CIENA CORP

EX-99.1 · ex9912026q2earningspressre.htm

EX-99.1
 2
 ex9912026q2earningspressre.htm
 EX-99.1

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 Ciena Reports Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results

 Summary
 • Fiscal second quarter 2026 revenue was $1.57 billion, up 40% year-over-year
 • Fiscal second quarter 2026 adjusted Earnings Per Share (EPS) was $1.64, an increase of 290% compared to fiscal second quarter 2025
 • Providing revenue guidance for fiscal third quarter 2026 of $1.625 billion plus or minus $50 million
 • Raising revenue guidance for fiscal year 2026 to $6.3 billion plus or minus $100 million, a 32% increase YoY at the midpoint

 HANOVER, Md. - June 4, 2026 - Ciena ® Corporation (NYSE: CIEN) today announced financial results for its fiscal second quarter ended May 2, 2026.
 "Today's results reflect the strength of our portfolio, the power of our business model, and disciplined execution in a dynamic supply environment," said Gary Smith, president and CEO, Ciena. "Our long-term strategy to be the global leader in high-speed connectivity - both across the WAN and in and around the data center - is tightly aligned to the structural, multi-year opportunities created by AI-driven demand, positioning us to capitalize on market dynamics and drive sustained, profitable growth."

 "We delivered strong fiscal second quarter results, marked by significant year-over-year revenue growth, adjusted gross margin expansion, and nearly fourfold growth in adjusted earnings per share," said Marc Graff, Ciena’s Chief Financial Officer. "Our demonstrated ability to drive operating leverage gives us confidence in continued earnings expansion and long-term value creation for customers and shareholders."
 Performance Summary for Fiscal Second Quarter Ended May 2, 2026
 Revenue:
 • $1.57 billion in the fiscal second quarter 2026, compared to $1.13 billion in the fiscal second quarter 2025

 Net Income per diluted share:
 • $1.49 GAAP and $1.64 adjusted (non-GAAP) for the fiscal second quarter 2026, compared to $0.06 and $0.42 for fiscal second quarter 2025, respectively

 The tables below (in millions, except percentage data) provide comparisons of certain quarterly results. Appendices A and B set forth reconciliations between the GAAP and adjusted (non-GAAP) measures contained in this release.
 1

 GAAP Results (unaudited) Non-GAAP Results (unaudited)
 Quarter Ended Period Quarter Ended Period
 May 2, May 3, Change May 2, May 3, Change
 2026 2025 Y-T-Y* 2026 2025 Y-T-Y*
 Revenue $ 1,570.7  $ 1,125.9  39.5  % $ 1,570.7  $ 1,125.9  39.5  %
 Gross margin 44.0  % 40.2  % 3.8  % 44.9  % 41.0  % 3.9  %
 Operating expense $ 453.7  $ 420.0  8.0  % $ 397.8  $ 369.5  7.7  %
 Operating margin 15.1  % 2.9  % 12.2  % 19.5  % 8.2  % 11.3  %
 EBITDA $ 283.1  $ 66.7  324.4  % $ 341.8  $ 116.7  192.9  %

 * Denotes % change, or in the case of margin, absolute change
 Business Outlook
 Ciena expects fiscal third quarter 2026 to include:
 • Revenue of $1.625B billion plus or minus $50 million
 • Adjusted (non-GAAP) gross margin in the range of 45% plus or minus 50 bps
 • Adjusted (non-GAAP) operating expense in the range of $410 million plus or minus $10 million
 • Adjusted (non-GAAP) operating margin between 19% and 20%
 Ciena expects fiscal year 2026 to include:
 • Revenue of $6.3 billion plus or minus $100 million
 • Adjusted (non-GAAP) gross margin between 44.5% and 45%
 • Adjusted (non-GAAP) operating expense in the range of $1.61 billion plus or minus $20 million
 • Adjusted (non-GAAP) operating margin in the range of 19% plus or minus 50bps

 Statements relating to business outlook are forward-looking in nature and actual results may differ materially. These statements should be read in the context of the "Key assumptions underlying our outlook" in our accompanying Earnings Presentation and each of the "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Reconciliation of Adjusted (Non- GAAP) Measurements" found in the Notes to Investors below.
 Financial Highlights for the Fiscal Second Quarter 2026
 • Two customers represented 10%-plus of revenue for a total of 34.0% of revenue.
 • Average days' sales outstanding (DSOs) were 71.
 • Inventory turns were 3.6.
 • Repurchased approximately 0.2 million shares of common stock for an aggregate price of $83.1 million under the $1 billion share repurchase program.
 2

 Financial Performance by Segment
 Revenue by Segment (unaudited)
 Quarter Ended
 May 2, 2026 May 3, 2025
 Revenue %** Revenue %**
 Networking Platforms
 Optical Networking $ 1,099.8  70.0  $ 773.6  68.7 
 Routing and Switching 174.2  11.1  92.7  8.2 
 Total Networking Platforms 1,274.0  81.1  866.3  76.9 

