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Ciena

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FY2008 Annual Report · Ciena
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2008 Annual Report

vision

strength 

execution

innovation

002CS17767

1201 Winterson Road, Linthicum, Maryland 21090-2205  
(410) 865-8500   (800) 921-1144   www.Ciena.com

Fellow Shareholders,

As we enter 2009 amidst global 

From an industry standpoint, the 

economic uncertainty and financial 

fundamental demand drivers of 

turmoil, we do so with the knowl-

network traffic—higher bandwidth 

edge that the opportunities and 

and new services and applica-

challenges ahead of us are unlike 

tions—remain intact. The industry 

those we have faced before. And 

is at the beginning of what is 

yet, we believe that both the 

forecast to be a new spending 

telecommunications industry in 

cycle focused on the transition 

general, and Ciena specifically, are 

toward Ethernet-based multi-

in a significantly better position 

service networks. As a result of 

than during the last industry 

the continued and successful 

downturn, when the “tech bubble” 

execution of our “network special-

burst in 2001.

ist” strategy, our differentiation

vision

The opportunity before us is real and it is substantial. Whereas even a few years 
ago it was unclear what the next “wave” in network technology spending would 
be, it’s become apparent that Ethernet-related investment will be a key strate-
gic focus for our customers. But several years ago, Ciena needed to make a 
calculated bet on what would come next. Our heritage of innovation showed 
itself, and the “all-in” commitment we made to develop Ethernet-centered 
network solutions has positioned us to capitalize on what is forecast to be a 
total network infrastructure investment cycle of $70–$90 billion that is expected 
to last for the next decade at least. We have a clear vision of the opportunity 
and are focused on building our leadership position by providing service-driven 
networks to help our customers change the way they compete.

Gary B. Smith 
President and  
Chief Executive Officer

corporate information

corporate headquarters
Ciena Corporation
1201 Winterson Road
Linthicum, MD 21090-2205
Telephone: (800) 921-1144
or (410) 865-8500
www.Ciena.com

annual meeting
Ciena’s annual meeting of shareholders 
will be held at 3:00 PM (Eastern) on 
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at The 
Westin Baltimore Washington Airport—
BWI, 1110 Old Elkridge Landing Road, 
Baltimore, MD.

independent registered  
public accounting firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
McLean, VA

outside counsel
Hogan & Hartson LLP
Baltimore, MD

transfer agent
Computershare Trust Company, N.A.
P.O. Box 43078
Providence, RI 02940-3078
Shareholder Inquiries: (781) 575-2879
www.Computershare.com

common stock market data
Since its initial public offering on  
February 7, 1997, Ciena’s Common  
Stock has traded on the Nasdaq Stock 
Market under the symbol CIEN.

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investor relations
For additional copies of this report or 
copies of our SEC filings, contact: 
Investor Relations
Ciena Corporation
1201 Winterson Road
Linthicum, MD 21090-2205
Telephone: (888) 243-6223
or (410) 694-5700

Additional information is available on 
Ciena’s website at www.Ciena.com.

operating  
executive officers

Patrick H. Nettles, Ph.D.  
Executive Chairman of the  
Board of Directors

outside board members

Stephen P. Bradley, Ph.D.  
William Ziegler Professor of  
Business Administration Emeritus
Harvard Business School

Gary B. Smith
President, Chief Executive Officer  
and Director 

Harvey B. Cash
General Partner
InterWest Partners

Stephen B. Alexander
Senior Vice President,  
Products and Technology, 
Chief Technology Officer

James E. Moylan, Jr.
Senior Vice President, Finance,  
Chief Financial Officer 

Arthur D. Smith, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President,  
Chief Operating Officer 

Michael G. Aquino
Senior Vice President,  
Global Field Operations 

David M. Rothenstein
Senior Vice President,  
General Counsel and Secretary 

Andrew C. Petrik
Vice President and Controller 

Bruce L. Claflin   
Retired, President and CEO
3Com Corporation   

Lawton W. Fitt 
Retired Partner 
Goldman Sachs

Judith M. O’Brien
Executive Vice President,  
General Counsel 
Obopay, Inc.

