Earlier this morning, Ciena announced unaudited financial results for its fiscal third quarter ended August 1, 2020. They were positive with Q3 Revenue increasing 1.7% YoY to $976.7 million.  Q3 Net Income per Share leaped 49% YoY to $0.91 GAAP; $1.06 adjusted (non-GAAP). In fact, results exceeded analysts’ expectations.

“We delivered outstanding financial results in the third quarter, reflecting our continued innovation, market leadership and strong competitive position in an uncertain macro environment,“ said Gary Smith, President and CEO, Ciena. “Although COVID-related market dynamics have resulted in an orders slowdown and are likely to adversely impact our revenue for a few quarters, we are confident in our ability to continue executing on our strategy and expanding our market leadership.”

That last bit, about “likely to adversely impact our revenue for a few quarters” is scary.  Particularly since it was vague.  It’s positive that he would rather not mislead investors when he was not confident in forecasting.  But it’s still very concerning.

Investors were spooked by the results, plummeting 24% in the morning on the NYSE.

For more details, see the Ciena press release at https://investor.ciena.com/news/press-release-details/2020/Ciena-Reports-Fiscal-Third-Quarter-2020-Financial-Results/default.aspx

TruePulse buys and sells Central Office telecommunication equipment from vendors such as Ciena, Lucent, Fujitsu and Fujikura.