CI

Ciena Corporation stock research

Oct 28, 2023

FY2023 Q4

Ciena (CIEN) Gross Margin — Quarter Ended Oct 28, 2023

Revenue was stable compared to the previous quarter, while gross profit improved and cost of revenue increased at a slower pace, leading to a higher gross margin. Versus the same quarter a year earlier, revenue rose but gross profit grew more slowly relative to cost of revenue, resulting in a lower gross margin.

Gross margin takeaway

Quarter ended Oct 28, 2023 · FY2023 Q4

Revenue was stable compared to the previous quarter, while gross profit improved and cost of revenue increased at a slower pace, leading to a higher gross margin. Versus the same quarter a year earlier, revenue rose but gross profit grew more slowly relative to cost of revenue, resulting in a lower gross margin.

  • Gross margin improved sequentially as gross profit increased more than cost of revenue relative to the revenue base. The margin weakened year-over-year because cost of revenue grew at a faster pace than gross profit.
  • Current quarter gross margin was higher than the prior quarter but lower than the same quarter one year earlier. Revenue was similar to the prior quarter and higher year-over-year.

Gross margin snapshot

The selected quarter's reported revenue, gross profit, direct costs, and margin comparisons.

Gross margin

43.1%

Gross profit

$486.3M

Revenue

$1.1B

Cost of revenue

$643.2M

Quarter-over-quarter change

+1.0 pts

Year-over-year change

-1.6 pts

Quarterly gross margin trend

A four-quarter view of the revenue and direct-cost bridge behind gross margin.

PeriodRevenueGross profitCost of revenueGross margin
Jan 28, 2023$1.1B$455.9M$600.6M43.2%
Apr 29, 2023$1.1B$487.7M$645.0M43.1%
Jul 29, 2023$1.1B$448.9M$618.9M42.0%
Oct 28, 2023$1.1B$486.3M$643.2M43.1%

Quarterly comparisons

Compare the selected margin with the preceding quarter and the same fiscal quarter one year earlier.

Previous-quarter change

Jul 29, 2023

+1.0 pts

Year-over-year change

Oct 29, 2022

-1.6 pts

What the margin says

Filing-constrained interpretation of margin direction, comparisons, and what to monitor next.

Gross margin improved sequentially as gross profit increased more than cost of revenue relative to the revenue base. The margin weakened year-over-year because cost of revenue grew at a faster pace than gross profit.

Current quarter gross margin was higher than the prior quarter but lower than the same quarter one year earlier. Revenue was similar to the prior quarter and higher year-over-year.

Monitor the relationship between cost of revenue growth and revenue growth, as the year-over-year margin decline coincided with cost of revenue rising faster than revenue.