Michael J. Rowny
Chairman
Rowny Capital

Gerald H. Taylor
Managing Member
mortonsgroup, LLC

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
in the market and our focus on 

to emerge even better positioned 

meeting the technology and 

to capitalize on the tremendous 

business needs of our customers, 

opportunities that lie ahead.  

we believe we are well positioned 

To help you understand why 

as a key strategic partner. 

we believe that, let’s review our  

We are prepared to manage 

through what will likely be a 

turbulent 2009. We are realistic 

and pragmatic. We continue to 

2008 achievements, the industry 

environment and opportunity,  

and our strategy and vision for 

2009 and beyond.

think and plan for the long term, 

2008 Achievements 

while acknowledging the impor-

To begin, let’s review our significant 

tance of shorter-term commitments 

achievements in fiscal 2008— 

and deliverables. And we expect 

because they matter a great deal. 

We’re at the beginning of what is expected to be 
another big wave of network technology spending. 
Over the next decade, total infrastructure invest-
ments are forecasted to be $70–$90 billion as service 
providers transition toward more efficient, Ethernet-
based multi-service networks.

$68B

service provider investment
PDH 
digitizing voice

$81B

$47B (‘96–’00) 
$34B (‘01–’06)

service provider investment
SONET/SDH 
scaling capacity

$70–$90B

service provider investment
ETHERNET  
service convergence

1986

1996

2006

Source: ITU historical report estimate.

Source: Dell’Oro SONET/SDH 
historical revenue reports.

Source: Infonetics CE switches, Ethernet over 
SONET/SDH, Ethernet over WDM, Ethernet 
access forecasts, Ciena Marketing.

2016

1

Ciena’s accomplishments during 

gaining industry-leading Carrier 

this year, and those of the past  

Ethernet access, aggregation, 

few years as well, have fortified  

switching and software solutions. 

the company so we can weather 

We continued to innovate, entering 

this storm from a position of 

the emerging packet optical 

considerable strength. Looking 

transport space with new modules 

through the current environment, 

for our premier CN 4200® platform. 

we have a clear vision of where our 

We also enhanced our service-

markets are headed longer term 

aware operating system, bringing 

and how Ciena can best help our 

more intelligence to our customers’ 

customers succeed. 

networks by providing best-in-

Technology 

Our product portfolio is broader 

and deeper than ever. During 2008, 

we acquired World Wide Packets, 

breed automation and accelera-

tion of service creation to more 

efficiently manage a dynamic mix 

of services and high-bandwidth 

traffic. Above and beyond that, we 

growing revenue

902M

780M

564M

427M

299M

‘04

‘05

‘06

‘07

‘08

Revenue in millions (USD$)

•  Revenue has grown  

by an average of 32%  
a year since ’04 

•  Cash, cash equivalents 

and short- and long-term 
investments of $1.1B  
(as of the end of Q4 ’08)

Ciena Corporation is a global leader in communication network platforms, 
software and professional services. Our specialty is transitioning networks for 
maximum business value, operational value and end-user value. Integrating 
expertise in optical, access and data networking, Ciena enables the delivery of 
more services faster, transforms the network cost base, and improves the end-user 
experience. With industry-leading functionality and performance, Ciena’s offerings 
form the foundation for many of the largest, most reliable and sophisticated telco, 
cable/MSO, enterprise and government networks across the globe.

2

demonstrated leadership in taking 

further penetration of the  

to position ourselves to capitalize 

tomorrow’s networks to new levels 

research and education market, 

on the tremendous opportunities 

of capacity with a breakthrough in 

and additional successes in  

available as networks are devel-

100 Gigabit capabilities.

the healthcare and financial 

oped and expanded worldwide. 

services markets. 

We were successful in this effort, 

Customers 

In fiscal 2008, we also made 

Operations 

significant advancements on the 

Ciena is truly a global company. 

customer front as we continue our 

We operate in 23 countries and 

generating and supporting interna-

tional sales that represented 35% 

of our total 2008 revenue. 

efforts to diversify our business. 

employ approximately 2,200 people 

Financial Performance

We expanded our relationships 

around the world. A primary 

Our financial results for fiscal 2008 

with existing customers and 

operational focus in 2008 was to 

were very solid. Revenue increased 

considerably broadened our 

strategically expand our presence 

16%, well ahead of the growth  

customer base, including geo-

in key geographies, while also 

rate of the markets we target and 

graphic expansion in South 

developing new relationships in 

significantly better than the overall 

America and Eastern Europe, 

key vertical markets. Our goal is 

market for telecommunications 

strength

Ciena has the financial strength and stability to execute its strategic vision—even 
in the face of what we expect will be a challenging environment. The strategy we 
employed during the last downturn—continuing to invest in our technology and 
our people rather than cost-cutting our way back to profitability—has served to 
build a solid financial foundation for our business. With over $1 billion in cash, 
cash equivalents and short- and long-term investments, we believe we can 
fund our innovation with the goal of building market share.

