Ciena 10-Q 2026-01-31

Filed 2026-03-05. 8 sections, 156K characters. Original on sec.gov · Markdown · JSON

Cover and table of contents

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 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 January 31, 2026

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 February 27, 2026
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share141,398,427

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 Quarter Ended January 31, 2026 and February 1, 20253
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the Quarter Ended January 31, 2026 and February 1, 20254
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets at January 31, 2026 and November 1, 20255
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Three Months Ended January 31, 2026 and February 1, 20256
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity for the Three Months Ended January 31, 2026 and February 1, 20257
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements8
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations24
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk33
Item 4. Controls and Procedures33
PART II — OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings34
Item 1A. Risk Factors34
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds34
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities34
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures34
Item 5. Other Information34
Item 6. Exhibits36
Signatures37

PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements

CIENA CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands, except per share data)

(unaudited)

Quarter Ended
January 31,February 1,
20262025
Revenue:
Products$1,179,870$854,785
Services247,172217,475
Total revenue1,427,0421,072,260
Cost of goods sold:
Products666,574490,804
Services134,948109,635
Total cost of goods sold801,522600,439
Gross profit625,520471,821
Operating expenses:
Research and development221,458192,663
Selling and marketing148,867136,504
General and administrative59,24353,902
Significant asset impairments and restructuring costs1,4981,544
Amortization of intangible assets4,7366,545
Acquisition and integration costs306—
Total operating expenses436,108391,158
Income from operations189,41280,663
Interest and other income, net12,95711,578
Interest expense(21,254)(22,918)
Loss on extinguishment and modification of debt—(729)
Income before income taxes181,11568,594
Provision for income taxes30,83224,022
Net income$150,283$44,572
Basic net income per common share$1.06$0.31
Diluted net income per potential common share$1.03$0.31
Weighted average basic common shares outstanding141,676142,880
Weighted average dilutive potential common shares outstanding145,799145,944

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 Ended
January 31,February 1,
20262025
Net income$150,283$44,572
Unrealized loss on available-for-sale securities, net of tax(37)(345)
Unrealized gain (loss) on foreign currency forward contracts, net of tax5,628(4,484)
Unrealized gain on interest rate swaps, net of tax5561,953
Change in cumulative translation adjustments10,165(17,702)
Other comprehensive income (loss)16,312(20,578)
Total comprehensive income$166,595$23,994

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)

January 31, 2026November 1, 2025
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents$1,123,413$1,091,952
Short-term investments176,315216,148
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for credit losses of $11.2 million as of both January 31, 2026 and November 1, 2025967,408975,856
Inventories, net845,823826,235
Prepaid expenses and other427,918455,316
Total current assets3,540,8773,565,507
Long-term investments69,87657,142
Equipment, building, furniture and fixtures, net437,838386,779
Operating right-of-use assets40,48438,613
Goodwill521,712521,204
Other intangible assets, net212,689224,210
Deferred tax asset, net877,995884,889
Other long-term assets190,888186,323
Total assets$5,892,359$5,864,667
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable$547,221$542,841
Accrued liabilities and other short-term obligations395,881531,081
Deferred revenue290,418208,936
Operating lease liabilities13,27313,956
Current portion of long-term debt11,58011,580
Total current liabilities1,258,3731,308,394
Long-term deferred revenue100,45594,850
Other long-term obligations182,329175,426
Long-term operating lease liabilities34,10032,516
Long-

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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 1, 2025, which we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on December 12, 2025 (our “2025 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

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, voice, video, data, and artificial intelligence (“AI”). Our network solutions are used globally by cloud providers, service providers, and other network operators across multiple industry verticals.

The markets into which we sell are dynamic and characterized by a high rate of change. Networks continue to experience strong demand for increased bandwidth due to traffic growth, which is being driven by a diverse set of services, technologies, and customer needs.

Business Momentum

Our industry has been experiencing unprecedented increases in demand, in particular due to capital expenditures related to AI and other cloud-based applications. As a result, we experienced strong momentum and growth in fiscal 2025 that continued in the first quarter of fiscal 2026. As we grow disproportionately with cloud providers, we are seeing a small number of those customers become a larger portion of our business across multiple revenue segments. Our revenue increased by 33.1% to $1.4 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 as compared to $1.1 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, with orders for our products and services significantly exceeding our revenue. This dynamic, together with an industry-wide constrained supply environment, has resulted in historically high backlog.