 Platform Software and Services 93.9  6.0  85.4  7.5 

 Blue Planet Automation Software and Services 23.4  1.5  28.0  2.5 

 Global Services
 Maintenance, Support, and Learning 89.3  5.7  79.4  7.1 
 Implementation 79.7  5.1  58.2  5.2 
 Advisory and Enablement 10.4  0.6  8.6  0.8 
 Total Global Services 179.4  11.4  146.2  13.1 

 Total $ 1,570.7  100.0  $ 1,125.9  100.0 

 ** Denotes % of total revenue

 Supplemental Materials and Live Web Broadcast of Unaudited Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Results
 Today, Thursday, June 4, 2026, in conjunction with this announcement, Ciena has posted to the Quarterly Results page of the Investor Relations section of its website certain related supporting materials for its unaudited fiscal second quarter 2026 results.

 Ciena's management will also host a discussion today with investors and financial analysts that will include the Company's outlook. The live audio web broadcast beginning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern will be accessible via www.ciena.com. An archived replay of the live broadcast will be available shortly following its conclusion on the Investor Relations page of Ciena's website.

 3

 Notes to Investors

 Forward-Looking Statements. You are encouraged to review the Investors section of our website, where we routinely post press releases, Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings, recent news, financial results, supplemental financial information, and other announcements. From time to time we exclusively post material information to this website along with other disclosure channels that we use. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, assumptions and other information available to the Company as of the date hereof. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding Ciena's expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," "will," and "would" or similar words. Forward-looking statements in this release include the "Business Outlook" section of this press release and "Today's results reflect the strength of our portfolio, the power of our business model, and disciplined execution in a dynamic supply environment. Our long-term strategy to be the global leader in high-speed connectivity - both across the WAN and in and around the data center - is tightly aligned to the structural, multi-year opportunities created by AI-driven demand, positioning us to capitalize on market dynamics and drive sustained, profitable growth. We delivered strong fiscal second quarter results, marked by significant year-over-year revenue growth, adjusted gross margin expansion, and nearly fourfold growth in adjusted earnings per share. Our demonstrated ability to drive operating leverage gives us confidence in continued earnings expansion and long-term value creation for customers and shareholders."

 Ciena's actual results, performance or events may differ materially from these forward-looking statements made or implied due to a number of risks and uncertainties relating to Ciena's business, including: the effect of broader economic and market conditions on our business and that of our customers, including their spending; the development and use of artificial intelligence and its impact on overall networking technology spending; our ability to execute our business and growth strategies; supply chain constraints or disruptions including increased costs and lead times; the introduction of new technologies by us or our competitors; the timing and size of customer orders, their delivery dates and our ability to fulfill and recognize revenue relating to such sales; the level of competitive pressure we encounter; the product, customer and geographic mix of sales within the period; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; factors beyond our control such as natural disasters, climate change, acts of war or terrorism, geopolitical tensions or events, and public health emergencies, epidemics, or pandemics; changes in tax or trade regulations, including the imposition of tariffs, duties or efforts to withdraw from or materially modify international trade agreements; cyberattacks, data breaches or other security incidents involving our enterprise network environment or our products; regulatory changes, litigation involving our intellectual property or government investigations; and the other risk factors disclosed in Ciena’s periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commis sion (SEC) including its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on December 12, 2025 and included in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 to be filed with the SEC. Ciena assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information included in this press release.

 Non-GAAP Presentation of Quarterly and Annual Results. This release includes non-GAAP measures of Ciena's gross profit, operating expense, income from operations, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), Adjusted EBITDA, and measures of net income and net income per share. In evaluating the operating performance of Ciena's business, management excludes certain charges and credits that are required by GAAP. These items share one or more of the following characteristics: they are unusual and Ciena does not expect them to recur in the ordinary course of its business; they do not involve the expenditure of cash; they are unrelated to the ongoing operation of the business in the ordinary course; or their magnitude and timing is largely outside of Ciena's control. Management believes that the non-GAAP measures below provide management and investors useful information and meaningful insight to the operating performance of the business. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to Ciena's GAAP results and these measures are not intended to be a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. Ciena's non-GAAP measures and the related adjustments may differ from non-GAAP measures used by other companies and should only be used to evaluate Ciena's results of operations in conjunction with our corresponding GAAP results. To the extent not previously disclosed in a prior Ciena financial results press release, Appendices A and B to this press release set forth a complete GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures contained in this release.
 4

 With respect to Ciena’s expectations under “Business Outlook” above, Ciena is not able to provide a quantitative reconciliation of the adjusted (non-GAAP) gross margin, adjusted (non-GAAP) operating expense, and adjusted (non-GAAP) operating margin guidance measures to the corresponding gross margin, operating expense, and operating margin GAAP measures without unreasonable efforts. Ciena cannot provide meaningful estimates of the non-recurring charges and credits excluded from these non-GAAP measures due to the forward-looking nature of these estimates and their inherent variability and uncertainty. For the same reasons, Ciena is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information.