James E. Moylan, Jr. 
Senior Vice President, Finance 
and Chief Financial Officer 

3

equipment. Gross margins contin-

which helped bolster our balance 

ued to improve, increasing from 

sheet. Even after using $210 million 

48% in 2007 to 50% in 2008. I am 

for the acquisition of World Wide 

very pleased that our strong 

Packets, and repaying $542.3 million 

performance earlier in the year 

in principal outstanding on our 

offset the challenges of the second 

3.75% convertible notes at 

half, and allowed us to post adjusted 

maturity in February 2008, we 

(non-GAAP) income from operations 

ended the year with $1.1 billion  

consistent with 2007. Net income 

in cash, cash equivalents and 

was $38.9 million, or $0.42 per 

short- and long-term investments, 

diluted share, in 2008, compared 

giving us considerable flexibility  

to $82.8 million, or $0.87 per diluted 

to manage the challenges  

share, in 2007. 

Importantly, we generated  

$118 million of cash during the year, 

ahead and maintain a level of 

investment necessary to sustain 

our competitive advantage.

execution

We continue to make very significant improvements in our operating model, 
ensuring that we have the optimal organization in place to perform efficiently 
and effectively as an agile global enterprise. We work seamlessly around 
the world, leveraging the strengths of each geography in which we operate. 
The recruitment, development and retention of our extraordinarily talented 
employee base continue to be a major focus. We are also working to increase 
the velocity with which we operate, and have already dramatically shortened 
lead times and provided more predictability in shipments, two areas that help 
to enhance overall customer satisfaction. 

Arthur D. Smith, Ph.D. 
Senior Vice President and  
Chief Operating Officer 

4

Industry Environment  

the period leading up to 2001, 

and Opportunity

demand was driven by speculation, 

Our results for the fiscal fourth 

driving excessive network builds 

quarter illustrate the difficulty of 

and over-capacity, and a disregard 

the current operating environment. 

for economic fundamentals. When 

In recent months, we have been 

the tech bubble burst, we faced a 

most frequently asked the question: 

multi-year recovery. 

“Is this 2001 all over again?” As an 

investor in the telecommunications 

industry, that is exactly the 

question you should be asking. 

Today, demand is real and driven 

by innovations in services and 

applications. We’ve seen a return 

to market fundamentals, and most 

In our opinion, both the industry 

top-tier service providers are 

and Ciena are in profoundly 

financially healthy. For several 

different positions today. Let’s  

years, service providers have been 

talk about the industry first. In  

investing in adding capacity to 

a global presence

Corporate headquarters

Partners

Linthicum, Maryland

Worldwide

R&D centers

Major field operations centers

Linthicum 

Dallas/Ft Worth

Coventry, UK

Beijing

Acton, Massachusetts

Denver

Frankfurt

Hong Kong

Alpharetta, Georgia

Kansas City

Spokane Valley, Wash.

New York City

San Jose, California

San Antonio

London

Madrid

Milan

Ottawa, Ontario

Gurgaon, India

Buenos Aires

Moscow

Mexico City

Paris

Mumbai

Seoul

Shenzhen

Singapore

Tokyo

Warsaw

5

their networks when and where 

of the largest service providers  

they need it, and, therefore, there 

in the world. As a result, we can 

is no significant over-capacity  

approach this unprecedented 

for them to leverage. As a result, 

macroeconomic and industry 

we believe we are facing a multi- 

environment from a position  

quarter recovery. 

of strength.

Ciena is also a much different 

Notwithstanding recent industry 

company today than it was in  

reports about new pressures on 

2001. Consistent execution of  

technology budgets and the 

our strategy has enabled us to 

expectation of an extended 

develop a significantly broader 

period of volatility, network traffic 

customer base and to meaning-

and the demand for higher 

fully expand our product portfolio, 

bandwidth and new applications 

which in turn has enabled us to 

remain the fundamental drivers in 

deepen our relationships with many 

our business, and those demand 

the evolution of Ciena innovation

With a heritage of innovation, Ciena has evolved over the years.  
Today, three elements working in harmony combine to create the 
service-driven network of tomorrow.

