ALAB vs. CIEN: Astera Labs vs. Ciena Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Astera Labs (ALAB) and Ciena (CIEN) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Astera Labs (ALAB) and Ciena (CIEN) share the Information Technology sector but sit in different industry groups — ALAB in Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment and CIEN in Technology Hardware & Equipment.

Ciena (CIEN) carries decades of public-market history since February 7, 1997, while Astera Labs (ALAB) listed on March 20, 2024 — long-window comparisons have far more historical data on the CIEN side.

Company profile comparison for Astera Labs (ALAB) and Ciena (CIEN)
Profile Item	ALAB	CIEN
Name	Astera Labs, Inc.	Ciena Corp.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Information Technology	Information Technology
GICS Industry Group	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment	Technology Hardware & Equipment
GICS Industry	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment	Communications Equipment
GICS Sub-Industry	Semiconductors	Communications Equipment
Market Capitalization	33.33 billion USD	34.51 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	March 20, 2024	February 7, 1997
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ALAB

CIEN

GSPC

Astera Labs (ALAB) vs. Ciena (CIEN), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Astera Labs (ALAB) and Ciena (CIEN). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Astera Labs (ALAB) and Ciena (CIEN). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Astera Labs (ALAB) and Ciena (CIEN)
Metric	ALAB	CIEN
Total Return (1Y)	31.42%	36.49%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	--	84.56%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	--	35.01%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ALAB

CIEN

GSPC

Astera Labs (ALAB) vs. Ciena (CIEN), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Astera Labs (ALAB) and Ciena (CIEN). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Astera Labs (ALAB) and Ciena (CIEN)
Metric	ALAB	CIEN
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	101.55%	81.12%
Beta (5Y)	3.95	1.39
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-63.69%	-63.19%
Avg. Volume (3M)	4.15M	2.83M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ALAB and CIEN are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. Each dashed Capital Allocation Line uses that stock's own industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Astera Labs (ALAB) and Ciena (CIEN)
Metric	ALAB	CIEN
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.27	0.40
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.39	0.56

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Astera Labs (ALAB) at 28.21% and Ciena (CIEN) at 22.40% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

ALAB

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

28.21%

Max: 52.82%
ALAB: 28.21%
Q3: 22.26%
Median: 10.58%
Q1: 1.29%
Min: -16.89%

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

22.40%

Max: 42.47%
CIEN: 22.40%
Q3: 19.13%
Median: 11.00%
Q1: 1.63%
Min: -20.62%

Astera Labs (ALAB) vs. Ciena (CIEN): A comparison of their ROE against their respective Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

Net Margin (TTM)

Astera Labs (ALAB) at 29.64% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Ciena (CIEN) at 10.87%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

ALAB

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

29.64%

Max: 63.80%
ALAB: 29.64%
Q3: 28.36%
Median: 11.44%
Q1: 0.90%
Min: -37.77%

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

10.87%

Max: 27.60%
Q3: 11.66%
CIEN: 10.87%
Median: 4.08%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -11.02%

Astera Labs (ALAB) vs. Ciena (CIEN): A comparison of their net margin against their respective Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Astera Labs (ALAB) at 30.61% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Ciena (CIEN) at 18.08%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

ALAB

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

30.61%

Max: 58.66%
ALAB: 30.61%
Q3: 30.23%
Median: 15.91%
Q1: 7.54%
Min: -25.74%

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

18.08%

Max: 36.27%
Q3: 18.36%
CIEN: 18.08%
Median: 8.84%
Q1: 1.46%
Min: -21.39%

Astera Labs (ALAB) vs. Ciena (CIEN): A comparison of their operating margin against their respective Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Astera Labs (ALAB) and Ciena (CIEN)
Metric	ALAB	CIEN
ROE (TTM)	28.21%	22.40%
ROA (TTM)	13.41%	7.73%
Net Margin (TTM)	29.64%	10.87%
Operating Margin (TTM)	30.61%	18.08%
Gross Margin (TTM)	73.89%	44.07%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Astera Labs (ALAB) at 115.13% clears its industry range for revenue growth, far stronger top-line momentum than Ciena (CIEN) at 18.79%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

Astera Labs (ALAB) vs. Ciena (CIEN): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Only one side can be read here: Ciena (CIEN) reports EPS growth of 46.55%, ranked against its industry; Astera Labs (ALAB) has no EPS growth figure this period.