 About Ciena. Ciena is the global leader in high-speed connectivity. We build the world’s most advanced networks to support exponential growth in bandwidth demand. By harnessing the power of our networking systems, interconnects, automation software, and services, Ciena revolutionizes data transmission and network management. With unparalleled expertise and innovation, we empower our customers, partners, and communities to thrive in the AI era. For updates on Ciena, follow us on LinkedIn, X, the Ciena Insights blog, or visit www.ciena.com.
  

 5

 CIENA CORPORATION
 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
 (in thousands, except per share data)
 (unaudited)

 Quarter Ended Six Months Ended
   May 2, May 3, May 2, May 3,
   2026 2025 2026 2025
 Revenue:    
 Products $ 1,311,488  $ 898,581  $ 2,491,358  $ 1,753,366 
 Services 259,251  227,297  506,423  444,772 
 Total revenue 1,570,739  1,125,878  2,997,781  2,198,138 
 Cost of goods sold:    
 Products 736,107  549,984  1,402,681  1,040,788 
 Services 143,078  123,056  278,026  232,691 
 Total cost of goods sold 879,185  673,040  1,680,707  1,273,479 
 Gross profit 691,554  452,838  1,317,074  924,659 
 Operating expenses:    
 Research and development 237,905  214,868  459,363  407,531 
 Selling and marketing 150,039  139,683  298,906  276,187 
 General and administrative 61,221  56,952  120,464  110,854 
 Significant asset impairments and restructuring costs 805  1,948  2,303  3,492 
 Amortization of intangible assets 3,713  6,545  8,449  13,090 
 Acquisition and integration costs —  —  306  — 

 Total operating expenses 453,683  419,996  889,791  811,154 
 Income from operations 237,871  32,842  427,283  113,505 
 Interest and other income, net 14,111  7,871  27,068  19,449 
 Interest expense (20,922) (21,697) (42,176) (44,615)
 Loss on extinguishment and modification of debt —  —  —  (729)
 Income before income taxes 231,060  19,016  412,175  87,610 
 Provision for income taxes 12,840  10,047  43,672  34,069 
 Net income $ 218,220  $ 8,969  $ 368,503  $ 53,541 

 Net Income per Common Share
 Basic net income per common share $ 1.54  $ 0.06  $ 2.60  $ 0.38 
 Diluted net income per potential common share $ 1.49  $ 0.06  $ 2.52  $ 0.37 

 Weighted average basic common shares outstanding 141,949  142,503  141,834  142,704 
 Weighted average dilutive potential common shares outstanding 1
 146,314  144,972  146,078  145,470 

 1 Weighted average dilutive potential common shares outstanding used in calculating GAAP diluted net income per potential common share includes the following number of shares underlying certain stock option and stock unit awards: (i) 4.4 million and 4.2 million for the second quarter and first six months ended fiscal 2026, respectively; and (ii) 2.5 million and 2.8 million for the second quarter and first six months ended fiscal 2025, respectively.

 6

 CIENA CORPORATION
 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
 (in thousands, except share data)
 (unaudited)

 May 2, November 1,
 2026 2025
 ASSETS  
 Current assets:  
 Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,045,126  $ 1,091,952 
 Short-term investments 157,708  216,148 
 Accounts receivable, net 1,052,569  975,856 
 Inventories, net 808,447  826,235 
 Prepaid expenses and other 504,314  455,316 
 Total current assets 3,568,164  3,565,507 
 Long-term investments 200,106  57,142 
 Equipment, building, furniture and fixtures, net 445,082  386,779 
 Operating lease right-of-use assets 38,459  38,613 
 Goodwill 520,401  521,204 
 Other intangible assets, net 202,190  224,210 
 Deferred tax asset, net 873,979  884,889 
 Other long-term assets 191,068  186,323 
 Total assets $ 6,039,449  $ 5,864,667 
 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY  
 Current liabilities:  
 Accounts payable $ 606,599  $ 542,841 
 Accrued liabilities and other short-term obligations 439,626  531,081 
 Deferred revenue 238,380  208,936 
 Operating lease liabilities 12,396  13,956 
 Current portion of long-term debt 11,580  11,580 

 Total current liabilities 1,308,581  1,308,394 
 Long-term deferred revenue 102,107  94,850 
 Other long-term obligations 185,001  175,426 
 Long-term operating lease liabilities 31,996  32,516 
 Long-term debt, net 1,519,539  1,524,158 
 Total liabilities 3,147,224  3,135,344 
 Stockholders’ equity:
 Preferred stock – par value $0.01; 20,000,000 shares authorized; zero shares issued and outstanding
 —  — 
 Common stock – par value $0.01; 290,000,000 shares authorized; 141,597,550 and 141,016,300 shares issued and outstanding
 1,416  1,410 
 Additional paid-in capital 5,732,496  5,953,057 
 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (40,081) (55,035)
 Accumulated deficit (2,801,606) (3,170,109)
 Total stockholders’ equity 2,892,225  2,729,323 
 Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 6,039,449  $ 5,864,667 