TRANSPORT

ETHERNET

SERVICE  
DELIVERY

First...
We made the 

Then...
We combined the 

Now...
We’re adding the 

transport network 

economics of Ethernet 

tools for service 

flexible, automated 

with our heritage of 

enablement, velocity 

and resilient.

resilient transport.

and monetization.

6

curves have not diminished dramati-

customers change the way they 

cally. Indeed, continued capacity 

compete. Our relationships with 

demands and our customers’  

our customers are becoming more 

need to transition to more efficient, 

solution-driven, rather than based 

service-driven networks are key 

solely on products. 

drivers for a longer-term network 

investment cycle.

While effectively addressing the 

demand for capacity is an ongoing 

2009 Strategy and Vision 

challenge for all network opera-

So, how are we positioning Ciena 

tors, the underlying challenge for 

in 2009 to capitalize on what we still 

service providers is new. In the 

believe is a big opportunity despite 

past, enterprises and consumers 

a very challenging near-term 

perceived value in their network 

environment? We are refining our 

access and connectivity. Now, 

strategy to reflect the growing 

these same users place a higher 

importance of how we help our 

value on the services or applications 

innovation

Innovation is our lifeblood. Without it, Ciena would lose its competitive edge 
and its reputation for industry-leading advancements in network solutions. 
Perhaps the best illustration of our dedication to innovation, showcased in 2008, 
was our demonstration of the industry’s first true single wavelength payload 
transmission of a 100 Gigabit data stream. To give you a sense of just how much 
data can be transmitted with this capability, you would be able to download 
15 high-definition movies in 10 seconds! It is this kind of customer-driven thought 
leadership that enables Ciena to develop differentiated solutions to address 
high-growth areas of the market.

Stephen B. Alexander 
Senior Vice President,  
Products and Technology, 
Chief Technology Officer

7

that are delivered over the 

that in order to ensure their 

of our “network specialist” strategy, 

My thanks to you, our shareholders, 

network. For instance, mobile 

business models going forward, 

and one that we believe will position 

for your continued support and also 

Web users don’t necessarily place 

service providers need to move 

Ciena to continue to build market 

to our customers and partners for 

value on the network they use to 

beyond selling simple connectivity. 

share in the years to come.

the faith and trust they put in 

access the Internet; they see value 

They need to be able to create, 

in accessing the Web site that 

market and sell profitable services 

forecasts tomorrow’s weather. 

that end users, both consumers and 

Likewise, businesses don’t assign 

enterprises, are willing to pay for. 

Indeed, over our relatively brief 

corporate history, Ciena has 

survived and succeeded through 

unprecedented industry turmoil. 

value to being able to connect 

their workers remotely; they 

assume the connectivity will be 

there. They see value in their 

employees’ ability to utilize the 

same systems and applications 

they would have if they were 

sitting at their desks.

That’s why Ciena is focused on 

What has enabled us to do so is 

enabling service creation or, said 

our commitment to investment  

differently, enabling our customers 

and technology leadership. 

to not only handle increasing 

Understanding the technology 

traffic demands but also drive 

and business needs of our 

successful business models. Our 

customers—and continuing 

Ethernet-based architecture is 

to develop new products and 

increasingly reliant on software 

solutions to help them meet  

Ciena every day. My thanks, too, 

to the employees of Ciena. Ciena 

equipment may be the backbone 

of some of the largest communi-

cations networks in the world, but 

our people are our backbone; they 

represent our innovation and 

tenacity and are the driving force 

behind our past, present and 

future success. 

This shift in the perceived value— 

and is built around a family of 

their needs—has earned us  

from capacity and connectivity to 

highly efficient platforms. This 

the right to call ourselves the 

services and applications—means 

approach is a natural progression 

Network Specialist. 

Gary B. Smith 
President and  
Chief Executive Officer

8

2008 10-K 
Ciena Corporation

10  Ciena Corporation 10-K

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION  Washington, D.C. 20549 

Form 10-K

Annual Report
Pursuant to Sections 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(Mark One) 
[X] 

 Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)  
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2008 

OR [

X]  Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) 

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
For the transition period from _______________ to _______________

Commission file number 0-21969

Ciena Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
23–2725311 (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
1201 Winterson Road, Linthicum, MD (Address of principal executive offices)
21090–2205 (Zip Code)
(410) 865–8500 (Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Common Stock, $0.01 par value Title of Each Class
The NASDAQ Stock Market Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 
405 of the Securities Act.  YES [X]  NO [  ]

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 
or Section 15(d) of the Act.  YES [  ]  NO [X]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by 
Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months 
(or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has 
been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  YES [X]  NO [  ]

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation 
S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, 
in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this 
Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. 

