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Side-by-side financial comparison of AppLovin Corp (APP) and CIENA CORP (CIEN). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

AppLovin Corp is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.3B vs $1.2B, roughly 1.1× CIENA CORP). AppLovin Corp runs the higher net margin — 82.7% vs 4.1%, a 78.6% gap on every dollar of revenue. Over the past eight quarters, AppLovin Corp's revenue compounded faster (12.2% CAGR vs 3.9%).

AppLovin Corporation is an American mobile technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Founded in 2012, the company helps developers market, monetize, analyze and publish their apps through its mobile advertising, marketing, and analytics platforms, SSP MAX; DSP AppDiscovery; and SparkLabs creative studio. The company also invests in various mobile game publishers.

Ciena Corporation is an American optical networking systems and software company based in Hanover, Maryland. The company has been described as a vital player in optical connectivity. The company reported revenues of $4.8 billion and more than 9,000 employees, as of November 2025. Gary Smith serves as president and chief executive officer (CEO).

APP vs CIEN — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
APP
APP
1.1× larger
APP
$1.3B
$1.2B
CIEN
Higher net margin
APP
APP
78.6% more per $
APP
82.7%
4.1%
CIEN
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
APP
APP
Annualised
APP
12.2%
3.9%
CIEN

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q3 FY2025

Metric
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Revenue
$1.3B
$1.2B
Net Profit
$1.1B
$50.3M
Gross Margin
95.2%
41.3%
Operating Margin
6.0%
Net Margin
82.7%
4.1%
Revenue YoY
-2.9%
Net Profit YoY
84.0%
EPS (diluted)
$3.24
$0.35

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Q4 25
$1.3B
Q3 25
$1.4B
$1.2B
Q2 25
$1.3B
$1.1B
Q1 25
$1.5B
$1.1B
Q4 24
$1.4B
$1.1B
Q3 24
$1.2B
$942.3M
Q2 24
$1.1B
$910.8M
Q1 24
$1.1B
$1.0B
Net Profit
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Q4 25
$1.1B
Q3 25
$835.5M
$50.3M
Q2 25
$819.5M
$9.0M
Q1 25
$576.4M
$44.6M
Q4 24
$599.2M
$37.0M
Q3 24
$434.4M
$14.2M
Q2 24
$310.0M
$-16.8M
Q1 24
$236.2M
$49.5M
Gross Margin
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Q4 25
95.2%
Q3 25
87.6%
41.3%
Q2 25
87.7%
40.2%
Q1 25
81.7%
44.0%
Q4 24
76.7%
40.9%
Q3 24
77.5%
42.9%
Q2 24
73.8%
42.7%
Q1 24
72.2%
45.0%
Operating Margin
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Q4 25
Q3 25
76.8%
6.0%
Q2 25
76.1%
2.9%
Q1 25
44.7%
7.5%
Q4 24
44.3%
5.3%
Q3 24
44.6%
2.8%
Q2 24
36.2%
-0.4%
Q1 24
32.1%
8.2%
Net Margin
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Q4 25
82.7%
Q3 25
59.5%
4.1%
Q2 25
65.1%
0.8%
Q1 25
38.8%
4.2%
Q4 24
43.6%
3.3%
Q3 24
36.3%
1.5%
Q2 24
28.7%
-1.8%
Q1 24
22.3%
4.8%
EPS (diluted)
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Q4 25
$3.24
Q3 25
$2.45
$0.35
Q2 25
$2.39
$0.06
Q1 25
$1.67
$0.31
Q4 24
$1.72
$0.26
Q3 24
$1.25
$0.10
Q2 24
$0.89
$-0.12
Q1 24
$0.67
$0.34

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$2.5B
$1.3B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$3.5B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$2.1B
$2.8B
Total Assets
$7.3B
$5.7B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
1.65×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Q4 25
$2.5B
Q3 25
$1.7B
$1.3B
Q2 25
$1.2B
$1.3B
Q1 25
$551.0M
$1.2B
Q4 24
$741.4M
$1.3B
Q3 24
$567.6M
$1.1B
Q2 24
$460.4M
$1.3B
Q1 24
$436.3M
$1.4B
Total Debt
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Q4 25
$3.5B
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
$3.5B
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24
Stockholders' Equity
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Q4 25
$2.1B
Q3 25
$1.5B
$2.8B
Q2 25
$1.2B
$2.8B
Q1 25
$575.4M
$2.8B
Q4 24
$1.1B
$2.8B
Q3 24
$938.2M
$2.9B
Q2 24
$814.8M
$2.9B
Q1 24
$760.2M
$2.9B
Total Assets
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Q4 25
$7.3B
Q3 25
$6.3B
$5.7B
Q2 25
$6.0B
$5.7B
Q1 25
$5.7B
$5.6B
Q4 24
$5.9B
$5.6B
Q3 24
$5.4B
$5.6B
Q2 24
$5.3B
$5.6B
Q1 24
$5.3B
$5.6B
Debt / Equity
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Q4 25
1.65×
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
3.22×
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$1.3B
$174.3M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$134.6M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
11.0%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
3.3%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.19×
3.47×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$605.5M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Q4 25
$1.3B
Q3 25
$1.1B
$174.3M
Q2 25
$772.2M
$156.9M
Q1 25
$831.7M
$103.7M
Q4 24
$701.0M
$349.4M
Q3 24
$550.7M
$-159.4M
Q2 24
$454.5M
$58.5M
Q1 24
$392.8M
$266.1M
Free Cash Flow
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Q4 25
Q3 25
$134.6M
Q2 25
$128.2M
Q1 25
$76.8M
Q4 24
$265.8M
Q3 24
$-179.0M
Q2 24
$41.6M
Q1 24
$249.5M
FCF Margin
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Q4 25
Q3 25
11.0%
Q2 25
11.4%
Q1 25
7.2%
Q4 24
23.6%
Q3 24
-19.0%
Q2 24
4.6%
Q1 24
24.0%
Capex Intensity
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Q4 25
Q3 25
3.3%
Q2 25
2.6%
Q1 25
2.5%
Q4 24
7.4%
Q3 24
2.1%
Q2 24
1.9%
Q1 24
1.6%
Cash Conversion
APP
APP
CIEN
CIEN
Q4 25
1.19×
Q3 25
1.26×
3.47×
Q2 25
0.94×
17.50×
Q1 25
1.44×
2.33×
Q4 24
1.17×
9.44×
Q3 24
1.27×
-11.20×
Q2 24
1.47×
Q1 24
1.66×
5.37×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

APP
APP

Other$673.9M51%
US$659.0M49%

CIEN
CIEN

Optical Networking$815.5M67%
Routing And Switching$125.9M10%
Platform Softwareand Services Segment$90.0M7%
Maintenance Support And Training$80.7M7%
Installation And Deployment$65.9M5%
Blue Planet Automation Softwareand Services Segment$27.8M2%
Consulting And Network Design$13.6M1%

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