 7

 CIENA CORPORATION
 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
 (in thousands)
 (unaudited)
 Six Months Ended
   May 2, May 3,
   2026 2025
 Cash flows provided by operating activities:  
 Net income $ 368,503  $ 53,541 
 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:  

 Depreciation of equipment, building, furniture and fixtures, and amortization of leasehold improvements 67,021  49,771 

 Share-based compensation expense 105,300  88,767 
 Amortization of intangible assets 22,020  17,555 
 Deferred taxes (10,563) (10,470)
 Provision for inventory excess and obsolescence 42,481  23,431 
 Provision for warranty 16,685  10,714 

 Other 603  (6,355)
 Changes in assets and liabilities:  
 Accounts receivable (71,555) (20,857)
 Inventories (24,690) (76,904)
 Prepaid expenses and other (34,047) 84,144 
 Operating lease right-of-use assets 5,349  5,580 
 Accounts payable, accruals and other obligations (27,945) (16,755)
 Deferred revenue 35,442  66,493 
 Short and long-term operating lease liabilities (7,257) (7,986)
 Net cash provided by operating activities 487,347  260,669 
 Cash flows used in investing activities:  
 Payments for equipment, furniture, and fixtures (114,933) (55,622)

 Purchases of investments (226,731) (159,102)
 Proceeds from sales and maturities of investments 143,880  164,837 
 Settlement of foreign currency forward contracts, net (31) 2,441 

 Net cash used in investing activities (197,815) (47,446)
 Cash flows used in financing activities:  
 Proceeds for modification of debt, net —  19,175 
 Cash paid for extinguishment of debt —  (19,175)
 Payment of long term debt (5,790) (5,790)
 Payment of debt issuance costs —  (12)
 Payment of finance lease obligations (2,371) (2,110)
 Shares repurchased for tax withholdings on vesting of stock unit awards (179,420) (42,266)
 Repurchases of common stock - repurchase program, net (164,920) (168,197)
 Proceeds from issuance of common stock 17,226  17,132 
 Net cash used in financing activities (335,275) (201,243)
 Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash (1,093) 2,937 
 Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash (46,836) 14,917 
 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period 1,092,197  935,026 
 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period $ 1,045,361  $ 949,943 
 Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information  
 Cash paid during the period for interest, net $ 40,979  $ 43,200 
 Cash paid during the period for income taxes, net $ 48,830  $ 55,466 
 Operating lease payments $ 8,413  $ 8,812 
 Non-cash investing and financing activities
 Purchase of equipment in accounts payable $ 12,966  $ 12,545 

 Repurchase of common stock in accrued liabilities from repurchase program, net $ 1,320  $ 2,023 
 Operating right-of-use assets subject to lease liability $ 6,003  $ 16,351 

 8

 APPENDIX A - Reconciliation of Adjusted (Non- GAAP) Measurements
 (in thousands, except per share data) (unaudited)

 Quarter Ended
 May 2, May 3,
 2026 2025
 Gross Profit Reconciliation (GAAP/non-GAAP)
 GAAP gross profit $ 691,554  $ 452,838 
 Share-based compensation-products 2,010  2,033 
 Share-based compensation-services 4,504  3,980 
 Amortization of intangible assets 6,787  2,232 
 Total adjustments related to gross profit 13,301  8,245 
 Adjusted (non-GAAP) gross profit $ 704,855  $ 461,083 
 Adjusted (non-GAAP) gross profit percentage 44.9  % 41.0  %

 Operating Expense Reconciliation (GAAP/non-GAAP)
 GAAP operating expense $ 453,683  $ 419,996 
 Share-based compensation-research and development 18,586  17,021 
 Share-based compensation-sales and marketing 16,486  13,649 
 Share-based compensation-general and administrative 13,887  11,341 
 Significant asset impairments and restructuring costs 805  1,948 
 Amortization of intangible assets 3,713  6,545 

 Holdback arrangement 2,411  — 

 Total adjustments related to operating expense 55,888  50,504 
 Adjusted (non-GAAP) operating expense $ 397,795  $ 369,492 

 Income from Operations Reconciliation (GAAP/non-GAAP)
 GAAP income from operations $ 237,871  $ 32,842 
 Total adjustments related to gross profit 13,301  8,245 
 Total adjustments related to operating expense 55,888  50,504 
 Total adjustments related to income from operations 69,189  58,749 
 Adjusted (non-GAAP) income from operations $ 307,060  $ 91,591 
 Adjusted (non-GAAP) operating margin percentage 19.5  % 8.2  %

 Net Income Reconciliation (GAAP/non-GAAP)
 GAAP net income $ 218,220  $ 8,969 
 Exclude GAAP provision for income taxes 12,840  10,047 
 Income before income taxes 231,060  19,016 
 Total adjustments related to income from operations 69,189  58,749 

 Adjusted income before income taxes 300,249  77,765 
 Non-GAAP tax provision on adjusted income before income taxes 60,050  17,108 
 Adjusted (non-GAAP) net income $ 240,199  $ 60,657 