[  ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated 
filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated 
filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):  
Large accelerated filer 

[  ]  Non-accelerated filer 

[X]  Accelerated filer 

[  ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 
of the Exchange Act)  YES [  ]  NO [X]

The aggregate market value of the Registrant’s Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the 
Registrant was $2,595,603,186 based on the closing price of the Common Stock on the 
NASDAQ Global Select Market on May 2, 2008.

The number of shares of Registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of December 12, 2008 
was 90,533,370.

Documents Incorporated by Reference 
Part III of the Form 10-K incorporates by reference certain portions of the Registrant’s definitive proxy statement for its 2009 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed with the Commission 
not later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this report. 

11

 
 
 
 
  
12  Ciena Corporation 10-K

Table of ConTenTs

PaRT I 

Item 1.  Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Item 1A.  Risk Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Item 1B.  Unresolved Staff Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Item 2.  Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Item 3.  Legal Proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Item 4.  Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

PaRT II 

Item 5.  Market for Registrant’s Common Stock, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities . . . . . . . . 35
Item 6.  Selected Consolidated Financial Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Item 7.  Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Item 7A.  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Item 8.  Financial Statements and Supplementary Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Item 9.  Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Item 9A.  Controls and Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Item 9B.  Other Information  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

PaRT III 

Item 10.  Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Item 11.  Executive Compensation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Item 12.  Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Item 13.  Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Item 14.  Principal Accountant Fees and Services  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

PaRT IV 

Item 15.  Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Signatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

13

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PaRT I
The information in this annual report contains certain forward-looking 
statements, including statements related to our business prospects, the 
markets for our products and services, and trends in our business that 
involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from 
the results discussed in these forward-looking statements. Factors that 
might cause such a difference include those discussed in “Risk Factors,” 
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and 
Results of Operations,” “Business” and elsewhere in this annual report.

ITem 1.  busIness

overview
We are a provider of communications networking equipment, software 
and services that support the transport, switching, aggregation and 
management of voice, video and data traffic. Our optical service delivery 
and carrier Ethernet service delivery products are used individually, or 
as part of an integrated solution, in communications networks operated 
by service providers, cable operators, governments and enterprises 
around the globe. We are a network specialist targeting the transition 
of disparate, legacy communications networks to converged, next-
generation architectures, better able to handle increased traffic and 
deliver more efficiently a broader mix of high-bandwidth communica-
tions services. Our products, along with our service-aware operating 
system and unified service and transport management, enable service 
providers to efficiently and cost-effectively deliver critical enterprise and 
consumer-oriented communication services. Together with our profes-
sional support and consulting services, our product offerings seek to 
address holistically the business and network needs of our customers. 
Our customers face an increasingly challenging and rapidly changing 
environment that requires them to quickly adapt their networks. By 
improving network productivity, reducing operating costs and enabling 
new and integrated service offerings, we create business and opera-
tional value for our customers.

Acquisition of World Wide Packets
On March 3, 2008, we completed our acquisition of World Wide Packets, 
Inc. (“WWP”), a provider of communications networking equipment that 
enables the cost-effective delivery of a variety of carrier Ethernet-based 
services, including business Ethernet services, Internet access, video 
conferencing and VoIP. WWP’s service delivery and aggregation switches 

support the access and aggregation tiers of communications networks 
and are typically deployed in metro and access networks. Through our 
acquisition of WWP, we expanded our Ethernet offering beyond infrastruc-
ture to include service delivery capability and enhanced our embedded 
and management software suites. We believe that this transaction will 
improve our time to market with carrier Ethernet products and allow us to 
reach new customers and market segments, while strengthening and diver-
sifying our position within existing customer networks. We also believe that 
WWP’s service delivery switching and aggregation technology will enable 
us to penetrate additional application segments, including Ethernet busi-
ness services, mobile backhaul for 4G wireless networks, and Ethernet 
infrastructure for high-bandwidth services such as IPTV and triple play.

