Slides
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information. March 2026 Ciena Investor Relations Ciena at OFC 2026
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.2 Ciena’s business overview
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.3 Optical technology underpins Ciena’s business Optical foundation Optical long distance Optical regional/metro Data center fabric interconnects Converged routing and switching Optical pluggable modules and components Metro routing Optical systems Submarine Core business Expansion opportunities We specialize in high-speed optical connectivity and automation We are leveraging our optical leadership to grow into new adjacent markets Access & agg Around (Scale across)Long haul Metro DCI Inside (Scale up/out)
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.4 Data center interconnect applications are expanding Inside Data CenterAround Data CenterWide Area Network (WAN) Inter-Region Metro Intra DC Rack Campus PCB Coherent Non-coherent (IMDD) 1,000’s → 100’s km 100’s → 20 km 2 km → 10’s m 10’s m → 1 m20 → 2 km mm Region Region Campus Campus Data Center Data Center Rack Rack Switch, Server and/or Storage Switch, Server and/or Storage PCB DC out-of-band management (DCOM) Coherent optics in and around the DC IMDD (Electrical and Optical)
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.5 Q1 2026 adjusted financial results Revenue $1.43B +33% YoY +$37M over Guide Gross Margin 44.7% Flat YoY 120 bps over Guide Earnings per Share $1.35 +111% YoY
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.6 March 2026 financial guidance Revenue $1.5B +/- $50M $5.9B - $6.3B Gross Margin 43.5% - 44.5% 43.5% - 44.5% Operating Expense $375M - $390M $1.52B - $1.53B Operating Margin 17.5% - 18.5% 17.5% - 19.5% Q2 2026 FY 2026
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.7 Financial priorities: Delivering growth and profitability Gross Margin Expansion Balance Sheet StrengthOperating Leverage Disciplined Capital Allocation • Q1 2026 printed at 44.7% – ahead of expectations • Tailwinds: capacity infill mix, engineering cost reductions, price increases • FY2026 gross margin guide: 43.5%–44.5% (+130bps vs. 2025) Mid-40s is a waypoint, not an end game. Pricing, cost engineering, and new product transitions are all levers - we expect multi-year gross margin expansion. • Q1 2026 cash from operations: $228M • Q1 2026 cash balance: $1.4B • Cash conversion days down 3; inventory turns at 3.2x A balanced, disciplined approach to working capital. Strong cash generation gives us flexibility to invest aggressively in R&D and innovation while returning capital to shareholders. • Q1 2026 adj. operating margin: 17.9% (+190bps vs. guide midpoint) • Reinvesting from headcount actions, BBA shift, prior-year resets • FY2026 OpEx guide: ~$1.52B– $1.53B • FY2026 operating margin guide: 17.5%–19.5% Committed to holding OpEx about flat in 2026 while investing in new interconnect opportunities. The result: significant operating leverage as revenue grows. • Q1 2026 CapEx: $74M (~2–3x avg. of prior 12 quarters) • Q1 2026: $81M deployed in share repurchases (~400K shares) under the $1B Plan • Investing in contract mfg. capacity expansion – benefits in H2 2026 and into 2027 • Securing long-term component supply commitments to reduce supply chain risk Expanding capacity to meet enormous demand and capture the multi-year growth opportunity ahead. Repurchases and the Nubis acquisition reflect the same capital discipline.
