vs

Side-by-side financial comparison of CIENA CORP (CIEN) and Toast, Inc. (TOST). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Toast, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.6B vs $1.2B, roughly 1.3× CIENA CORP). Toast, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 6.2% vs 4.1%, a 2.1% gap on every dollar of revenue. Toast, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($178.0M vs $134.6M). Over the past eight quarters, Toast, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (23.3% CAGR vs 3.9%).

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).

Toast, Inc. is an American cloud-based restaurant management software company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company provides an all-in-one point of sale (POS) system built on the Android operating system.

CIEN vs TOST — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
TOST
TOST
1.3× larger
TOST
$1.6B
$1.2B
CIEN
Higher net margin
TOST
TOST
2.1% more per $
TOST
6.2%
4.1%
CIEN
More free cash flow
TOST
TOST
$43.4M more FCF
TOST
$178.0M
$134.6M
CIEN
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
TOST
TOST
Annualised
TOST
23.3%
3.9%
CIEN

Income Statement — Q3 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
CIEN
CIEN
TOST
TOST
Revenue
$1.2B
$1.6B
Net Profit
$50.3M
$101.0M
Gross Margin
41.3%
25.9%
Operating Margin
6.0%
5.2%
Net Margin
4.1%
6.2%
Revenue YoY
22.0%
Net Profit YoY
215.6%
EPS (diluted)
$0.35
$0.18

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
CIEN
CIEN
TOST
TOST
Q4 25
$1.6B
Q3 25
$1.2B
$1.6B
Q2 25
$1.1B
$1.6B
Q1 25
$1.1B
$1.3B
Q4 24
$1.1B
$1.3B
Q3 24
$942.3M
$1.3B
Q2 24
$910.8M
$1.2B
Q1 24
$1.0B
$1.1B
Net Profit
CIEN
CIEN
TOST
TOST
Q4 25
$101.0M
Q3 25
$50.3M
$105.0M
Q2 25
$9.0M
$80.0M
Q1 25
$44.6M
$56.0M
Q4 24
$37.0M
$32.0M
Q3 24
$14.2M
$56.0M
Q2 24
$-16.8M
$14.0M
Q1 24
$49.5M
$-83.0M
Gross Margin
CIEN
CIEN
TOST
TOST
Q4 25
25.9%
Q3 25
41.3%
26.5%
Q2 25
40.2%
25.3%
Q1 25
44.0%
25.9%
Q4 24
40.9%
24.9%
Q3 24
42.9%
24.7%
Q2 24
42.7%
23.0%
Q1 24
45.0%
23.2%
Operating Margin
CIEN
CIEN
TOST
TOST
Q4 25
5.2%
Q3 25
6.0%
5.1%
Q2 25
2.9%
5.2%
Q1 25
7.5%
3.2%
Q4 24
5.3%
2.5%
Q3 24
2.8%
2.6%
Q2 24
-0.4%
0.4%
Q1 24
8.2%
-5.2%
Net Margin
CIEN
CIEN
TOST
TOST
Q4 25
6.2%
Q3 25
4.1%
6.4%
Q2 25
0.8%
5.2%
Q1 25
4.2%
4.2%
Q4 24
3.3%
2.4%
Q3 24
1.5%
4.3%
Q2 24
-1.8%
1.1%
Q1 24
4.8%
-7.7%
EPS (diluted)
CIEN
CIEN
TOST
TOST
Q4 25
$0.18
Q3 25
$0.35
$0.16
Q2 25
$0.06
$0.13
Q1 25
$0.31
$0.09
Q4 24
$0.26
$0.09
Q3 24
$0.10
$0.07
Q2 24
$-0.12
$0.02
Q1 24
$0.34
$-0.15

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
CIEN
CIEN
TOST
TOST
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$1.3B
$1.4B
Total DebtLower is stronger
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$2.8B
$2.1B
Total Assets
$5.7B
$3.1B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
CIEN
CIEN
TOST
TOST
Q4 25
$1.4B
Q3 25
$1.3B
$1.4B
Q2 25
$1.3B
$1.2B
Q1 25
$1.2B
$1.0B
Q4 24
$1.3B
$903.0M
Q3 24
$1.1B
$761.0M
Q2 24
$1.3B
$691.0M
Q1 24
$1.4B
$578.0M
Stockholders' Equity
CIEN
CIEN
TOST
TOST
Q4 25
$2.1B
Q3 25
$2.8B
$2.0B
Q2 25
$2.8B
$1.8B
Q1 25
$2.8B
$1.7B
Q4 24
$2.8B
$1.5B
Q3 24
$2.9B
$1.4B
Q2 24
$2.9B
$1.3B
Q1 24
$2.9B
$1.2B
Total Assets
CIEN
CIEN
TOST
TOST
Q4 25
$3.1B
Q3 25
$5.7B
$3.0B
Q2 25
$5.7B
$2.8B
Q1 25
$5.6B
$2.6B
Q4 24
$5.6B
$2.4B
Q3 24
$5.6B
$2.2B
Q2 24
$5.6B
$2.2B
Q1 24
$5.6B
$2.1B

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
CIEN
CIEN
TOST
TOST
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$174.3M
$194.0M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$134.6M
$178.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
11.0%
10.9%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
3.3%
1.0%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
3.47×
1.92×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$605.5M
$608.0M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
CIEN
CIEN
TOST
TOST
Q4 25
$194.0M
Q3 25
$174.3M
$165.0M
Q2 25
$156.9M
$223.0M
Q1 25
$103.7M
$79.0M
Q4 24
$349.4M
$147.0M
Q3 24
$-159.4M
$109.0M
Q2 24
$58.5M
$124.0M
Q1 24
$266.1M
$-20.0M
Free Cash Flow
CIEN
CIEN
TOST
TOST
Q4 25
$178.0M
Q3 25
$134.6M
$153.0M
Q2 25
$128.2M
$208.0M
Q1 25
$76.8M
$69.0M
Q4 24
$265.8M
$134.0M
Q3 24
$-179.0M
$97.0M
Q2 24
$41.6M
$108.0M
Q1 24
$249.5M
$-33.0M
FCF Margin
CIEN
CIEN
TOST
TOST
Q4 25
10.9%
Q3 25
11.0%
9.4%
Q2 25
11.4%
13.4%
Q1 25
7.2%
5.2%
Q4 24
23.6%
10.0%
Q3 24
-19.0%
7.4%
Q2 24
4.6%
8.7%
Q1 24
24.0%
-3.1%
Capex Intensity
CIEN
CIEN
TOST
TOST
Q4 25
1.0%
Q3 25
3.3%
0.7%
Q2 25
2.6%
1.0%
Q1 25
2.5%
0.7%
Q4 24
7.4%
1.0%
Q3 24
2.1%
0.9%
Q2 24
1.9%
1.3%
Q1 24
1.6%
1.2%
Cash Conversion
CIEN
CIEN
TOST
TOST
Q4 25
1.92×
Q3 25
3.47×
1.57×
Q2 25
17.50×
2.79×
Q1 25
2.33×
1.41×
Q4 24
9.44×
4.59×
Q3 24
-11.20×
1.95×
Q2 24
8.86×
Q1 24
5.37×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

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%

TOST
TOST

Technology Service$1.3B82%
License$256.0M16%
Product And Professional Services$43.0M3%

Related Comparisons