 Weighted average basic common shares outstanding 141,949 142,503
 Weighted average dilutive potential common shares outstanding 1
 146,314 144,972

 Net Income per Common Share
 GAAP diluted net income per potential common share $ 1.49  $ 0.06 
 Adjusted (non-GAAP) diluted net income per potential common share $ 1.64  $ 0.42 

 1 Weighted average dilutive potential common shares outstanding used in calculating Adjusted (non-GAAP) diluted net income per potential common share includes the following number of shares underlying certain stock option and stock unit awards: (i) 4.4 million for the second quarter ended fiscal 2026; and (ii) 2.5 million for the second quarter ended fiscal 2025.
 9

 APPENDIX B - Calculation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA
 (in thousands) (unaudited)

 Quarter Ended
 May 2, May 3,
 2026 2025
 Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA)
 Net income (GAAP) $ 218,220  $ 8,969 
 Add: Interest expense 20,922  21,697 
 Less: Interest and other income, net 14,111  7,871 

 Add: Provision for income taxes 12,840  10,047 
 Add: Depreciation of equipment, building, furniture and fixtures, and amortization of leasehold improvements 34,712  25,092 
 Add: Amortization of intangible assets 10,500  8,777 
 EBITDA $ 283,083  $ 66,711 
 Add: Share-based compensation expense 55,473  48,024 
 Add: Significant asset impairments and restructuring costs 805  1,948 

 Add: Holdback arrangement 2,411  — 
 Adjusted EBITDA $ 341,772  $ 116,683 

 * * *
 The adjusted (non-GAAP) measures above and their reconciliation to Ciena's GAAP results for the periods presented reflect adjustments relating to the following items:
 • Share-based compensation - a non-cash expense incurred in accordance with share-based compensation accounting guidance.
 • Significant asset impairments and restructuring costs - non-recurring costs p rimarily reflecting expenses associated with actions Ciena has taken to restructure our business, including reductions in force, facility optimization, and the redesign of business processes.
 • Amortization of intangible assets - a non-cash expense arising from the acquisition of intangible assets, principally developed technologies and customer-related intangibles, that Ciena is required to amortize over an expected useful life.
 • Holdback arrangement - reflects a one-time holdback of a portion of the merger consideration otherwise payable at closing to certain key employee shareholders of Nubis Communications, Inc. who became employees of Ciena, which is treated as contingent compensation for GAAP reporting purposes. These transaction-related amounts are not part of Ciena's standard compensation and benefits.
 • Non-GAAP tax provision - consists of current and deferred income tax expense commensurate with the level of adjusted income before income taxes and utilizes a current, blended U.S. and foreign statutory annual tax rate of 20% for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 and 22% for the second quarter of fiscal 2025. This rate may be subject to change in the future, including as a result of changes in tax policy or tax strategy.

 10

EX-99.2 · ex9922026q2earningsprese.htm

EX-99.2
 3
 ex9922026q2earningsprese.htm
 EX-99.2

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information. Ciena Corporation Fiscal Q2 2026 Earnings Presentation Period ended May 2, 2026 June 4, 2026

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.2 Forward-looking statements and non-GAAP measures You are encouraged to review the Investors section of our website, where we routinely post press releases, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, recent news, financial results, supplemental financial information, and other announcements. From time to time, we exclusively post material information to this website along with other disclosure channels that we use. Information in this presentation and related comments of presenters contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, assumptions and other information available to the Company as of the date hereof. Forward- looking statements include statements regarding Ciena's expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," "will," and "would" or similar words. Ciena's actual results, performance or events may differ materially from these forward-looking statements made or implied due to a number of risks and uncertainties relating to Ciena's business, including: the effect of broader economic and market conditions on our business and that of our customers, including their spending; the development and use of artificial intelligence and its impact on overall networking technology spending; our ability to execute our business and growth strategies; supply chain constraints or disruptions including increased costs and lead times; the introduction of new technologies by us or our competitors; the timing and size of customer orders, their delivery dates and our ability to fulfill and recognize revenue relating to such sales; the level of competitive pressure we encounter; the product, customer and geographic mix of sales within the period; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; factors beyond our control such as natural disasters, climate change, acts of war or terrorism, geopolitical tensions or events, and public health emergencies, epidemics, or pandemics; changes in tax or trade regulations, including the imposition of tariffs, duties or efforts to withdraw from or materially modify international trade agreements; cyberattacks, data breaches or other security incidents involving our enterprise network environment or our products; regulatory changes, litigation involving our intellectual property or government investigations; and the other risk factors disclosed in Ciena’s periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) including its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on December 12, 2025 and included in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 to be filed with the SEC. All information, statements, and projections in this presentation and the related earnings call speak only as of the date of this presentation and related earnings call. Ciena assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking or other information included in this presentation or related earnings calls, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In addition, this presentation includes historical, and may include prospective, non-GAAP measures of Ciena’s gross margin, operating expense, operating margin, EBITDA, and net income per share. These measures are not intended to be a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of non-GAAP measures used in this presentation to Ciena’s GAAP results for the relevant period can be found in the Appendix to this presentation. Additional information can also be found in our press release filed this morning and in our reports on Form 10-Q and Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. With respect to Ciena’s expectations under “Business Outlook", Ciena is not able to provide a quantitative reconciliation of the adjusted (non-GAAP) gross margin, adjusted (non-GAAP) operating expense, and adjusted (non-GAAP) operating margin guidance measures to the corresponding gross margin, operating expense, and operating margin GAAP measures without unreasonable efforts. Ciena cannot provide meaningful estimates of the non-recurring charges and credits excluded from these non-GAAP measures due to the forward-looking nature of these estimates and their inherent variability and uncertainty. For the same reasons, Ciena is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information.