Gross Margin Dynamics

Our gross margin decreased to 43.8% in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, compared to 44.0% in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, primarily due to lower services gross margin.

Operating Expense and Investment in Technology Innovation

Our operating expense grew from $391.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 to $436.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2026. During the first quarter of fiscal 2026, we invested $221.5 million in research and development activities, an increase of 15% compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2025. We believe that our investment capacity and our efforts to push the pace of innovation are important competitive differentiators in our markets, which requires considerable investment capacity and expenditures. In particular, in an effort to capture certain market opportunities created by the impact of AI on networks, we continued to increase the performance of, and enhance the capabilities for our leading WaveLogicTM coherent modem technology, through which we seek to extend our leadership in optical networking, and leverage it to expand our addressable market, including inside and around the data center.

Capital Allocation Strategy

Our capital allocation strategy is focused on maintaining our significant innovation investment, investing in select transactions, and returning value to stockholders, while preserving our strategic and operational flexibility. We continuously work to improve our cash cycle and evaluate alternatives to manage our capital structure in order to enhance our liquidity. We ended the first quarter of fiscal 2026 with $1.4 billion of cash, cash equivalents, and investments. As of the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2026, cash generated from operations increased to $227.6 million as compared to $103.7 million as of the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2025. Consistent with our capital allocation priorities, during the first quarter of fiscal 2026, we invested $73.9 million in capital purchases, primarily for supply chain equipment and research and development , and $170.6 million to repurchase shares through our share buyback program and for tax withholding purposes associated with employee stock awards.

For additional information regarding our business, industry, market opportunity, competitive landscape, and strategy, see our 2025 Annual Report.

Consolidated Results of Operations

Operating Segments

Our results of operations are presented based on our 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

As a result of the increased demand described above, our revenue increased by 33.1%, or $354.8 million, in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 as compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

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 Ended
January 31, 2026February 1, 2025%*
Revenue:
Networking Platforms
Optical Networking$1,023,162$727,97340.5%
%**71.7%67.9%
Routing and Switching126,00693,16935.2%
%**8.8%8.7%
Total Networking Platforms1,149,168821,14239.9%
%**80.5%76.6%
Platform Software and Services93,38495,067(1.8)%
%**6.5%8.9%
Blue Planet Automation Software and Services20,42026,032(21.6)%
%**1.5%2.4%
Global Services
Maintenance, Support, and Learning87,55174,57317.4%
%**6.1%7.0%
Implementation67,94947,68242.5%
%**4.8%4.4%
Advisory and Enablement8,5707,76410.4%
%**0.6%0.7%
Total Global Services164,070130,01926.2%
%**11.5%12.1%
Total revenue$1,427,042$1,072,26033.1%

  • Denotes % change from fiscal 2025 to fiscal 2026

** Denotes % of total revenue

Quarter ended January 31, 2026 as compared to the quarter ended February 1, 2025

  • Networking Platforms segment revenue increased by $328.0 million.

  • Optical Networking products revenue increased by $295.2 million, primarily driven by increases in sales of our Waveserver® system to service provider and cloud provider customers, and our 6500 Reconfigurable Line Systems (RLS) to cloud provider customers.

  • Routing and Switching products revenue increased by $32.8 million, primarily driven by an increase in sales of our 3000 and 5000 series of service delivery and aggregation platforms, including our out-of-band data center management (DCOM) solution, to cloud provider and service provider customers.

  • Platform Software and Services segment revenue decreased by $1.7 million, primarily reflecting a sales decrease of our software consulting services, partially offset by an increase in sales of our Navigator NCS software solution.

  • Blue Planet Automation Software and Services segment revenue decreased by $5.6 million, primarily reflecting a sales decrease in our unified assurance and analytics software, partially offset by a sales increase in our inventory management software services.

  • Global Services segment revenue increased by $34.1 million, primarily reflecting sales increases in our implementation services and maintenance, support, and learning 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 Ended
January 31, 2026February 1, 2025%*
Americas$1,118,223$795,63240.5%
%**78.4%74.2%
EMEA200,587157,91627.0%
%**14.0%14.7%
APAC108,232118,712(8.8)%
%**7.6%11.1%
Total$1,427,042$1,072,26033.1%

  • Denotes % change from fiscal 2025 to fiscal 2026

** Denotes % of total revenue

Quarter ended January 31, 2026 as compared to the quarter ended February 1, 2025

  • Americas revenue increased by $322.6 million, primarily driven by increased sales to cloud providers and service providers in the United States.