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.8 Ciena at OFC 2026
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.9 OFC 2026: Ciena’s advanced technology demos Ciena Booth #1927 ▪ Programmable photonics ▪ Reconfigurable Line System (RLS) C&L Band ▪ RLS Hyper-Rail ▪ Next-gen coherent technology ▪ WaveLogic 6 Nano 800 Gb/s (ZR/ZR+) coherent pluggables ▪ WaveLogic 6 Nano Coherent-Lite pluggables ▪ Full spectrum transponders ▪ Innovation in and around the data center ▪ Vesta CPO (co-packaged optical) solutions ▪ Nitro 2004 copper cable extender for ACC (active copper cables) ▪ Data Center Out-of-band Management (DCOM)
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.10 OFC 2026: Ciena’s programmable photonics Hyper-Rail: Programmable photonic line systems 10 RLS C&L-Band point-to- point DCI config RLS Hyper-Rail, 300mm and 600mm variants New support for scale-across applications ▪ RLS C&L-band protected DCI configuration ▪ Dramatically improves power and space efficiency needed to support extreme capacity growth at Intermediate Line Amplification (ILA) sites with new RLS hyper-rail amplification configurations featuring both 600mm and 300mm variants 10 The Demand Signal Is Structural • Scale-across represents a new market: distributed AI compute interconnected across distance via high-speed optical networks • Hyperscalers have committed $600B+ in aggregate 2026 CapEx - driven by AI training and inference at scale
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.11 A typical regional or long-haul fiber system ~ Terminal Terminal Amp siteAmp siteAmp siteAmp site ~80km~80km~80km~80km~80-100km ~80km 2-16 fiber pairs (rails) per route 1000’s kms • Geographically isolated • Power constrained (3kw/rack) • 4 fiber pairs (rails) per rack • ~$1M/hut construction cost Amp sites (Huts) AI is driving demand for 1000s of fibers on key inter-data center routes
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information. Line amp sites TODAY 4 rails/rack, 16 rails/hut All capacity within one hut 4 rails / rack 1 hut Hyper-rail: Massive densification of amplifier sites for space, power, capacity, and cost benefits New multi-rail innovation: 20 Petabit/sec 1 hut! 128 rails / rack 1 hut 32x density improvement! 20 Petabit/sec AI example With today’s technology: 22 huts! 4 rails / rack 22 huts Ciena is at the forefront of hyper-rail development for AI networks Same space and power New multi-rail design
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.13 OFC 2026: Ciena’s next-gen coherent technology Simplify scale-across connectivity • Expand 800G pluggable connectivity across more applications with WL6 Nano (WL6n) 800G PKT-MAX at 135GBaud • In addition to 800ZR and 800G ZR+ with interoperable PCS • Available in both C- and L-band • Ciena demonstrating successful WL6n 800ZR and 800G ZR+ multivendor line interop at OIF Booth, with both C-band and L-band WL6n plugs
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.14 OFC 2026: Ciena’s next-gen coherent technology Evolution to 1.6T Coherent pluggables and Full Spectrum Transponders (FST) ▪ Ultra-high-bandwidth building blocks enable future 1600ZR/1600ZR+ and 2x 1.6T Coherent-Lite solutions ▪ Full spectrum transponders light the full spectrum on a fiber pair in a single system, simplifying installation, reducing hardware overhead, and enabling efficiency in quickly deploying large chunks of capacity 32 x MPO / 8 x ELSFP (External Laser Small Form-factor Pluggable) 32 x OSFP (Octal Small Form-factor Pluggable) 2nm silicon under test 1600ZR design 1600ZR+ design
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information. 15 OFC 2026: Ciena’s innovation in and around the data center Intra-DC networking – Optimize scale-up and scale-out Ciena’s Vesta 200 6.4T CPX Optical Engine for co- packaged optics (CPO) minimizes power, and maximizes density and flexibility ▪ CPX connector supports both CPO and co-packaged copper, enabling flexible configurability Ciena’s Nitro 2004 Linear Redriver delivers performance for massive volume scale-up networks Vesta 200 6.4T CPX Nitro Industry-first, Commercially advancing • Vesta 200 - the industry's first high-density, low-power, open- ecosystem pluggable CPO solution • Customer samples available Q2 CY2026 • Active discussions with cloud providers and partners • Nitro linear redriver - reduces power by up to 80% vs. AEC solutions • Samples available Q2 CY2026 • Both products extend Ciena's open architecture strategy into the data center
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information. ORv2 1RU chassis (Open Rack v2) ORv3 4RU chassis (Open Rack v3) ▪ Simplifies Ops – Automated, fiber-based PON reduces workflows and expertise needed ▪ Maximizes Efficiency – Less equipment, space, power, and cooling ▪ Lowers TCO – Fewer devices, less power, lower costs OFC 2026: Ciena’s innovation in and around the data center DCOM – Smart, scalable, out-of-band data center management Created via Meta collaboration, Engaged with additional Hyperscalers • Designed to meet hyperscale provisioning and configuration requirements at scale • Technical discussions underway with two additional major global hyperscalers • Competitive moat: vertical integration, proprietary software, and deep customer collaboration
