vs
Side-by-side financial comparison of Cable One, Inc. (CABO) and CIENA CORP (CIEN), based on the latest 10-Q / 10-K filings. Click either name above to swap in a different company.
CIENA CORP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.2B vs $363.7M, roughly 3.4× Cable One, Inc.). CIENA CORP produced more free cash flow last quarter ($134.6M vs $71.6M). Over the past eight quarters, CIENA CORP's revenue compounded faster (3.9% CAGR vs -5.2%).
Cable One, Inc. is an American broadband communications provider. Under the Sparklight brand, it provides cable television, internet, and phone services to 24 U.S. states and 1.1 million residential and business customers. It also owns the Fidelity Communications brand, which provides the same services in Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. Fidelity was founded in 1940. It is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, though it does not serve that metro area.
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).
CABO vs CIEN — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 2025 vs Q4 2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $363.7M | $1.2B |
| Net Profit | — | $50.3M |
| Gross Margin | — | 41.3% |
| Operating Margin | 25.2% | 6.0% |
| Net Margin | — | 4.1% |
| Revenue YoY | -6.1% | — |
| Net Profit YoY | — | — |
| EPS (diluted) | $-0.49 | $0.35 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align — see 8-quarter trend below.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history — bar widths are scaled to the larger of the two companies so you can eyeball the size gap and growth trajectory without doing math. Quarters aligned by calendar period (report date) so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q4 25 | $363.7M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $376.0M | $1.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | $381.1M | $1.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $380.6M | $1.1B | ||
| Q4 24 | $387.2M | $1.1B | ||
| Q3 24 | $393.6M | $942.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $394.5M | $910.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $404.3M | $1.0B |
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $86.5M | $50.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $-438.0M | $9.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.6M | $44.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $37.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $44.2M | $14.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $38.2M | $-16.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $37.4M | $49.5M |
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 41.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 40.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 44.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 40.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 42.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 42.7% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 45.0% |
| Q4 25 | 25.2% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 25.2% | 6.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | -128.4% | 2.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | 25.1% | 7.5% | ||
| Q4 24 | 26.2% | 5.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | 28.0% | 2.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 27.9% | -0.4% | ||
| Q1 24 | 29.6% | 8.2% |
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 23.0% | 4.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | -114.9% | 0.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.7% | 4.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 3.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | 11.2% | 1.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 9.7% | -1.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | 9.2% | 4.8% |
| Q4 25 | $-0.49 | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $14.52 | $0.35 | ||
| Q2 25 | $-77.70 | $0.06 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.46 | $0.31 | ||
| Q4 24 | $-18.05 | $0.26 | ||
| Q3 24 | $7.58 | $0.10 | ||
| Q2 24 | $6.58 | $-0.12 | ||
| Q1 24 | $6.46 | $0.34 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest filing — the kind of financial-strength check premium terminals charge for.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $152.8M | $1.3B |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $2.6B | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $1.4B | $2.8B |
| Total Assets | $5.6B | $5.7B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 1.81× | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | $152.8M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $166.6M | $1.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $152.9M | $1.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | $149.1M | $1.2B | ||
| Q4 24 | $153.6M | $1.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | $226.6M | $1.1B | ||
| Q2 24 | $201.5M | $1.3B | ||
| Q1 24 | $210.7M | $1.4B |
| Q4 25 | $2.6B | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.7B | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.9B | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $3.0B | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.6B | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $3.5B | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.5B | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $3.6B | — |
| Q4 25 | $1.4B | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.4B | $2.8B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.3B | $2.8B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.8B | $2.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.8B | $2.8B | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.9B | $2.9B | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.9B | $2.9B | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.9B | $2.9B |
| Q4 25 | $5.6B | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.7B | $5.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $5.8B | $5.7B | ||
| Q1 25 | $6.4B | $5.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $6.5B | $5.6B | ||
| Q3 24 | $6.7B | $5.6B | ||
| Q2 24 | $6.7B | $5.6B | ||
| Q1 24 | $6.7B | $5.6B |
| Q4 25 | 1.81× | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.88× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.16× | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.66× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.99× | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.84× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.87× | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 1.93× | — |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Net income can be massaged; cash flow is harder to fake.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $145.5M | $174.3M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $71.6M | $134.6M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 19.7% | 11.0% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue; lower = less reinvestment burden | 20.3% | 3.3% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit; >1× = earnings back up with cash | — | 3.47× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $278.1M | $605.5M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | $145.5M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $156.5M | $174.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $144.9M | $156.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $116.3M | $103.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $167.6M | $349.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $176.2M | $-159.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $155.5M | $58.5M | ||
| Q1 24 | $164.8M | $266.1M |
| Q4 25 | $71.6M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $84.8M | $134.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $76.6M | $128.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $45.2M | $76.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $95.7M | $265.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $99.2M | $-179.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $84.0M | $41.6M | ||
| Q1 24 | $98.9M | $249.5M |
| Q4 25 | 19.7% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 22.5% | 11.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | 20.1% | 11.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 11.9% | 7.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 24.7% | 23.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 25.2% | -19.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 21.3% | 4.6% | ||
| Q1 24 | 24.5% | 24.0% |
| Q4 25 | 20.3% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 19.1% | 3.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 17.9% | 2.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 18.7% | 2.5% | ||
| Q4 24 | 18.6% | 7.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 19.6% | 2.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 18.1% | 1.9% | ||
| Q1 24 | 16.3% | 1.6% |
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.81× | 3.47× | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 17.50× | ||
| Q1 25 | 44.62× | 2.33× | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 9.44× | ||
| Q3 24 | 3.99× | -11.20× | ||
| Q2 24 | 4.08× | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 4.41× | 5.37× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Sankey diagram of revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company. Charts shown full-width and stacked so both segment hierarchies are readable side-by-side on desktop and mobile.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
CABO
Segment breakdown not available.
CIEN
| Optical Networking | $815.5M | 67% |
| Routing And Switching | $125.9M | 10% |
| Platform Softwareand Services Segment | $90.0M | 7% |
| Maintenance Support And Training | $80.7M | 7% |
| Installation And Deployment | $65.9M | 5% |
| Blue Planet Automation Softwareand Services Segment | $27.8M | 2% |
| Consulting And Network Design | $13.6M | 1% |
