Overview

* Ciena fiscal Q3 revenue rises 29.4% yr/yr, beating analyst expectations

* Adjusted net income for fiscal Q3 beats analyst estimates, driven by AI demand

* Company repurchased 1 mln shares for $81.8 mln during the quarter

Outlook

* Ciena expects Q4 revenue between $1.24 bln and $1.32 bln

* Company anticipates Q4 adjusted gross margin of 42% to 43%

* Ciena forecasts Q4 adjusted operating expenses of $390 mln to $400 mln

Result Drivers

* AI DEMAND - Ciena attributes revenue growth to increased demand for high-speed connectivity driven by AI applications

* NETWORKING LEADERSHIP - Company cites its leadership in networking systems as a key factor in its strong performance

* EXPANDED OPERATING LEVERAGE - Ciena focused on expanding operating leverage to support continued growth, per CEO Gary Smith

Key Details

Metric Beat/Mis Actual Consensu

s s

Estimate

Q3 Beat $1.22 $1.18

Revenue bln bln (12

Analysts

)

Q3 $0.67

Adjusted

EPS

Q3 EPS $0.35

Q3 Beat $96.20 $77 mln

Adjusted mln (11

Net Analysts

Income )

Q3 Net $50.30

Income mln

Q3 Cash $1.39

&Investm bln

ents

Analyst Coverage

* The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 13 "strong buy" or "buy", 4 "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"

* The average consensus recommendation for the communications & networking peer group is "buy"

* Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Ciena Corp ( CIEN ) is $90.00, about 5.4% below its September 3 closing price of $94.82

* The stock recently traded at 30 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 26 three months ago

Press Release:

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)