Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. CIEN scored 43.9, CSCO scored 57.1 — CSCO leads.
Compare another set
CIEN
Ciena Corporation
Communication Equipment · Quality-Growth
43.9
$449.77 · $63.8B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
13.2
CSCO leads
CSCO
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Communication Equipment · Quality-Growth
57.1
$118.39 · $466.8B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestCSCO35.6x
Fastest growthCIEN+18.8%
Strongest balance sheetCSCO0.62
Highest qualityCSCO77 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
CIEN
stronger →← stronger
CSCO
61
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
77
76
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
74
18
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
32
CSCO is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
CIEN
CSCO
$814mC+
FCF
$12.8bA-
+18.8%B+
Rev
+11.8%B
1.07C
D/E
0.62C+
100.6xD
P/E
35.6xB
0.43A
PEG
1.06B+
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
CIEN
CSCO
371% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
115% above
~55%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~26%/yr
-82%
1-yr DCF upside
-57%
-79%
5-yr DCF upside
-53%
-72%
10-yr DCF upside
-49%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
CIEN
No notable signals flagged.
CSCO
Why this score
Durable high returns
The companies
CIENCiena Corporation
Communication Equipment · $449.77 · beta 1.29
Why now
Communication Equipment · market cap $63.8b. Down 29% from 52-week high of $637.51 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +19%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.43 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 20 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $512.99 (implying +14% upside).
Moat
ROE 22% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 124% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash. $63.8b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
Trailing P/E 100.6x prices in sustained high growth — any quarter that disappoints triggers sharp re-rating. P/S 10.6x embeds aggressive forward growth — disappointing top-line guidance would compress the multiple hard.
CSCOCisco Systems, Inc.
Communication Equipment · $118.39 · beta 0.98
Why now
Communication Equipment · market cap $466.8b. 9% off the 52-week high of $130.37. Revenue growing +12%, comfortably above the S&P median. 25 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $136.16 (implying +15% upside).
Moat
Net margin 21% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. ROE 27% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 96% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Trailing P/E 36x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where CIEN and CSCO diverge
On the headline score the gap is 13.2 points in favor of CSCO. The widest single difference is Quality, where CSCO leads by 16.6 points.
QualityCIEN 60.6 · CSCO 77.2CSCO +16.6
ValueCIEN 18.4 · CSCO 32.5CSCO +14.1
GrowthCIEN 76.1 · CSCO 74.1level
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is CSCO or CIEN the better stock?
CSCO scores higher: CSCO 57.1, CIEN 43.9 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do CSCO and CIEN differ most?
The widest gap is quality, where CSCO leads by 17 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. CSCO also leads value, while growth is effectively level between them.
How are CSCO and CIEN scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.