Compare · Networking equipment
Ciena vs F5
Ciena vs F5: which one is bigger, grows faster and keeps more of each dollar of revenue?
Ciena earns 1.5× F5’s revenue
Method and sources
- Revenue growth (1 year): Ciena 18.8% (FY2025), F5 9.7% (FY2025)
- Revenue growth (3-year CAGR): Ciena 9.5% (FY2025), F5 4.6% (FY2025)
- Operating margin: Ciena 4.1% (FY2025), F5 24.8% (FY2025)
- Gross margin: Ciena 42.0% (FY2025), F5 81.4% (FY2025)
- Net margin: Ciena 2.6% (FY2025), F5 22.4% (FY2025)
- FCF margin: Ciena 13.9% (FY2025), F5 29.4% (FY2025)
Latest fiscal year per company: Ciena FY2025, F5 FY2025. Fiscal years end on different dates, so years are not calendar-aligned.
Both report in USD. Amounts are as filed, not converted.
Why this pair: same peer group, revenue within 4x in the same currency. Peer groups are curated by hand from each company's business as described in its own 10-K/20-F (what it sells, not its SIC code). A company can sit in more than one group. Within a group, a pair is listed when both companies report in the same currency and the larger company's latest fiscal-year revenue is at most 4x the smaller one's; each company keeps its 4 nearest peers by revenue ratio. Companies reporting in different currencies are never size-matched (amounts are not converted); a short list of obvious same-industry pairs across currencies is added by hand, with the reason, as are two direct competitor pairs outside the size rule (AMD vs NVIDIA, Intel vs NVIDIA).
Derived = calculated by Hollsteen from reported SEC values; reported = as tagged in the filing. SEC filings only, no market data.
Side by side: all values with filing links
| Metric | Ciena FY2025 | F5 FY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $4.8B10-K · Dec 12, 2025 | $3.1B10-K · Nov 25, 2025 |
| Revenue growth (1 year) | 18.8% derived10-K · Dec 12, 2025 | 9.7% derived10-K · Nov 25, 2025 |
| Revenue growth (3-year CAGR) | 9.5% derived10-K · Dec 12, 2025 | 4.6% derived10-K · Nov 25, 2025 |
| Gross margin | 42.0% derived10-K · Dec 12, 2025 | 81.4% derived10-K · Nov 25, 2025 |
| Operating margin | 4.1% derived10-K · Dec 12, 2025 | 24.8% derived10-K · Nov 25, 2025 |
| Net margin | 2.6% derived10-K · Dec 12, 2025 | 22.4% derived10-K · Nov 25, 2025 |
| Free cash flow | $665M derived10-K · Dec 12, 2025 | $906M derived10-K · Nov 25, 2025 |
| FCF margin | 13.9% derived10-K · Dec 12, 2025 | 29.4% derived10-K · Nov 25, 2025 |
| R&D as % of revenue | 17.8% derived10-K · Dec 12, 2025 | 17.5% derived10-K · Nov 25, 2025 |
| Stock-based compensation as % of revenue | 3.9% derived10-K · Dec 12, 2025 | 7.5% derived10-K · Nov 25, 2025 |
Definitions: Revenue = Total revenue; Revenue growth (1 year) = Revenue FYt ÷ revenue FYt−1 − 1; Revenue growth (3-year CAGR) = (Revenue FYt ÷ revenue FYt−3)^(1/3) − 1; Gross margin = Gross profit ÷ revenue; Operating margin = Operating income ÷ revenue; Net margin = Net income ÷ revenue; Free cash flow = Operating cash flow − capital expenditures (one formula for all companies); FCF margin = Free cash flow ÷ revenue; R&D as % of revenue = Research and development expense ÷ revenue; Stock-based compensation as % of revenue = Stock-based compensation ÷ revenue.
More on each company
Ciena
F5
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