CienaCIEN +0.80%72 Interest Coverage is 10.81 as of Apr. 2026, which is 146% above its 10-year median of 4.39. GuruFocus rates CIEN with a GF Score™ of 72/100 and a GF Value™ of $96.34 (Significantly Overvalued). The stock has 4 warning signs investors should review. Among 1,671 Hardware companies, Ciena ranks worse than 66.31% on this metric.
Interest Coverage is a ratio that determines how easily a company can pay interest expenses on outstanding debt. It is calculated by dividing a company's
Operating Income
by its Interest Expense. Ciena's
Operating Income
for the
three
months ended in Apr. 2026 was $239 Mil. Ciena's Interest Expense for the
three
months ended in Apr. 2026 was $-22 Mil.
Ciena's interest coverage for the quarter that ended in Apr. 2026 was 10.81.
The higher the ratio, the stronger the company's financial strength is.
The historical rank and industry rank for Ciena's Interest Coverage or its related term are showing as below:
CIEN'
s Interest Coverage Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 1.94 Med: 4.39 Max: 16.82
Current: 7.08
CIEN's Interest Coverage is ranked worse than 66.31% of 1671
companies
in the Hardware industry
Industry Median: 13.79
vs CIEN: 7.08
Ben Graham requires that a company has a minimum interest coverage of 5 with the companies he invested. If the interest coverage is less than 2, the company is burdened by debt. Any business slow or recession may drag the company into a situation where it cannot pay the interest on its debt.
Interest Coverage is an important factor when GuruFocus ranks a company's overage Financial Strength .
Ciena Interest Coverage Related Terms
Ciena Interest Coverage Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for Ciena's Interest Coverage can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Note: For Interest Coverage, "No debt" indicates no long-term debt. An indication of "No Debt" does not necessarily mean that the company has no long-term debt obligations; it could be due to missing data in the quarterly or annual report. Use caution when interpreting this information.
CIEN vs MSI, LITE, HPE: Interest Coverage Comparison
For the Communication Equipment subindustry, Ciena's Interest Coverage, along with its competitors' market caps and Interest Coverage data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Ciena Interest Coverage vs Hardware Industry
For the Hardware industry and Technology sector, Ciena's Interest Coverage distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Ciena's Interest Coverage falls into.
Interest Coverage is a ratio that determines how easily a company can pay interest expenses on outstanding debt. It is calculated by dividing a company's Operating Income (EBIT) by its Interest Expense:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Ciena (CIEN) has a Interest Coverage of 10.81 as of Apr. 2026. Interest Coverage measures a company's capability to pay interest expenses on its debt. View historical data on Ciena and its competitors. This is 146% above median its historical median of 4.39. Over the past decade, Ciena's Interest Coverage has ranged from 1.94 to 16.82. According to the industry distribution chart, Ciena ranks #1108 out of 1671 companies in the Hardware industry, placing it in the top 66.3%.
Is Ciena's Interest Coverage too high?
Ciena's current Interest Coverage of 10.81 is 146% above median its 10-year median of 4.39. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 1.94 to a high of 16.82. The Hardware industry median Interest Coverage is 13.79. Ciena's value of 10.81 is 21.6% below this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Ciena ranks #1108 out of 1671 companies in the Hardware industry, which is below the industry midpoint. Overall, Ciena has a GF Score™ of 72/100 and is considered Significantly Overvalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Ciena's Interest Coverage compare to MSI and LITE?
According to the Hardware industry distribution chart, Ciena ranks #1108 out of 1671 companies for Interest Coverage. This places Ciena in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Interest Coverage is 13.79. Ciena's value of 10.81 is 21.6% below this benchmark. Historically, Ciena's own Interest Coverage has ranged from 1.94 to 16.82 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 4.39 vs. the industry median of 13.79, Ciena has consistently been below the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Interest Coverage for a Hardware company?
The median Interest Coverage among Hardware companies is 13.79, based on 1,671 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Interest Coverage significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Interest Coverage should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Ciena's current Interest Coverage of 10.81 is 21.6% below the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Interest Coverage mean?
A high Interest Coverage can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Interest Coverage measures a company's capability to pay interest expenses on its debt. View historical data on Ciena and its competitors. For the Hardware industry, the median Interest Coverage is 13.79 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Ciena's current Interest Coverage is 10.81, which is 146% above median its own 10-year median of 4.39. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Ciena stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Ciena (CIEN) is currently considered Significantly Overvalued. The stock's GF Value™ is $96.34, compared to a current price of $463.51 — trading 381.1% above its estimated fair value. The current Interest Coverage is 10.81, which is 146% above median its 10-year median of 4.39 and 21.6% below the Hardware industry median of 13.79. Ciena's overall GF Score™ is 72/100 with 4 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Interest Coverage calculated?
Interest Coverage is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Ciena (CIEN), the current Interest Coverage is 10.81 as of Apr. 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Is Ciena (CIEN) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Ciena stock appears to be overvalued.
The current stock price of $463.51 is trading 381.1% above its estimated GF Value™ of $96.34.
GuruFocus considers Ciena to be Significantly Overvalued.
Key valuation signals for CIEN:
Interest Coverage: 10.81 (146% above median its 10-year median of 4.39)
GF Value™: $96.34 vs. price of $463.51 (381.1% above fair value)
Industry Position: 21.6% below the Hardware median (#1108 of 1671)
No single metric tells the full story. See the CIEN stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Ciena is a leader in high-speed optical connectivity, providing systems, components, and automation software for telecom providers and enterprises, such as data centers, to enable long-distance connectivity. The company operates through four primary business segments: networking platforms, platform software and services, Blue Planet automation software, and global services. While telecom carriers remain important customers, cloud providers and hyperscalers now drive a significant portion of the business. To meet the demands of AI data centers, customers are adopting Ciena's WaveLogic 6 platform, the first to support 1.6 terabits-per-second capacity.
72GF Score
Get the complete analysis for CIEN
Interest Coverage is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.
Quick Browse
Personalize
Premium Gurus 
Create New Portfolio
CIEN has been successfully added to your 