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.3 Table of Contents 1. Introduction to Ciena 2. Fiscal Q2 2026 financial performance 3. Fiscal Q3 and full-year 2026 outlook 4. Appendix

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.4 Executive Summary AI requires more optical networking. More optical networking requires Ciena Q2 2026 results demonstrate sustained growth and operational discipline Delivered record revenue and backlog, strong profitability DCI, including scale-across, is gaining momentum as customers connect AI data centers to monetize their investments Demand is outstripping supply, resulting in multi-year visibility and longer lead times We were awarded the industry's first multi-rail opportunity using Ciena's RLS Hyper-Rail solution to connect training data centers over distance

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information. Introduction to Ciena

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.6 Ciena has global network reach and scale *Based on FYE2025 ** Market share measures as of Q1 2026 exclude China Scale and reach Recognized leadershipStrategic focus $4.8B FY2025 Revenue 19% YoY growth 9,000+ Employees* Including 4,500+ R&D specialists 80+ Countries* Customers on six continents 1,700+ Customers* Worldwide #1 in Data Center Interconnect** Dell'Oro Group #1 in Total Optical Networking** Cignal AI, Dell'Oro, Omdia #1 in Submarine Networks** Cignal AI, Omdia

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.7 Data generation and bandwidth are continuing to grow The size and scale of AI-driven investments are resulting in sustained high bandwidth growth 0 5 10 15 20 25 '23 '24 '25 '26 '27 '28 '29 ZB Data Moved by SPs +15% CAGR ‘25-’29 User consumption bandwidth is growing at lower rate than the AI “factory” Source: Omdia, AI Network Traffic Forecast 2023–35, Feb 2026 Note: “This forecast restricts traffic growth estimates to data transiting across a network operated by a service provider.” 2026 Forecast 2025 Network Bandwidth +36% CAGR ‘25-’29 Growth is similar to data center …but 1/50th of capacity Source: Cignal AI, Optical Components Report, Feb 2026 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 '23 '24 '25 '26 '27 '28 '29 Eb/s 2024 2026 Forecast 2025 Data Center Bandwidth +35% CAGR ‘25-’29 Actual growth is significantly higher than forecasted Source: Cignal AI, Optical Components Report, Feb 2026 0 20 40 60 80 100 '23 '24 '25 '26 '27 '28 '29 Eb/s 2024 2025 2026 Forecast X2 X2 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 '23 '24 '25 '26 '27 '28 '29 ZB Global Data Generation +25% CAGR ’25-’29 2026 forecast growing faster than historical trend Source: Worldwide IDC Global DataSphere Forecast, 2025-2029, Doc#US53363625 2023 2026 Forecast

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.8 Cloud Providers are the drivers of industry change Cloud Providers (CP) – and especially the Hyperscalers – are funding an unprecedented scale of investment Sources: Company earnings, analyst projections, 2030 projections from Dell’Oro Group, and Ciena internal analysis The forecasted range of Cloud Provider CapEx is far exceeding previous estimates Cloud Provider spend has been higher than forecastedCloud Provider CapEx forecast is accelerating rapidly Forecasts have consistently underestimated Cloud Providers' CapEx Sources: Company earnings for actuals, various analysts for forecasts 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 $B ChatGPT Launched Actual Spend Previous year’s forecast

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.9 Ciena is the leader in high-speed connectivity Our strategic investments are extending to in-and-around the data center, leveraging our strengths to expand our footprint Our core optical strength is the foundation for our portfolio expansion

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information. Q2 FY 2026 results

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.11 Ciena's differentiated position in AI is driving record performance ▪ Revenue: $1.6B, up 40% YoY • Cloud provider revenue: 46% of total, up 70% YoY • RLS and Waveserver revenue each grew more than 50% YoY • India revenue more than doubled YoY, driven by MOFN • WL6 Extreme: 110 customers, +20 new in Q2 • Awarded the industry's first hyperscaler multi-rail opportunity with RLS Hyper-Rail, reinforcing Ciena's technology leadership in AI infrastructure solutions • Adj. gross margin: 44.9%, up +390bps YoY • Adj. operating margin: 19.5%, up +1,130bps YoY • Free cash flow: $219M, up 71% YoY • Repurchased $83M in Q2; ~$493M returned under the $1B program Achieving broad-based growth Prioritizing long-term shareholder value Driving the pace of innovation