Astera Labs (ALAB) vs. Ciena (CIEN): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Astera Labs (ALAB) and Ciena (CIEN)
Metric	ALAB	CIEN
Revenue Growth (YoY)	115.13%	18.79%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	120.18%	9.50%
EPS Growth (YoY)	--	46.55%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	-5.27%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Astera Labs (ALAB) at 8.03 and Ciena (CIEN) at 3.80 post current ratio above their industries’ typical mid-ranges — short-term liquidity appears comfortable, though unusually high readings can point to idle current assets.

ALAB

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

8.03

Max: 10.33
ALAB: 8.03
Q3: 5.62
Median: 3.33
Q1: 2.35
Min: 1.03

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

3.80

Max: 5.34
CIEN: 3.80
Q3: 3.02
Median: 1.95
Q1: 1.32
Min: 0.17

Astera Labs (ALAB) vs. Ciena (CIEN): A comparison of their current ratio against their respective Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Astera Labs (ALAB) at 0.02 keeps leverage in the lower quartile, while Ciena (CIEN) at 1.07 sits in the higher-leverage quartile.

ALAB

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

0.02

Max: 1.46
Q3: 0.65
Median: 0.27
Q1: 0.04
ALAB: 0.02
Min: 0.00

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

1.07

Max: 1.76
CIEN: 1.07
Q3: 0.78
Median: 0.24
Q1: 0.04
Min: 0.01

Astera Labs (ALAB) vs. Ciena (CIEN): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against their respective Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Astera Labs (ALAB) and Ciena (CIEN)
Metric	ALAB	CIEN
Current Ratio (MRQ)	8.03	3.80
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.02	1.07
Net Debt / EBITDA	-3.23	0.64

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Neither Astera Labs (ALAB) nor Ciena (CIEN) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

ALAB

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

0.00%

Max: 1.37%
Q3: 0.65%
ALAB: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

0.00%

Max: 0.73%
Q3: 0.31%
CIEN: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Astera Labs (ALAB) vs. Ciena (CIEN): A comparison of their dividend yield against their respective Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Neither Astera Labs (ALAB) nor Ciena (CIEN) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

ALAB

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

0.00%

Max: 49.64%
Q3: 21.71%
ALAB: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

0.00%

Max: 32.27%
Q3: 14.48%
CIEN: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Astera Labs (ALAB) vs. Ciena (CIEN): A comparison of their payout ratio against their respective Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Astera Labs (ALAB) and Ciena (CIEN)
Metric	ALAB	CIEN
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Astera Labs (ALAB) at 75.38 and Ciena (CIEN) at 54.45 sit in the richer earnings-multiple quartile for P/E ratio, so investors are paying more for TTM earnings than they pay for typical peers.

ALAB

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

75.38

Max: 110.34
ALAB: 75.38
Q3: 66.81
Median: 37.02
Q1: 23.96
Min: 8.12

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

54.45

Max: 69.48
CIEN: 54.45
Q3: 41.02
Median: 26.39
Q1: 19.36
Min: 6.07

Astera Labs (ALAB) vs. Ciena (CIEN): A comparison of their P/E ratio against their respective Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Ciena (CIEN) at 5.73 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Astera Labs (ALAB) at 21.42 sits in the pricier quartile — ALAB costs more per dollar of sales.

ALAB

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

21.42

ALAB: 21.42
Max: 21.42
Q3: 12.27
Median: 5.76
Q1: 2.73
Min: 0.00

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

5.73

Max: 11.30
Q3: 5.82
CIEN: 5.73
Median: 2.56
Q1: 1.05
Min: 0.00

Astera Labs (ALAB) vs. Ciena (CIEN): A comparison of their P/S ratio against their respective Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Measured against book value, both Astera Labs (ALAB) at 16.67 and Ciena (CIEN) at 11.30 look expensive — each P/B ratio sits above its industry’s benchmark range.

ALAB

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

16.67

ALAB: 16.67
Max: 14.06
Q3: 7.44
Median: 4.29
Q1: 2.30
Min: 0.20

CIEN

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

11.30

CIEN: 11.30
Max: 10.75
Q3: 5.52
Median: 3.17
Q1: 1.79
Min: 0.33

Astera Labs (ALAB) vs. Ciena (CIEN): A comparison of their P/B ratio against their respective Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Astera Labs (ALAB) and Ciena (CIEN)
Metric	ALAB	CIEN
P/E Ratio (TTM)	75.38	54.45
P/S Ratio (TTM)	21.42	5.73
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	16.67	11.30
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	0.39%	1.84%