficiencies and product cost reductions, as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2024.

  • Gross profit on services decreased by $1.7 million from $108.0 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 to $106.3 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2025. Services gross margin decreased by 690 basis points, from 50.7% for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 to 43.8% for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, primarily due to increased costs related to delivering maintenance arrangements.

Nine months ended August 2, 2025 as compared to the nine months ended July 27, 2024

  • Gross profit increased by $168.2 million. Gross margin decreased by 180 basis points, reflecting decreased products and services margin.

  • Gross profit on products increased by $158.5 million from $950.9 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2024 to $1.11 billion for the first nine months of fiscal 2025. Product gross margin decreased by 140 basis points, from 42.0% for the first nine months of fiscal 2024 to 40.6% for the first nine months of fiscal 2025, primarily due to unfavorable product mix, partially offset by manufacturing efficiencies.

  • Gross profit on services increased by $9.7 million from $308.7 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2024 to $318.4 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2025. Services gross margin decreased by 320 basis points, from 49.5% for the first nine months of fiscal 2024 to 46.3% for the first nine months of fiscal 2025, primarily due to increased costs related to delivering maintenance arrangements.

Operating Expense

The component elements that comprise each of our operating expense categories in the table below are set forth in the “Consolidated Results of Operations - Operating Expense” in Item 7 of Part II of our 2024 Annual Report. The table below sets forth the changes in operating expense for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage data):

Quarter EndedNine Months Ended
August 2, 2025July 27, 2024%*August 2, 2025July 27, 2024%*
Research and development$211,898$188,88812.2%$619,429$571,5378.4%
%**17.4%20.0%18.1%19.8%
Selling and marketing148,724121,52022.4%424,911373,74913.7%
%**12.2%12.9%12.4%12.9%
General and administrative60,59658,2484.0%171,450162,5045.5%
%**5.0%6.2%5.0%5.6%
Significant asset impairments and restructuring costs1,7701,36130.1%5,26221,987(76.1)%
%**0.1%0.1%0.2%0.8%
Amortization of intangible assets6,5567,185(8.8)%19,64622,384(12.2)%
%**0.5%0.8%0.6%0.8%
Total operating expenses$429,544$377,20213.9%$1,240,698$1,152,1617.7%
%**35.2%40.0%36.3%39.9%

  • Denotes % change from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025

** Denotes % of total revenue

Quarter ended August 2, 2025 as compared to the quarter ended July 27, 2024

  • Research and development expense increased by $23.0 million. Net of hedging, this increase primarily reflects increases in employee-related compensation costs primarily due to increases in incentive compensation, partially offset by lower prototype expense.

  • Selling and marketing expense increased by $27.2 million. This increase primarily reflects increases in employee-related compensation costs primarily due to increases in incentive compensation.

  • General and administrative expense increased by $2.3 million. This increase primarily reflects increases in employee-related compensation costs primarily due to increases in incentive compensation, partially offset by lower legal fees.

  • Significant asset impairments and restructuring costs remained relatively unchanged.

  • Amortization of intangible assets remained relatively unchanged.

Nine months ended August 2, 2025 as compared to the nine months ended July 27, 2024

  • Research and development expense increased by $47.9 million. Net of hedging, this increase primarily reflects increases in employee-related compensation costs primarily due to increases in incentive compensation, and professional services related to design engineering, fabrication and production of ASIC chips, partially offset by lower prototype expense.

  • Selling and marketing expense increased by $51.2 million. This increase primarily reflects increases in employee-related compensation costs primarily due to increases in incentive compensation, and increases in travel and entertainment costs.

  • General and administrative expense increased by $8.9 million. This increase primarily reflects increases in employee-related compensation costs primarily due to increases in incentive compensation, partially offset by lower legal fees and bad debt expense.

  • Significant asset impairments and restructuring costs decreased by $16.7 million primarily due to a reduction in restructuring activities. For more information on our restructuring costs, see Note 4 to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this report.

  • Amortization of intangible assets decreased by $2.7 million, primarily reflecting certain intangible assets having reached the end of their economic lives.

