Ciena Corp vs ERICSSON LM TELEPHONE CO, two Communication Equipment stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
One number defines the pair: 13.5, Ericsson's price against its trailing earnings, sitting next to Ciena's 159.9. The gap is not about quality, the operating margins nearly touch, 16.3% and 15.1%, and Ericsson earns the better returns, 26% on equity against 15.2%. It is about direction: Ciena's earnings are compressed while AI datacenter interconnect orders build, so the market pays forward; Ericsson's telecom-equipment earnings are ample and expected to stay ordinary, so the market pays little and collects a 7.9% free-cash yield. Both are lightly levered. A twelvefold multiple gap between two healthy networking vendors is the market drawing a hard line between optical AI plumbing and cellular maintenance.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | CIEN | ERIC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $479.66 | $10.96 |
| Market cap | $70.2B | $36.5B |
| Sector | Communication Equipment | Communication Equipment |
| Stage | Growth | Mature |
| P/E | 159.9 | 13.5 |
| P/B | 24.27 | 3.48 |
| P/S | 12.60 | 1.62 |
| EV/EBITDA | 130.0 | 7.1 |
| Revenue growth | +30.6% | +0.9% |
| Gross margin | 44.0% | 47.6% |
| Operating margin | 15.1% | 16.3% |
| Net margin | 7.9% | 12.1% |
| Return on equity | 15.2% | 26.0% |
| Return on assets | 7.3% | 10.3% |
| Return on invested capital | 10.9% | 26.3% |
| FCF yield | 1.2% | 7.9% |
| Debt / equity | 0.53 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 2.73 | 1.29 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 6.85 | 7.77 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.