  • EMEA revenue increased by $42.7 million, primarily driven by increased sales to cloud providers in the Netherlands.

  • APAC revenue decreased by $10.5 million, primarily driven by decreased sales in India, primarily to service providers, partially offset by increased sales in Singapore, primarily to cloud providers.

Currency Fluctuations

During the first quarter of fiscal 2026, approximately 8.3% of our revenue was non-U.S. Dollar-denominated. During the first quarter of fiscal 2026 as compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2025, the U.S. Dollar generally weakened against other currencies. These currency fluctuations had a positive effect on our revenue reported in U.S. Dollars of approximately $5.0 million, or 0.4%, as compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

Gross Margin

Gross margin is calculated as revenue less cost of goods sold, divided by revenue.

  • Product cost of goods sold consists primarily of amounts paid to third-party contract manufacturers, component costs, employee-related costs, shipping, logistics, and tariff costs associated with manufacturing-related operations, warranty and other contractual obligations, royalties, license fees, amortization of intangible assets, cost of excess and obsolete inventory and, any estimated losses on committed customer contracts.

  • Service cost of goods sold consists primarily of direct and third-party costs associated with our provision of services, including implementation, maintenance, support, learning, advisory and enablement activities, and any estimated losses on committed customer contracts. The majority of these costs relate to personnel, including employee and third-party contractor-related costs.

Gross margin can fluctuate due to a number of factors, including technology-based price compression, product and service mix, the lifecycle stage of our products and cost reductions.

The tables below set forth the changes in revenue and gross margin for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage data):

Quarter Ended
January 31, 2026February 1, 2025
RevenueGross Margin (%)RevenueGross Margin (%)Revenue Change (%)Gross Margin Change
Total$1,427,04243.8%$1,072,26044.0%33.1%(0.2)%
Products$1,179,87043.5%$854,78542.6%38.0%0.9%
Services$247,17245.4%$217,47549.6%13.7%(4.2)%

Quarter ended January 31, 2026 as compared to the quarter ended February 1, 2025

  • Gross margin decreased by 20 basis points from the first quarter of fiscal 2025 to the first quarter of fiscal 2026, primarily reflecting decreased services margin.

  • Product gross margin increased by 90 basis points from the first quarter of fiscal 2025 to the first quarter of fiscal 2026. The increase was primarily due to product cost reductions and a more favorable product mix, partially offset by a one-time manufacturing efficiency benefit recognized in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, and increased inventory writedowns.

  • Services gross margin decreased by 420 basis points from the first quarter of fiscal 2025 to the first quarter of fiscal 2026, primarily due to a less favorable services mix, partially offset by improved margins on deployment services.

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 2025 Annual Report. The table below sets forth the changes in operating expense for the periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage data):

Quarter Ended
January 31, 2026February 1, 2025%*
Research and development$221,458$192,66314.9%
%**15.5%18.0%
Selling and marketing148,867136,5049.1%
%**10.4%12.7%
General and administrative59,24353,9029.9%
%**4.2%5.0%
Significant asset impairments and restructuring costs1,4981,544(3.0)%
%**0.1%0.1%
Amortization of intangible assets4,7366,545(27.6)%
%**0.3%0.6%
Acquisition and integration costs306—100.0%
%**—%—%
Total operating expenses$436,108$391,15811.5%
%**30.6%36.5%

  • Denotes % change from fiscal 2025 to fiscal 2026

** Denotes % of total revenue

Quarter ended January 31, 2026 as compared to the quarter ended February 1, 2025

  • Research and development expense increased by $28.8 million. Net of hedging, this primarily reflects higher employee headcount and related compensation costs, including our acquisition of Nubis Communications, and professional services expense.

  • Selling and marketing expense increased by $12.4 million, which primarily reflects increases in employee-related compensation costs.

  • General and administrative expense increased by $5.3 million, which primarily reflects increases in employee-related compensation costs.

  • Significant asset impairments and restructuring costs remained relatively unchanged.

  • Amortization of intangible assets decreased by $1.8 million, primarily reflecting certain intangible assets having reached the end of their economic lives.

  • Acquisition and integration costs reflect financial, legal, and accounting advisory costs and certain employee-related costs related to our acquisition of Nubis Communications.