Currency Fluctuations

During the third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2025, approximately 47.7% and 48.2% of our operating expense was non-U.S. Dollar-denominated, respectively. During the third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2025, as compared to the third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2024, the U.S. Dollar fluctuated against other currencies. These currency fluctuations, net of hedging, had the effect of reducing our operating expense by a negligible amount as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2024, and $12.3 million, or 1.0% as compared to the first nine months of fiscal 2024.

Segment Profit (Loss)

Segment profit (loss) is determined based on internal performance measures used by our chief executive officer to assess the performance of each operating segment in a given period. In connection with that assessment, the chief executive officer excludes the following items: selling and marketing costs; general and administrative costs; significant asset impairments and restructuring costs; amortization of intangible assets; interest and other income, net; interest expense; loss on extinguishment and modification of debt; and provision for income taxes.

The table below sets forth the changes in our segment profit (loss) for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage data):

Quarter EndedNine Months Ended
August 2, 2025July 27, 2024%*August 2, 2025July 27, 2024%*
Segment profit (loss):
Networking Platforms$181,993$106,87070.3%$482,784$387,21124.7%
Platform Software and Services$54,529$53,1312.6%$168,077$165,1711.8%
Blue Planet Automation Software and Services$4,192$4,705(10.9)%$13,059$(10,127)229.0%
Global Services$50,467$50,3510.2%$144,389$145,776(1.0)%

  • Denotes % change from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025

Quarter ended August 2, 2025 as compared to the quarter ended July 27, 2024

  • Networking Platforms segment profit increased by $75.1 million, primarily due to higher sales volume as described above, partially offset by higher research and development costs.

  • Platform Software and Services segment profit increased by $1.4 million, primarily due to higher sales volume as described above, partially offset by reduced services margin as described above, and increased research and development costs.

  • Blue Planet Automation Software and Services segment profit slightly decreased, primarily due to reduced services margin, partially offset by higher sales volume as described above.

  • Global Services segment profit slightly increased, primarily due to increased sales volume as described above, partially offset by reduced services margin also described above.

Nine months ended August 2, 2025 as compared to the nine months ended July 27, 2024

  • Networking Platforms segment profit increased by $95.6 million, primarily due to higher sales volume, partially offset by reduced product margin as described above, and higher research and development costs.

  • Platform Software and Services segment profit increased by $2.9 million, primarily due to higher services sales volume, partially offset by increased research and development costs and reduced margins as described above.

  • Blue Planet Automation Software and Services segment profit increased by $23.2 million, primarily due to higher sales volume as described above, improved margins, and lower research and development costs.

  • Global Services segment profit slightly decreased by $1.4 million, primarily due to reduced services margins as described above, partially offset by increased sales volume also described above.

Other Items

The table below sets forth the changes in other items for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage data):

Quarter EndedNine Months Ended
August 2, 2025July 27, 2024%*August 2, 2025July 27, 2024%*
Interest and other income, net$15,090$14,0137.7%$34,539$36,460(5.3)%
%**1.2%1.5%1.0%1.3%
Interest expense$22,806$24,401(6.5)%$67,421$72,038(6.4)%
%**1.9%2.6%2.0%2.5%
Loss on extinguishment and modification of debt$—$——%$729$—100.0%
%**—%—%—%—%
Provision for income taxes$15,511$2,125629.9%$49,580$24,90199.1%
%**1.3%0.2%1.5%0.9%

  • Denotes % change from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025

** Denotes % of total revenue

Quarter ended August 2, 2025 as compared to the quarter ended July 27, 2024

  • Interest and other income, net remained relatively unchanged.

  • Interest expense decreased by $1.6 million, primarily due to lower interest rates on our floating rate debt, net of hedging activity. For more information on our short-term and long-term debt, see Note 12 to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this report.

  • Provision for income taxes increased by $13.4 million, primarily due to the increase in income before income taxes.