Financial Overview—Fiscal 2008 and Effect of Recent  
Global Macroeconomic Conditions
Through the first three quarters of fiscal 2008, we had achieved eighteen 
quarters of sequential revenue growth and our financial performance con-
tinued to be strong. Revenue for the first nine months of fiscal 2008 was 
up 28.3% over the first nine months of fiscal 2007. Income from operations 
had increased from $21.5 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2007 to 
$52.3 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2008. Due to worsening 
macroeconomic conditions and customer-specific challenges in our indus-
try, quarterly revenue declined from $253.2 million in the third quarter of 
fiscal 2008 to $179.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, and we suf-
fered a $30.5 million loss from operations during the fourth quarter. We 
attribute this decline to a cautious approach and increased scrutiny by our 
customers in their capital expenditures in the face of significant weakness, 
volatility and uncertainty of the global macroeconomic environment. As a 
result of these conditions, we have experienced order delays, lengthen-
ing sales cycles and slowing deployments. We are uncertain as to how 
long current economic conditions will persist and the magnitude of their 
effects on our business. While we expect the near-term market condi-
tions to be challenging, we continue to believe in our longer term market 
opportunities. We believe that growth in consumer and enterprise use of 
high-bandwidth communications services and resulting capacity demands 
will require our customers to continue to invest in their networks and tran-
sition to more efficient, robust and economical network architectures.

In spite of recent macroeconomic conditions described above, we gener-
ated revenue of $902.4 million in fiscal 2008, representing a 15.7% increase 
from fiscal 2007 revenue of $779.8 million. Due to our lower fourth quarter 

14  Ciena Corporation 10-K

results, income from operations decreased from $48.7 million in fiscal 
2007 to $21.9 million in fiscal 2008. Net income decreased from $82.8 mil-
lion, or $0.87 per diluted share, in fiscal 2007, to $38.9 million, or $0.42 
per diluted share, in fiscal 2008. We generated $117.6 million in cash from 
operations during fiscal 2008 compared to $108.7 million in cash from 
operations during fiscal 2007.

We manage our business in one operating segment. The matters dis-
cussed in this “Business” section should be read in conjunction with the 
Consolidated Financial Statements found under Item 8 of Part II of this 
annual report, which includes additional financial information about our 
total assets, revenue, measures of profits and loss, and financial informa-
tion about geographic areas.

Corporate Information and Access to SEC Reports
We were incorporated in Delaware in November 1992, and completed  
our initial public offering on February 7, 1997. Our principal executive 
offices are located at 1201 Winterson Road, Linthicum, Maryland 21090. 
Our telephone number is (410) 865-8500, and our web site address is 
www.ciena.com. We make our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly 
reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to 
those reports, available free of charge on the Investor Relations page of 
our web site as soon as reasonably practicable after we file these reports 
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We routinely post 
the reports above, recent news and announcements, financial results and 
other important information about our business on our website at www.
ciena.com. Information contained on our web site is not a part of this 
annual report.

Industry background
The markets in which we sell our equipment and services have been subject 
to dynamic changes in recent years, including increased competition, growth 
in traffic, expanded service offerings, and evolving market opportunities.

Increased Network Capacity Requirements and Multiservice Traffic
Today’s networks are experiencing strong traffic growth, especially in the 
access and metro portions of the network. Increasing usage and reliance 
upon communications services by consumer and enterprise end users, 
and the expansion of high-bandwidth applications and services, have 
driven increased network capacity requirements. Business customers 
have become increasingly dependent upon enterprise-oriented ser-
vices and their workforces are becoming more mobile, driving demand 

for seamless access to business applications. At the same time, with 
consumer adoption of broadband technologies, including peer-to-peer 
Internet applications, video services, online gaming, and mobile web and 
data services, an increasing portion of network traffic is consumer driven. 
This shift presents a challenge to service providers because, historically, 
consumers pay a far lower price per bit for bandwidth consumption 
than enterprises, yet they are becoming a bigger piece of overall traffic 
demand. All of these factors are requiring networks to be more agile and 
more cost effective.