Currency Fluctuations

During the first quarter of fiscal 2026, approximately 50.6% of our operating expense was non-U.S. Dollar-denominated. During the first quarter of fiscal 2026, as compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2025, the U.S. Dollar generally weakened against other currencies. These currency fluctuations, net of hedging, had the effect of increasing our operating expense by approximately $4.8 million, or 1.1%, as compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

Segment Profit (Loss)

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

Quarter Ended
January 31, 2026February 1, 2025%*
Segment profit (loss):
Networking Platforms$316,631$182,16273.8%
Platform Software and Services$61,718$65,423(5.7)%
Blue Planet Automation Software and Services$(3,814)$6,500(158.7)%
Global Services$58,754$46,69725.8%

  • Denotes % change from fiscal 2025 to fiscal 2026

Quarter ended January 31, 2026 as compared to the quarter ended February 1, 2025

  • Networking Platforms segment profit increased by $134.5 million, primarily due to higher sales volume and improved gross margin as described above, partially offset by higher research and development costs.

  • Platform Software and Services segment profit decreased by $3.7 million, primarily due to lower services sales volume as described above, and increased research and development costs.

  • Blue Planet Automation Software and Services segment primarily reflects lower software sales volume as described above, reduced gross margins and increased research and development costs.

  • Global Services segment profit increased by $12.1 million, primarily due to increased sales volume as described above.

Other Items

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

Quarter Ended
January 31, 2026February 1, 2025%*
Interest and other income, net$12,957$11,57811.9%
%**0.9%1.1%
Interest expense$21,254$22,918(7.3)%
%**1.5%2.1%
Loss on extinguishment and modification of debt$—$729(100.0)%
%**—%0.1%
Provision for income taxes$30,832$24,02228.3%
%**2.2%2.2%

  • Denotes % change from fiscal 2025 to fiscal 2026

** Denotes % of total revenue

Quarter ended January 31, 2026 as compared to the quarter ended February 1, 2025

  • Interest and other income, net increased by $1.4 million, primarily reflecting 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 $1.7 million, primarily due to lower interest rates on our floating rate debt, net of hedging activity.

  • Loss on extinguishment and modification of debt reflects the refinancing of our 2030 Term Loan in the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

  • Provision for income taxes increased by $6.8 million, primarily due to the increase in pre-tax book income.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We regularly evaluate our capital structure, liquidity position, debt obligations, and anticipated cash needs to fund our operating or investment plans, and we will continue to consider capital raising and other market opportunities that may be available to us.

Principal Sources of Liquidity. Our principal sources of liquidity on hand include our cash, cash equivalents, and investments, which, as of January 31, 2026, totaled $1.4 billion, as well as our 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 January 31, 2026, letters of credit totaling $41.1 million were issued under the Revolving Credit Facility. There were no borrowings outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility as of January 31, 2026.

Foreign Liquidity. The amount of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments held by our foreign subsidiaries was $351.7 million as of January 31, 2026. Approximately $92.3 million of undistributed earnings 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 Repurchases. 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 three months of fiscal 2026, we repurchased $80.5 million of our common stock under the stock repurchase program, and $589.8 million remained under the current repurchase authorization as of January 31, 2026. 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. During the first quarter of fiscal 2026, we also repurchased $90.1 million of our common stock in settlement of employee tax withholding obligations due upon the vesting of stock unit awards. See Note 15 to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this report as well as “Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities” in 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):

January 31, 2026November 1, 2025Increase (Decrease)
Cash and cash equivalents$1,123,413$1,091,952$31,461
Short-term investments in marketable debt securities176,315216,148(39,833)
Long-term investments in marketable debt securities69,87657,14212,734
Total cash, cash equivalents, and investments in marketable debt securities$1,369,604$1,365,242$4,362

Cash, cash equivalents and investments increased by $4.4 million during the first three months of fiscal 2026. Cash from operating activities generated $227.6 million, which was partially offset by the following: (i) stock repurchases on vesting of our stock unit awards to employees relating to tax withholding of $90.1 million; (ii) cash used for stock repurchases under our stock repurchase program of $80.5 million; and (iii) cash used to fund our investing activities for capital expenditures totaling $73.9 million. In addition to cash provided by operating activities, proceeds from the issuance of equity under our employee stock purchase plan provided $17.2 million in cash during the three months ended January 31, 2026.