Nine months ended August 2, 2025 as compared to the nine months ended July 27, 2024

  • Interest and other income, net decreased by $1.9 million, primarily resulting from lower interest income on our investments, partially offset by the impact of foreign exchange rates on assets and liabilities denominated in a currency other than the relevant functional currency, net of hedging activity.

  • Interest expense decreased by $4.6 million, primarily due to lower interest rates on our floating rate debt, net of hedging activity. For more information on our short-term and long-term debt, see Note 12 to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this report.

  • Loss on extinguishment and modification of debt reflects the refinance of our 2030 Term Loan in the first quarter of fiscal 2025. See Note 12 to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 1 of Part 1 of this report for more details.

  • Provision for income taxes increased by $24.7 million, primarily due to the increase in income before income taxes.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Based on past performance and current expectations, we believe that cash from operations, cash, cash equivalents, investments, and other sources of liquidity, including our Revolving Credit Facility (as defined below), will satisfy our currently anticipated working capital needs, capital expenditures, and other liquidity requirements associated with our operations through the next 12 months and the reasonably foreseeable future. We regularly evaluate our capital structure, liquidity position, debt obligations, and anticipated cash needs to fund our operating or investment plans or increase our strategic flexibility, and we will continue to consider capital raising and other market opportunities.

Principal Sources of Liquidity. Our principal sources of liquidity on hand include our cash, cash equivalents, and investments, which, as of August 2, 2025, totaled $1.4 billion, as well as the unused portion of our senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”), to which we and certain of our subsidiaries are parties. The Revolving Credit Facility provides for a total commitment of $300.0 million with a maturity date of October 24, 2028. We principally use the Revolving Credit Facility to support the issuance of letters of credit that arise in the ordinary course of our business and for general corporate purposes. As of August 2, 2025, letters of credit totaling $52.1 million were issued under the Revolving Credit Facility. There were no borrowings outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility as of August 2, 2025.

Foreign Liquidity. The amount of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments held by our foreign subsidiaries was $539.5 million as of August 2, 2025. Approximately $92.1 million of future cash generated from these foreign subsidiaries is expected to be repatriated, with any remaining amount continuing to be indefinitely reinvested. A deferred tax liability related to the expected repatriation amount was accrued in fiscal 2023. There are no other significant temporary differences related to our investment in the foreign subsidiaries for which a deferred tax liability has not been recognized.

Stock Repurchase Authorization. On October 2, 2024, we announced that our Board of Directors authorized a program to repurchase up to $1.0 billion of our common stock, which replaced in its entirety the previous stock repurchase program authorized in fiscal 2022. During the first nine months of fiscal 2025, we repurchased $245.2 million of our common stock under the stock repurchase program, and $754.8 million remained under the current repurchase authorization as of August 2, 2025. The amount and timing of any further repurchases under our stock repurchase program are subject to a variety of factors including liquidity, cash flow, stock price, and general business and market conditions. The program may be modified, suspended, or discontinued at any time. See Note 15 to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this report as well as Item 2 of Part II of this report.

Cash Flows

The following table sets forth changes in our cash, cash equivalents, and investments in marketable debt securities for the periods indicated (in thousands):

August 2, 2025November 2, 2024Increase (Decrease)
Cash and cash equivalents$1,055,976$934,863$121,113
Short-term investments in marketable debt securities270,380316,343(45,963)
Long-term investments in marketable debt securities64,39780,920(16,523)
Total cash, cash equivalents, and investments in marketable debt securities$1,390,753$1,332,126$58,627

Cash, cash equivalents and investments increased by $58.6 million during the first nine months of fiscal 2025. Cash from operating activities generated $435.0 million which was partially offset by the following: (i) cash used for stock repurchases under our stock repurchase program of $250.0 million; (ii) cash used to fund our investing activities for capital expenditures totaling $95.4 million; (iii) stock repurchases on vesting of our stock unit awards to employees relating to tax withholding of $60.0 million; and (iv) cash used for payments on our term loan due October 28, 2030 of $8.7 million. In addition to cash provided by operating activities, proceeds from the issuance of equity under our employee stock purchase plan provided $35.9 million in cash during the nine months ended August 2, 2025.