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.12 Q2 FY 2026 comparative financial highlights * Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to our GAAP results are included in the Appendix and in the press release for the relative period. ** Denotes % change, or in the case of margin, absolute change GAAP Results Q2 FY2025 Q1 FY2026 Q2 FY2026 YoY Change** Revenue $1.13B $1.43B $1.57B 40% Gross Margin 40.2% 43.8% 44.0% 380 bps Operating Expense $420M $436M $454M 8% Operating Margin 2.9% 13.3% 15.1% 1,220 bps EBITDA $67M $233M $283M 324% Fully Diluted EPS $0.06 $1.03 $1.49 2383% Non-GAAP Results Q2 FY2025 Q1 FY2026 Q2 FY2026 YoY Change** Revenue $1.13B $1.43B $1.57B 40% Adjusted Gross Margin* 41.0% 44.7% 44.9% 390 bps Adjusted Operating Expense* $370M $383M $398M 8% Adjusted Operating Margin* 8.2% 17.9% 19.5% 1,130 bps Adjusted EBITDA* $117M $287M $342M 193% Adjusted EPS* $0.42 $1.35 $1.64 290%

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.13 Q2 FY 2026 comparative operating metrics Q2 FY 2025 Q2 FY 2026 YoY Change* Cash and investments $1.3B $1.4B 8% Cash provided by operations $157M $260M 66% Free cash flow $128M $219M 71% DSO 87 71 (16) Inventory turns 2.5x 3.6x 1.1x Net debt $253M $138M (45)% Gross leverage 3.2x 1.6x (1.6)x * Denotes % change, or in the case of DSO, inventory turns, and gross leverage, absolute change

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information. Business outlook

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.15 Key assumptions underlying our outlook AI infrastructure investment: Cloud providers continue to increase capital expenditure on AI data center buildout at levels consistent with recent public commitments. Supply chain: Global supply of optical components and substrates remains broadly stable, with no material disruptions to our ability to fulfill customer orders. Trade and tariff policy: No material change to current US and international tariff and trade policy affecting our products or our customers’ purchasing decisions. Foreign exchange: Currency exchange rates remain broadly consistent with levels prevailing at the time of this report. For additional considerations relating to our outlook, please refer to our note about forward looking statements on Slide 2 and the risk factors disclosed in Ciena's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.16 Business outlook for fiscal Q3 and full-year 20261 1 Projections or outlook with respect to future operating results are only as of June 4, 2026, the date presented on the related earnings call. Actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Ciena assumes no obligation to update this information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Fiscal Q3 2026 Fiscal FY 2026 Revenue $1.625B plus or minus $50M $6.3B plus or minus $100M Adjusted Gross Margin 45.0% plus or minus 50 bps 44.5% to 45.0% Adjusted Operating Expense $410M plus or minus $10M $1.61B plus or minus $20M Adjusted Operating Margin 19% to 20% 19% plus or minus 50 bps

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information. Q2 FY 2026 appendix

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.18 Glossary of terms Term Definition Coherent optics A technology for sending data over fiber optic cables using light waves — faster and more efficient than traditional methods at long distances WaveLogic Ciena’s proprietary family of coherent optical chips — the core technology inside most of our networking products Data center interconnect The optical connections that link data centers to each other — the fastest-growing segment of the optical networking market RLS (reconfigurable line system) Optical network hardware that can be remotely reconfigured without physically sending a technician on-site RLS Hyper-Rail Ciena's 2nd generation intelligent photonic line systems designed to support multiple fiber pairs—or rails—in parallel. Multi-rail systems are optimized for deploying multiple fibers over the same route, with each rail functioning as a high-capacity optical highway with dedicated amplification, monitoring, and control. DCOM Direct optical connections between compute chips inside an AI data center — replacing copper cables with fiber 400G / 800G / 1.6T Shorthand for data transmission speeds: 400, 800, or 1,600 gigabits per second — each generation roughly doubles the capacity of the previous Scale-across Connects distributed AI training clusters across multiple data centers. Enables hyperscalers to operate geographically separated GPU fabrics as a single system, delivering the bandwidth, latency, and reliability required for large-scale AI training.