Cash Provided By Operating Activities

The following sections set forth the components of our $227.6 million of cash provided by operating activities during the first three months of fiscal 2026. Net income (adjusted for non-cash charges) provided cash of $265.3 million, offset by cash used in operating assets and liabilities of $37.7 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):

Three Months Ended
January 31, 2026
Net income$150,283
Adjustments for non-cash charges:
Depreciation of equipment, building, furniture and fixtures, and amortization of leasehold improvements32,309
Share-based compensation expense49,827
Amortization of intangible assets11,521
Deferred taxes(7,043)
Provision for inventory excess and obsolescence21,832
Provision for warranty8,185
Other(1,545)
Net income (adjusted for non-cash charges)$265,369

Operating Assets and Liabilities

Operating asset and liability requirements increased by $37.7 million during the period. The following table sets forth the major components of the cash changes in operating assets and liabilities (in thousands):

Three Months Ended
January 31, 2026
Accounts receivable$9,406
Inventories(41,228)
Prepaid expenses and other40,024
Accounts payable, accruals, and other obligations(130,907)
Deferred revenue86,013
Operating lease assets and liabilities, net(1,032)
Total cash consumed by operating assets and liabilities$(37,724)

As compared to the end of fiscal 2025, for the first three months of fiscal 2026:

  • The change in accounts receivable primarily reflects improved cash collections partially offset by increased sales volume;

  • The change in inventories primarily reflects our strategy to mitigate supply chain volatility and ensure uninterrupted fulfillment of orders;

  • The change in prepaid expenses and other primarily reflects lower prepaid value-added tax (VAT), lower contract assets for unbilled accounts receivable, and reduced refundable cash advances to a third-party contract manufacturer;

  • The change in accounts payable, accruals, and other obligations primarily reflects the timing of payments associated with our annual incentive compensation plan partially offset by the timing of payments for payroll and higher payroll related costs;

  • 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.

Cash Paid for Interest, Net

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

Three Months Ended
January 31, 2026
Refinanced 2030 Term Loan due October 28, 2030(1)16,600
2030 Senior Notes due January 31, 2030(2)—
Interest rate swaps(3)(955)
Revolving Credit Facility(4)428
Finance leases806
Cash paid during period$16,879

(1) 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 first quarter of fiscal 2026, the interest rate on the Refinanced 2030 Term Loan was 5.43%.

(2) 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.

(3) 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 3.287% through December 2028.

(4) During the first three months of fiscal 2026, 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 11 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 1, 2025. For a summary of our contractual obligations, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources – Contractual Obligations” in Item 7 of Part II of our 2025 Annual Report.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our critical accounting policies and estimates have not changed materially since November 1, 2025. For a discussion of our critical accounting policies and estimates, see “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” in Item 7 of Part II of our 2025 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 2025 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

There has been no material change to our Risk Factors from those presented in our 2025 Annual Report. 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 2025 Annual Report, including the information under 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 this report. Our actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Any of the risks discussed in our 2025 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.

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 first quarter of fiscal 2026:

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)
November 2, 2025 to November 29, 2025128,961$194.46128,961$645,266
November 30, 2025 to December 27, 2025116,215$215.78116,215$620,188
December 28, 2025 to January 31, 2026126,821$239.37126,821$589,831
371,997$216.43371,997

(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 first quarter of fiscal 2026, we repurchased $80.5 million of our common stock under the stock repurchase program, and we had $589.8 million remaining under the current repurchase authorization as of January 31, 2026. 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 first quarter of fiscal 2026, 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
Brodie Gage (Senior Vice President, Global Products & Supply Chain)Modification (December 23, 2025) (1)Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangementSalesUntil December 31, 2026, or such earlier date upon which all transactions are completed or expire without execution (2)Up to 15,800 shares of common stock (3)

(1) On December 23, 2025, Mr. Gage modified the Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement (as modified, the “Gage Modified Arrangement”) that he adopted on July 1, 2025 (the “Gage Original Arrangement”).

(2) The Gage Modified Arrangement changed the trading schedule and awards sold but not the duration of the arrangement. Sales under the Gage Modified Arrangement will not begin until March 24, 2026.

(3) The aggregate number of shares of common stock to be sold pursuant to the Gage Original Arrangement was up to 7,150 shares of common stock.

Item 6. Exhibits

10.1Form of Employee Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for Ciena Corporation 2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan (revised 2025) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-36250) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 12, 2025).*
10.2Change in Control Severance Agreement dated November 30, 2025, between Ciena Corporation and Gary B. Smith (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.31 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-36250) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 12, 2025).*
10.3Form of Change in Control Severance Agreement dated November 30, 2025, between Ciena Corporation and Executive Officers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.32 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-36250) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 12, 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:March 5, 2026By:/s/ Gary B. Smith
Gary B. Smith
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director (Duly Authorized Officer)
Date:March 5, 2026By:/s/ Marc D. Graff
Marc D. Graff
Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)