Cash Provided By Operating Activities

The following sections set forth the components of our $435.0 million of cash provided by operating activities during the first nine months of fiscal 2025. Net income (adjusted for non-cash charges) provided cash of approximately $369.5 million and cash provided by operating assets and liabilities was approximately $65.5 million.

Net income (adjusted for non-cash charges)

The following table sets forth our net income (adjusted for non-cash charges) during the period (in thousands):

Nine Months Ended
August 2, 2025
Net income$103,849
Adjustments for non-cash charges:
Depreciation of equipment, building, furniture and fixtures, and amortization of leasehold improvements76,637
Share-based compensation expense135,696
Amortization of intangible assets26,343
Deferred taxes(21,709)
Provision for inventory excess and obsolescence34,185
Provision for warranty16,302
Other(1,838)
Net income (adjusted for non-cash charges)$369,465

Operating Assets and Liabilities

Operating asset and liability requirements decreased by $65.5 million during the period. The following table sets forth the major components of the cash changes in operating assets and liabilities (in thousands):

Nine Months Ended
August 2, 2025
Accounts receivable$(116,887)
Inventories(73,493)
Prepaid expenses and other137,440
Accounts payable, accruals, and other obligations83,354
Deferred revenue38,246
Operating lease assets and liabilities, net(3,109)
Total cash provided by operating assets and liabilities$65,551

As compared to the end of fiscal 2024, for the first nine months of fiscal 2025:

  • The change in accounts receivable primarily reflects the timing of cash collections from customers and increased sales volume;

  • The change in inventories primarily reflects increases in raw materials;

  • The change in prepaid expenses and other primarily reflects reduced refundable cash advances to a third-party contract manufacturer partially offset by increased contract assets for unbilled accounts receivable;

  • The change in accounts payable, accruals, and other obligations primarily reflects a higher accrual associated with our annual incentive compensation plan, the timing of payments to suppliers and the timing of payments for payroll, partially offset by timing of payments for income taxes;

  • The change in deferred revenue primarily represents an increase in advanced payments received on multi-year maintenance contracts from customers prior to revenue recognition; and

  • The change in operating lease assets and liabilities, net, represents cash paid for operating lease payments in excess of operating lease costs.

Our days sales outstanding (“DSOs”) decreased from 97 for the first nine months of fiscal 2024 to 94 for the first nine months of fiscal 2025. The calculation of DSOs includes accounts receivables, net, and contract assets for unbilled receivables, net included in prepaid expenses and other. Our inventory turns increased from 1.9 for the first nine months of fiscal 2024 to 2.5 for the first nine months of fiscal 2025.

Cash Paid for Interest, Net

The following table sets forth the cash paid for interest, net, during the period (in thousands):

Nine Months Ended
August 2, 2025
2030 Term Loan terminated January 17, 2025(1)$18,639
Refinanced 2030 Term Loan due October 28, 2030(2)35,991
2030 Senior Notes due January 31, 2030(3)16,000
Interest rate swaps(4)(6,284)
Revolving Credit Facility(5)1,364
Finance leases2,533
Cash paid during period$68,243

(1) The 2030 Term Loan bore interest at SOFR for the chosen borrowing period plus a spread of 2.00% subject to a minimum SOFR rate of 0.00%.

(2) Interest on the Refinanced 2030 Term Loan is payable periodically based on the interest period selected for borrowing. The Refinanced 2030 Term Loan bears interest at SOFR for the chosen borrowing period plus a spread of 1.75% subject to a minimum SOFR rate of 0.00%. At the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the interest rate on the Refinanced 2030 Term Loan was 6.10%.

(3) The 2030 Notes bear interest at a rate of 4.00% per annum. Interest is payable on the 2030 Notes in arrears on January 31 and July 31 of each year.

(4) Our interest rate swaps fix the SOFR rate for $350.0 million of our Term Loan at 3.47% through January 2028 and another $350.0 million of our Term Loan at 2.968% through September 2025.

