09:16 AM EST, 12/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Ciena's (CIEN) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell year over year and missed Wall Street expectations while revenue topped market estimates.

The networking systems and software company's adjusted earnings came in at $0.54 per share for the quarter ended Nov. 2, down from $0.75 the year before and below the FactSet-polled consensus of $0.65. Revenue slipped 0.5% year over year to $1.12 billion, but surpassed the Street's view for $1.1 billion.

"Our (fourth-quarter) revenue and strong order flow reflect our significant and increasing technology leadership and positive industry dynamics," Chief Executive Gary Smith said in a statement. "As cloud and (artificial intelligence) drive bandwidth demand across the network, we are positioned for accelerated revenue growth and market share expansion moving forward."

Ciena shares jumped about 13% in premarket activity.

Sales for the networking platform segment amounted to $859 million, down from $876.9 million in the 2023 quarter. Within the division, optical networking advanced to $779.6 million from $748 million last year, while routing and switching dropped to $79.4 million from $128.9 million. The global services business saw revenue fall to $142 million from $150.5 million last year.

By geography, revenue in the Americas, which represented about 76% of Ciena's total sales during the quarter, grew to $852.2 million from $801.4 million. Asia-Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa logged declines.

The company's gross margin fell to 40.9% from 43.1% last year. Total operating expenses rose to $400.8 million from nearly $395 million in the prior-year quarter, according to the company.

In a separate statement, Ciena said it appointed Lawton Fitt as independent chair of its board of directors, effective Dec. 11. Fitt has been a director of the company since November 2000. Patrick Nettles stepped down as executive chair after deciding not to stand for re-election at the end of his term at Ciena's 2025 annual shareholders meeting.