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.19 Revenue by segment * Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to GAAP results are included in this presentation. ** Denotes % of total revenue

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.20 Revenue by customer type

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.21 Revenue by geographic region 9% 9% 8% 17% 15% 14% 74% 76% 78% 78% 14% 8% 11% 12% 77%

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.22 Q2 FY 2026 Q1 FY 2026 Q4 FY 2025 Q3 FY 2025 Q2 FY 2025 GAAP gross profit $691,554 $625,520 $577,179 $503,079 $452,838 Share-based compensation-products 2,010 1,822 1,964 2,027 2,033 Share-based compensation-services 4,504 4,025 3,857 3,942 3,980 Amortization of intangible assets 6,787 6,785 3,750 2,232 2,232 Total adjustments related to gross profit 13,301 12,632 9,571 8,201 8,245 Adjusted (non-GAAP) gross profit $704,855 $638,152 $586,750 $511,280 $461,083 Adjusted (non-GAAP) gross profit percentage 44.9 % 44.7 % 43.4 % 41.9 % 41.0 % Gross Profit Reconciliation (Amounts in thousands)

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.23 Q2 FY 2026 Q1 FY 2026 Q4 FY 2025 Q3 FY 2025 Q2 FY 2025 GAAP operating expense $453,683 $436,108 $566,688 $429,544 $419,996 Share-based compensation-research and development 18,586 16,594 16,274 16,749 17,021 Share-based compensation-sales and marketing 16,486 14,754 13,543 13,277 13,649 Share-based compensation-general and administrative 13,887 12,632 13,248 11,008 11,341 Significant asset impairments and restructuring costs 805 1,498 106,851 1,770 1,948 Amortization of intangible assets 3,713 4,736 6,112 6,556 6,545 Acquisition and integration costs — 306 1,148 — — Holdback arrangement 2,411 2,403 802 — — Total adjustments related to operating expense 55,888 52,923 157,978 49,360 50,504 Adjusted (non-GAAP) operating expense $397,795 $383,185 $408,710 $380,184 $369,492 Q2 FY 2026 Q1 FY 2026 Q4 FY 2025 Q3 FY 2025 Q2 FY 2025 GAAP income from operations $237,871 $189,412 $10,491 $73,535 $32,842 Total adjustments related to gross profit 13,301 12,632 9,571 8,201 8,245 Total adjustments related to operating expense 55,888 52,923 157,978 49,360 50,504 Total adjustments related to income from operations 69,189 65,555 167,549 57,561 58,749 Adjusted (non-GAAP) income from operations $307,060 $254,967 $178,040 $131,096 $91,591 Adjusted (non-GAAP) operating margin percentage 19.5 % 17.9 % 13.2 % 10.7 % 8.2 % Operating Expense Reconciliation (Amounts in thousands) Income from Operations Reconciliation (Amounts in thousands)

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.24 Q2 FY 2026 Q1 FY 2026 Q4 FY 2025 Q3 FY 2025 Q2 FY 2025 GAAP net income $218,220 $150,283 $19,489 $50,308 $8,969 Exclude GAAP provision (benefit) for income taxes 12,840 30,832 (16,631) 15,511 10,047 Income before income taxes 231,060 181,115 2,858 65,819 19,016 Total adjustments related to income from operations 69,189 65,555 167,549 57,561 58,749 Adjusted income before income taxes 300,249 246,670 170,407 123,380 77,765 Non-GAAP tax provision on adjusted income before income taxes 60,050 49,334 37,490 27,144 17,108 Adjusted (non-GAAP) net income $240,199 $197,336 $132,917 $96,236 $60,657 Weighted average basic common shares outstanding 141,949 141,676 141,527 141,846 142,503 Weighted average diluted potential common shares outstanding(1) 146,314 145,799 145,470 144,499 144,972 Q2 FY 2026 Q1 FY 2026 Q4 FY 2025 Q3 FY 2025 Q2 FY 2025 GAAP diluted net income per potential common share $ 1.49 $ 1.03 $ 0.13 $ 0.35 $ 0.06 Adjusted (non-GAAP) diluted net income per potential common share $ 1.64 $ 1.35 $ 0.91 $ 0.67 $ 0.42 (1) Weighted average dilutive potential common shares outstanding used in calculating Adjusted (non-GAAP) diluted net income per potential common share for the second quarter ended fiscal 2026 includes 4.4 million shares underlying certain stock option and stock unit awards. Net Income Reconciliation (Amounts in thousands) Net Income per Common Share

 © Ciena Corporation 2026. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.25 Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) Q2 FY 2026 Q1 FY 2026 Q4 FY 2025 Q3 FY 2025 Q2 FY 2025 Net income (GAAP) $218,220 $150,283 $19,489 $50,308 $8,969 Add: Interest expense 20,922 21,254 21,982 22,806 21,697 Less: Interest and other income, net 14,111 12,957 14,349 15,090 7,871 Add: Provision (benefit) for income taxes 12,840 30,832 (16,631) 15,511 10,047 Add: Depreciation of equipment, building, furniture and fixtures, and amortization of leasehold improvements 34,712 32,309 27,496 26,866 25,092 Add: Amortization of intangible assets 10,500 11,521 9,862 8,788 8,777 EBITDA $283,083 $233,242 $47,849 $109,189 $66,711 Add: Share-based compensation expense 55,473 49,827 48,886 47,003 48,024 Add: Significant asset impairments and restructuring expense 805 1,498 106,851 1,770 1,948 Add: Acquisition and integration costs — 306 1,148 — — Add: Holdback arrangement 2,411 2,403 802 — — Adjusted EBITDA $341,772 $287,276 $205,536 $157,962 $116,683 Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) (Amounts in thousands)