(5) During the first nine months of fiscal 2025, we utilized the Revolving Credit Facility to issue certain standby letters of credit and paid nominal commitment fees, interest expense and other administrative charges primarily relating to the Revolving Credit Facility.

For additional information about our debt and interest rate swaps, see Notes 10 and 12 to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this report.

Contractual Obligations

Our contractual obligations have not changed materially since November 2, 2024. For a summary of our contractual obligations, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources – Contractual Obligations” in Item 7 of Part II of our 2024 Annual Report.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our critical accounting policies and estimates have not changed materially since November 2, 2024. For a discussion of our critical accounting policies and estimates, see “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” in Item 7 of Part II of our 2024 Annual Report.

Effects of Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 2 to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this report for information relating to our discussion of the effects of recent accounting pronouncements.

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

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 2024 Annual Report.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

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 (the “Exchange Act”)). 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 Exchange Act) 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 “Commitments and Contingencies - Litigation” in Note 18 to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this report, is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

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 2024 Annual Report, including the information under “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I thereof. This report contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations – Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in Item 2 of Part I of this report. Our actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Any of the risks discussed in our 2024 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 the material factors that make an investment in our securities speculative or risky from those presented in our 2024 Annual Report.

Tariffs and other import measures imposed by the United States or other countries may adversely affect our business, operations, and financial results.

In January 2025, the U.S. government commenced a broad review of U.S. trade relations and began imposing, or threatening to impose, tariffs on certain countries, materials, and industries. In response, certain impacted countries have imposed or threatened various retaliatory tariffs or other trade restrictions. We rely on a global sourcing strategy and third-party contract manufacturers outside of the United States to perform substantially all of our manufacturing. Moreover, revenue in the United States represented approximately 70% of our revenue in fiscal 2024. Significant changes to trade policy, the imposition of tariffs, or retaliatory responses thereto, have adversely impacted and could materially adversely impact our business, operations, and financial results, including by increasing our costs, by decreasing our profit margins, and/or by making our products less competitive. The tariff policy environment has been and can be expected to continue to be dynamic. Tariffs recently implemented that have impacted or could materially impact our business include tariffs on imports:

  • from Canada and Mexico, as products making up a significant portion of our revenue are manufactured in or distributed from Mexico, and we generally introduce new products and conduct related early volume manufacturing in Canada;

  • of steel, aluminum, and copper, including derivative goods that include certain of our products;

  • from China, as our supply chain includes certain China-based suppliers; and

  • from a wide range of countries globally, including Thailand and Vietnam, where we also rely on third-party manufacturing operations for a significant portion of our revenue.

Additionally, we currently rely upon certain trade agreements and product or technology based exemptions that reduce our tariff exposure. The U.S. government is currently investigating imports of a range of different products, including semiconductors and critical raw minerals, and derivative products relevant to our business and products, which could result in material additional tariffs. There can be no guarantee as to which of our products will be impacted by new or changing tariffs, or that they will remain eligible for exceptions under existing or future trade agreements or executive orders.

We have taken steps, and may take additional steps, to attempt to mitigate the impact of tariffs on our business, including: by availing ourselves of certain exemptions to tariffs; by making changes to our supply chain practices, sources of supply, or manufacturing locations; and by passing the cost of tariffs to customers. These changes could take considerable time to implement, result in significant costs, and cause supply chain delays or disruption. Moreover, there can be no assurance as to customer reaction to the current trade environment, the imposition of new tariffs, or any tariff mitigation steps we elect to take. Among other things, customers may elect to reduce spending, renegotiate contracts, defer orders or delivery of existing orders, or shift purchases to other vendors, each of which would adversely impact our financial results and competitive position with customers.

Certain tariffs that have been implemented or proposed are subject to legal challenges, but there can be no assurance that such challenges will be successful or that, if successful, additional or alternative tariffs will not be imposed. The results of such legal challenges, including any potential resulting retroactive changes to tariffs, could adversely impact our financial results.

