CIEN vs. HPE: Ciena vs. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Ciena (CIEN) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 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

Ciena (CIEN) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) both fall under the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group, but CIEN is classified in Communications Equipment while HPE is classified in Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals.

Company profile comparison for Ciena (CIEN) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
Profile Item	CIEN	HPE
Name	Ciena Corp.	Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Information Technology	Information Technology
GICS Industry Group	Technology Hardware & Equipment	Technology Hardware & Equipment
GICS Industry	Communications Equipment	Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals
GICS Sub-Industry	Communications Equipment	Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals
Market Capitalization	34.51 billion USD	59.43 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	February 7, 1997	October 19, 2015
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CIEN

HPE

GSPC

Ciena (CIEN) vs. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), 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 Ciena (CIEN) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Ciena (CIEN) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Ciena (CIEN) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
Metric	CIEN	HPE
Total Return (1Y)	36.49%	110.12%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	84.56%	49.38%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	35.01%	28.98%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CIEN

HPE

GSPC

Ciena (CIEN) vs. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), 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 Ciena (CIEN) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Ciena (CIEN) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
Metric	CIEN	HPE
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	81.12%	61.60%
Beta (5Y)	1.39	1.49
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-63.19%	-48.36%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.83M	20.47M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CIEN and HPE are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Ciena (CIEN) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
Metric	CIEN	HPE
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.40	1.72
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.56	2.76

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Ciena (CIEN) at 22.40% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) at 10.94% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for CIEN.

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%

HPE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

10.94%

Max: 42.47%
Q3: 19.13%
Median: 11.00%
HPE: 10.94%
Q1: 1.63%
Min: -20.62%

Ciena (CIEN) vs. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE): A comparison of their ROE against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Ciena (CIEN) at 10.87% and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) at 6.67% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

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%

HPE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

6.67%

Max: 27.60%
Q3: 11.66%
HPE: 6.67%
Median: 4.08%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -11.02%

Ciena (CIEN) vs. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE): A comparison of their net margin against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Ciena (CIEN) at 18.08% and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) at 12.56% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

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%

HPE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

12.56%

Max: 36.27%
Q3: 18.36%
HPE: 12.56%
Median: 8.84%
Q1: 1.46%
Min: -21.39%

Ciena (CIEN) vs. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE): A comparison of their operating margin against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Ciena (CIEN) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
Metric	CIEN	HPE
ROE (TTM)	22.40%	10.94%
ROA (TTM)	7.73%	2.64%
Net Margin (TTM)	10.87%	6.67%
Operating Margin (TTM)	18.08%	12.56%
Gross Margin (TTM)	44.07%	36.62%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Ciena (CIEN) at 18.79% and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) at 13.84% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Ciena (CIEN) vs. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Ciena (CIEN) at 46.55% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) at -102.07% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in earnings momentum.

Ciena (CIEN) vs. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Ciena (CIEN) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
Metric	CIEN	HPE
Revenue Growth (YoY)	18.79%	13.84%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	9.50%	6.37%
EPS Growth (YoY)	46.55%	-102.07%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-5.27%	--

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Ciena (CIEN) at 3.80 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) at 1.11 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

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

HPE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

1.11

Max: 5.34
Q3: 3.02
Median: 1.95
Q1: 1.32
HPE: 1.11
Min: 0.17

Ciena (CIEN) vs. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE): A comparison of their current ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) at 0.76 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while Ciena (CIEN) at 1.07 uses more debt funding than most peers.

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

HPE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

0.76

Max: 1.76
Q3: 0.78
HPE: 0.76
Median: 0.24
Q1: 0.04
Min: 0.01

Ciena (CIEN) vs. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Ciena (CIEN) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
Metric	CIEN	HPE
Current Ratio (MRQ)	3.80	1.11
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.07	0.76
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.64	2.05

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Ciena (CIEN) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) reports a yield of 1.26%, ranking against industry peers normally.

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%

HPE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

1.26%

HPE: 1.26%
Max: 0.73%
Q3: 0.31%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Ciena (CIEN) vs. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Ciena (CIEN) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) reports a payout of 28.74%, ranking against industry peers normally.

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%

HPE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

28.74%

Max: 32.27%
HPE: 28.74%
Q3: 14.48%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Ciena (CIEN) vs. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Ciena (CIEN) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
Metric	CIEN	HPE
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	1.26%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	28.74%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) at 23.08 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Ciena (CIEN) at 54.45 sits in the richer quartile — CIEN needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

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

HPE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

23.08

Max: 69.48
Q3: 41.02
Median: 26.39
HPE: 23.08
Q1: 19.36
Min: 6.07

Ciena (CIEN) vs. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Ciena (CIEN) at 5.73 and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) at 1.42 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

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

HPE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

1.42

Max: 11.30
Q3: 5.82
Median: 2.56
HPE: 1.42
Q1: 1.05
Min: 0.00

Ciena (CIEN) vs. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) at 2.24 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Ciena (CIEN) at 11.30 prices above its benchmark range — CIEN looks rich relative to book.

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

HPE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

2.24

Max: 10.75
Q3: 5.52
Median: 3.17
HPE: 2.24
Q1: 1.79
Min: 0.33

Ciena (CIEN) vs. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Ciena (CIEN) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
Metric	CIEN	HPE
P/E Ratio (TTM)	54.45	23.08
P/S Ratio (TTM)	5.73	1.42
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	11.30	2.24
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.84%	7.97%