A broader mix of high-bandwidth traffic is driving a transition from 
multiple, disparate networks based on SONET/SDH to more efficient, 
converged, multi-purpose Ethernet/IP-based network architectures. As a 
global standard that is widely deployed, Ethernet is an ideal technology 
for reducing cost and consolidating multiple services on a single net-
work. The industry has seen transitions like this in the past. These large 
investment cycles tend to happen over multi-year periods. For instance, 
from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s, service providers focused network 
upgrades on the transition required to digitize voice traffic. From the mid 
1990s to the mid 2000s, service providers focused network upgrades on 
the transition to SONET/SDH networks designed to reliably handle sub-
stantially more network traffic. We believe that the industry is currently in 
the early stages of network transition to multi-purpose Ethernet/IP-based 
network architectures that more efficiently handle the growing mix of mul-
tiservice traffic.

Wireless Networks
Several years ago, data overtook voice as the dominant traffic on wire-
line networks. This transition drove substantial investment as service 
providers upgraded their wireline infrastructure to accommodate higher 
bandwidth requirements and new usage patterns associated with new 
applications. A similar shift is now occurring in wireless networks. The 
emergence of smart mobile devices that deliver integrated voice, audio, 
photo, video, email and mobile web capabilities, like Apple’s iPhone™, 
are rapidly changing the kind of traffic carried by wireless networks. Like 
the wireline networks before them, wireless networks initially were con-
structed principally to handle voice traffic, not the higher bandwidth, 
multiservice traffic that has grown in recent years. As a result, existing 
wireless infrastructure, particularly wireline backhaul of mobile traffic, 
will require significant upgrades to accommodate growing mobility and 
expanding wireless applications.

15

Increased Competition Among Communications Service Providers  
and Effect on Network Investment
Competition continues to be fierce among communications services 
providers, particularly as traditional telecommunications companies 
and cable operators look to offer a broader mix of revenue-generating 
services. Service providers face new competitors, new technologies and 
intense price competition while traditional sources of revenue from voice 
and enterprise data services are under pressure. These dynamics place 
significant pressure on the cost of enhancing existing infrastructures or 
building new communications networks and increase scrutiny and prioriti-
zation of network spending. As a result, service providers are increasingly 
seeking ways to reduce their network operating and capital costs and 
create new, profitable service offerings. By utilizing scalable networks 
that are less complex, less expensive to operate and more adaptable, 
service providers can derive increased value from their network invest-
ments through the profitable, rapid and efficient delivery of new services. 
The changing competitive landscape will present opportunities, as well 
as significant challenges, for service providers as well as equipment pro-
viders like us.

Carrier-Managed Services and Private Networks
As competition among service providers has increased, the needs of some 
of their largest customers have changed. Enterprises require additional 
bandwidth capacity to support business interconnection, facilitate global 
expansion of operations, enable employee mobility and utilize video 
services. Enterprises and government agencies also have become more 
concerned about network reliability and security, business continuity and 
disaster recovery, while having to address industry-specific compliance and 
regulatory requirements. These changing requirements have driven service 
providers to offer a wider range of enterprise-oriented, carrier-managed 
services. In addition to this expansion of carrier-managed services, a num-
ber of large enterprises, government agencies and research and education 
institutions have decided to forego carrier-managed communications 
services in favor of building their own, secure private networks, some on a 
global scale.

Shift in Value from Networks to Applications
In the past, enterprises and consumers perceived value in their network 
connectivity. These end users of networks now place a higher value on the 
services or applications accessed and delivered over the network. As a 
result, service providers need to create, market and sell profitable services 

as opposed to simply selling connectivity. Some examples of applications 
causing this shift in value include:

•	 Virtualization. Virtualization moves a physical resource from a user’s 
desktop into the network, thereby making more efficient use of 
information technology resources. Virtualization has many appealing 
attributes such as lowering barriers of entry into new markets, and 
even adding flexibility to scale certain aspects of a business faster 
and with less expense.

•	 Software as a Service. Software as a service involves the sale of 

an application hosted as a service provided to end users, replacing 
standardized applications for virtualized services and, in some cases, 
replacing aspects of the traditional IT infrastructure. By way of exam-
ple, traditional customer relationship management applications can 
be replaced with services such as Salesforce.com™.

