Ciena (CIEN) Cash Flow: Operating & Free Cash Flow

Ciena Cash Flow Statement Analysis

Values in billions USD

Income Statement Balance Sheet Cash Flow Ratios

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Cash flow statement showing operating, investing, and financing activities for Ciena Corporation (CIEN) - Annual data in billions USD
Breakdown	FY 2025	FY 2025	FY 2024	FY 2024	FY 2023	FY 2022	FY 2021	FY 2020	FY 2019	FY 2018	FY 2017
Period ending	Nov 2025	Oct 2025	Nov 2024	Oct 2024	Oct 2023	Oct 2022	Oct 2021	Oct 2020	Oct 2019	Oct 2018	Oct 2017
Operating Activities
Net Income	0.12	0.12	0.08	0.08	0.25	0.15	0.50	0.36	0.25	-0.34	1.26
Depreciation & Amortization	0.14	0.14	0.13	0.13	0.14	0.14	0.13	0.13	0.12	0.11	0.12
Deferred Income Tax	-	-0.02	-	-0.08	-0.01	-0.03	-0.16	0.06	0.02	0.46	-1.13
Stock Based Compensation	0.18	0.18	0.16	0.16	0.13	0.11	0.08	0.07	0.06	0.05	0.05
Change in Working Capital	0.22	0.22	0.10	0.10	-0.40	-0.57	-0.07	-0.20	-0.10	-0.15	-0.16
Change in Accounts Receivable	-0.10	-0.10	0.08	0.08	-0.09	-0.05	-0.17	-0.02	0.07	-0.17	-0.07
Change in Inventory	-0.05	-0.05	0.15	0.15	-0.13	-0.59	-0.05	-0.03	-0.11	-0.03	-0.09
Change in Accounts Payable	0.23	0.23	0.06	0.06	-0.14	0.10	0.16	-0.12	0.03	0.09	0.03
Change in Other Working Capital	0.08	0.15	-0.20	0.01	-0.03	0.00	-0.01	-0.04	-0.08	-0.04	-0.03
Other Operating Activities	0.14	0.16	0.04	0.01	0.05	0.00	0.05	0.07	0.06	0.10	0.08
Net Cash from Operating Activities	0.81	0.81	0.51	0.51	0.17	-0.17	0.54	0.49	0.41	0.23	0.23
Investing Activities
Capital Expenditures	-0.14	-0.14	-0.14	-0.14	-0.11	-0.09	-0.08	-0.08	-0.06	-0.07	-0.09
Acquisitions	-0.23	-0.23	-	-0.02	-0.23	-0.06	0.00	-0.03	0.00	-0.08	0.00
Purchases of Investments	-0.21	-0.21	-0.31	-0.29	-0.25	-0.66	-0.17	-0.22	-0.16	-0.28	-0.30
Sales/Maturities of Investments	0.35	0.35	0.14	0.14	0.21	0.71	0.16	0.11	0.25	0.41	0.34
Other Investing Activities	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Net Cash from Investing Activities	-0.24	-0.24	-0.31	-0.31	-0.38	-0.10	-0.09	-0.22	0.02	-0.02	-0.06
Financing Activities
Debt Repayment	-0.04	-0.02	-0.02	-0.02	0.49	-0.01	-0.01	-0.01	-0.01	0.00	-0.33
Common Stock Issued	0.04	0.04	0.03	0.03	0.03	0.03	0.03	0.03	0.02	0.02	0.02
Common Stock Repurchased	-0.43	-0.33	-0.30	-0.30	-0.28	-0.55	-0.14	-0.11	-0.18	-0.12	0.00
Other Financing Activities	0.00	-0.09	0.00	0.00	-0.01	-0.01	0.00	0.00	-0.11	0.00	0.00
Net Cash from Financing Activities	-0.41	-0.41	-0.29	-0.29	0.23	-0.13	-0.12	-0.09	-0.28	-0.10	-0.31
Summary
Effect of Forex Changes on Cash	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	-0.03	0.00	0.00	0.00	-0.01	0.00
Net Change in Cash	0.16	0.16	-0.08	-0.08	0.02	-0.43	0.33	0.18	0.16	0.10	-0.14
Cash at Beginning of Period	-	0.93	-	1.01	0.99	1.42	1.09	0.90	0.75	0.64	0.78
Cash at End of Period	-	1.09	-	0.94	1.01	0.99	1.42	1.09	0.90	0.75	0.64
Free Cash Flow	0.67	0.67	0.38	0.38	0.06	-0.26	0.46	0.41	0.35	0.16	0.14
Supplemental Disclosures
Interest Paid	-	-	-	-	-	-	0.03	-	-	-	-
Income Taxes Paid	0.11	-	0.05	-	0.08	0.03	0.07	-	-	-	-

Source: Company financial statements from annual and quarterly filings. Data as of Aug 1, 2026. Data sources and methodology

Frequently Asked Questions About Ciena Cash Flow

What is Ciena's free cash flow?

Ciena generated free cash flow of $665.29M in fiscal 2025 (fiscal year ended Nov 1, 2025), operating cash flow of $806.09M minus $140.80M of capital expenditures. That was up 76.1% from $377.89M a year earlier. Free cash flow equaled 13.9% of revenue.

How much does Ciena spend on capital expenditures?

Ciena spent $140.80M on capital expenditures in fiscal 2025, compared with $136.64M a year earlier. That equals 17.5% of operating cash flow.

Does Ciena pay dividends or buy back shares?

Yes. In fiscal 2025 Ciena returned $425.82M in share buybacks to shareholders, according to its cash flow statement.

What is free cash flow?

Free cash flow is operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. It is the cash a company has left for dividends, buybacks, debt repayment or acquisitions after funding its operations and investment. Full definition