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

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The following table provides a summary of repurchases of our common stock during the third quarter of fiscal 2025:

PeriodTotal Number of Shares Purchased (1)Average Price Paid per Share**(1)**Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs (1)Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs (in thousands)****(1)
May 4, 2025 to May 31, 2025318,958$78.63318,958$811,575
June 1, 2025 to June 28, 2025329,467$76.12329,467$786,495
June 29, 2025 to August 2, 2025377,372$83.95377,372$754,816
1,025,797$79.781,025,797

(1) On October 2, 2024, we announced that our Board of Directors authorized a program to repurchase up to $1.0 billion of our common stock, which replaced in its entirety the previous stock repurchase program. The program may be modified, suspended, or discontinued at any time. During the third quarter of fiscal 2025, we repurchased $81.8 million of our common stock under the stock repurchase program, and we had $754.8 million remaining under the current repurchase authorization as of August 2, 2025. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Liquidity and Capital Resources – Stock Repurchase Authorization” in Item 2 of Part I of this report and Note 15 to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this report for information regarding the stock repurchase program authorized by our Board of Directors.

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

Not applicable.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

Item 5. Other Information

Rule 10b5-1 Trading Arrangements

The following table describes, for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, each trading arrangement for the sale or purchase of our securities adopted, terminated or for which the amount, pricing or timing provisions were modified by our directors and officers (as defined in Rule 16a-1(f) of the Exchange Act) that is either (1) a contract, instruction or written plan intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c) (a “Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement”) or (2) a “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement” (as defined in Item 408(c) of Regulation S-K):

Name (Title)Action Taken (Date of Action)Type of Trading ArrangementNature of Trading ArrangementDuration of Trading ArrangementAggregate Number of Securities to be Purchased or Sold
Dino DiPerna (Senior Vice President, Global Research & Development)Adoption (July 11, 2025)Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangementSalesUntil July 24, 2026, or such earlier date upon which all transactions are completed or expire without execution (1)(2)
Brodie Gage (Senior Vice President, Global Products & Supply Chain)Adoption (July 1, 2025)Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangementSalesUntil December 31, 2026, or such earlier date upon which all transactions are completed or expire without execution (3)Up to 7,150 shares of common stock

(1) Sales under this arrangement will not begin until November 17, 2025, following expiration of Mr. DiPerna’s existing Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement.

(2) The aggregate number of shares of common stock to be sold pursuant to Mr. DiPerna’s arrangement is up to (i) 6,391 shares of common stock, plus (ii) up to 50% of the net after-tax shares of common stock to be received as a result of the vesting on December 20, 2025 of an aggregate of (a) 2,616 earned performance stock units, (b) performance stock units that have not yet been earned, the actual number of which depends on performance and ranges from 0% to 200% of the 3,829 shares subject to the award at the target level of performance, and (c) 3,965 restricted stock units, plus (iii) up to 50% of the net after-tax shares of common stock to be received as a result of the vesting on March 20, 2026 of an aggregate of up to 3,368 restricted stock units, plus (iv) up to 50% of the net after-tax shares of common stock to be received as a result of the vesting on June 20, 2026 of an aggregate of 3,370 restricted stock units. The actual number of net after-tax shares to be received will vary based on the market price of our common stock at the time of settlement.

(3) Sales under this arrangement will not begin until December 15, 2025, following expiration of Mr. Gage’s existing Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement.

Item 6. Exhibits

10.1Employment Offer Letter between Ciena Corporation and Marc D. Graff, dated June 13, 2025 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (Commission File No. 001-36250) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 18, 2025).*
31.1Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
31.2Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.1Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350 as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.2Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350 as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
101.INSInline XBRL Instance Document - The instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.
101.SCHInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CALInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEFInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
101.LABInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PREInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
104Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101)
*Represents management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement

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.

Ciena Corporation
Date:September 4, 2025By:/s/ Gary B. Smith
Gary B. Smith
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director (Duly Authorized Officer)
Date:September 4, 2025By:/s/ Marc D. Graff
Marc D. Graff
Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)