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.17 OFC 2026: Ciena’s innovation across the AI networking stack Product Value Proposition / Differentiation 1600ZR/1600ZR+ Next-generation pluggable that offers 1.6Tb/s wavelength capacity DCOM (Data Center Out-of-Band Management) Simplifies how operators monitor and manage AI network infrastructure - fewer devices, less manual intervention, lower operating costs Full Spectrum Transponder (FST) Enables operators to light an entire fiber's capacity on Day One rather than wavelength by wavelength - faster deployment, lower operating cost for AI infrastructure builds Nitro 2004 Linear Redriver Extends the reach of copper cables inside data centers, enabling hyperscalers to scale up AI compute clusters at lower cost than retimed or optical alternatives RLS C&L Band Doubles the data-carrying capacity of a single fiber pair - more throughput without laying new fiber; Custom config created for Scale-Across application, designed for data center rack deployment RLS Hyper-Rail Collapses what would require many separate amplifier sites into just 1; Provides up to 32x increase in fiber density, up to 75% reduction in power Vesta 200 CPO Optical Engine The industry's highest-density, lowest-power open pluggable optical engine for co-packaged optics, purpose-built for AI data center power constraints WaveLogic 6 Nano 800 Gb/s ZR/ZR+ and PKT-MAX Highest-capacity coherent pluggables today, enabling hyperscalers to move more data between data centers in a smaller, lower-power form factor Waveserver (High-bandwidth / DCI) High-capacity data center interconnect with built-in quantum-safe encryption - protects critical data in transit at scale; Main platform deployed with WaveLogic 6 Extreme 1.6T performance optics Waveserver E-Series A compact, energy-efficient platform that aggregates traffic at the network edge; Lowers the cost of connecting metro locations to core AI infrastructure
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.18 Ciena’s speaking sessions
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.19 Ciena Speaking Sessions SCALE UP / INTRA-DC Short Course SC105: Modulation Formats and Receiver Concepts for Optical Transmission Systems Peter Winzer, Ciena; Vivian Chen, Nokia Bell Labs | Sun, Mar 15, 8:30 – 11:30 Optica Exec Forum: “Scale-Up Data Center Networks” Panel Peter Winzer; A. Bechtolsheim (Arista), D. Alduino (Meta), D. Lazovsky (Celestial AI) | Mon, Mar 16, 16:30 – 17:40 COHERENT / PLUGGABLES Workshop: Will Coherent Pluggables Take Over Everything? Helen Xenos; M. Newland (Google), P. Pecci (Meta), A. Schmitt (Cignal), others | Sat, Mar 15, 13:00 – 15:30, Rm 408B Invited N3: The role of pluggables vs. embedded transponders in optical networks Sebastien Gareau, Ciena Panel: Probabilistic Amplitude Shaping after 10 years: Where are we Now, and What is to Come? Ian Roberts, Georg Bocherer; J. Cho (Nokia), O. Vassilieva (1Finity) | Mon, Mar 16, 16:30 – 18:30, Rm 502A WL7n / FST / CPO Workshop: Optical Networking for AI Datacenters: Technology Enablers and Key Applications David Boertjes; G. Patronas (NVIDIA), P. Roorda (Lumentum), others | Sat, Mar 15, 13:00 – 15:30, Rm 502B Invited S2: Co-Design of Electronic and Photonic Systems for Future LPO, NPO, and CPO Guilhem de Valicourt, Ciena
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.20 Ciena Speaking Sessions (cont’d) WL7n / FST / CPO 16-ch Silicon-Photonics Optical Engine Enabling PAM6 Transmission with BER < 1E-9 Son Le | Mon, Mar 16, 16:30 – 18:30, Rm 403B Market Watch: Market Status and Enabling Technologies of 1.6 Tb/s and Beyond Robert Keys; R. Pancholy (Broadcom), B. Zhang (Marvell), others | Tue, Mar 17, 12:30 – 14:00, Theater I Market Watch: Advanced Packaging and Co-Packaging for Efficient Optical Systems Peter Winzer; Shai Cohen (NVIDIA) | Wed, Mar 18, 14:15 – 15:45 Technology Showcase: Direct-to-Plug Liquid Cooling for Next-Gen Pluggable Optics Bilal Riaz; J-C. Duisit (Staubli) | Wed, Mar 19, 10:45 – 11:15, Theater III SCALE OUT / INTRA-DC Panel: Future Photonics for AI: From PICs to Pods to Factories (OCP session) Karen Liu; A. Bechtolsheim (Arista), K. Raj (Oracle), T. Liljeberg (Intel) | Tue, Mar 17, 16:00 – 17:00, Theater I AI FOR OPTICAL Symposia: From Automation to Autonomy: AI Multi-Agents for Next-Gen IP/Optical Operations Reza Rokui | Wed, Mar 18, 14:00 – 16:00 FIBER SENSING From Access Fiber to Awareness Grid: Deploying DFOS for Security, Reliability and New Services Brandon Buscaino; Venk Mutalik (Comcast), NEC Labs, others | Wed, Mar 19, 10:30 – 11:30
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© Ciena Corporation 2025. All rights reserved. Proprietary Information.21 Thank you IR@ciena.com