•	 Mobility. The increase in availability and improved ease of use of 
web-based applications from mobile devices expands the reach 
of virtualized services beyond a wireline connection. For instance, 
consumer-driven video and gaming are being virtualized, allowing 
broad access to these applications, regardless of the device or the 
network used.

strategy
Our strategy has evolved to enable our customers to deal with the chal-
lenges and industry trends discussed above. We started in the 1990s as a 
provider of intelligent optical transport solutions. Our focus was on making 
the transport network scalable, flexible and resilient through software- 
enabled automation. We enabled a new generation of mesh networking  
that allowed for new, tiered services and reduced network operating 
expenditures. We then combined the economics of Ethernet with our  
heritage of resilient optics, creating connection-oriented Ethernet prod-
ucts and features with carrier-grade performance. We are entering a new 
stage of our strategic evolution with a focus on enabling service delivery. 
For service providers, new services drive revenue growth. For enterprises, 
new services support business needs and improve efficiency.

Our vision is to enable a service-driven network that is automated and 
programmable remotely via software. Programmable networks allow 
our customers to adapt and scale as their business models, services 
mix and market demands change. Through our current product portfo-
lio and ongoing research and development efforts, we seek to provide 
networking solutions that allow our customers to rapidly and efficiently 

16  Ciena Corporation 10-K

operationalize and provision new revenue-generating services while 
enabling operational cost savings. We believe our innovation will allow 
tomorrow’s service-driven network to adapt and scale, manage unpredict-
ability, and eliminate barriers to new services. In providing these solutions, 
we aim to change fundamentally the way our customers compete.

Our vision of a service-driven network is based on three key building 
blocks of our FlexSelect™ Architecture:

•	 Programmable	network	elements,	including	software	programmable	
hardware platforms and interfaces that use our FlexiPort technology, 
to support multiple services;

•	 Common	service-aware,	embedded	operating	system	and	unified	

management and transport software for an integrated solution with 
a common set of software features, a common look-and-feel, and a 
common set of interfaces; and

•	 True	Carrier	Ethernet™	(TCE)	technology	to	provide	reliable	and	

feature-rich Ethernet to support a wider variety of services.

These features of our FlexSelect Architecture automate delivery and 
management of a broad mix of services and enable a software-defined, 
service-agnostic network that offers enhanced flexibility and is more cost-
effective to deploy, scale and manage.

Incorporating this approach to service-driven networks into our strategy, 
we are pursuing the following initiatives:

•	 Maintain	and	extend	technology	leadership	in	the	transition	from	
legacy network infrastructures to Ethernet-based infrastructures;
•	 Expand	our	professional	services	offerings	to	better	cultivate	part-
nerships with our customers and help them to design, deploy and 
operationalize new services; and

•	 Grow	and	diversify	our	customer	base	by	expanding	our	geographic	
reach, increasing our addressable markets and penetrating new mar-
ket segments.

Customers and markets
Our customer base and the markets into which we sell our equipment, 
software and services have expanded in recent years as new market 
opportunities have emerged and our product portfolio has grown to 
include additional products in the metro and access portions of commu-
nications networks. The networking equipment needs of our customers 
vary, depending upon their size, location, the nature of their end users 

and the applications or services that they deliver and support. Our geo-
graphic markets have also expanded in recent years with our international 
business representing a higher portion of our revenue. Revenue from 
customers within the United States was 65.5% of total revenue in fiscal 
2008, down from 71.0% in fiscal 2007 and 75.1% in fiscal 2006. Information 
regarding 10% customers over our last three fiscal years can be found in 
Note 19 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II of 
this annual report. We sell our products and services through our direct 
sales force and third party channel partners in the following markets:

Communications Service Providers
Our communications service provider customers include regional, national 
and international, wireline and wireless carriers. These customers include 
AT&T, BT, Cable & Wireless, France Telecom, Korea Telecom, Qwest, 
Sprint, Tata Communications, Telmex and Verizon. Traditional telecommu-
nications service providers are our historical customer base and continue 
to represent the largest contributor to our revenue. We provide products 
that enable service providers to support consumer demand for video 
delivery, broadband data and wireless broadband services, while continu-
ing to support legacy voice services. Our products also enable service 
providers to support private networks and applications for enterprise 
users, including carrier-managed services, wide area network consolida-
tion, inter-site connectivity, storage and Ethernet services.

Cable Operators
Our customers include leading cable and multiservice operators in the U.S. 
and internationally. Our cable and multiservice operator customers rely 
upon us for carrier-grade, optical Ethernet transport and switching equip-
ment. Our platforms allow cable operators to integrate voice, video and 
data applications over a converged infrastructure. Our products support 
key cable applications including broadcast and digital video, voice over IP, 
video on demand, broadband data services and services for enterprises.

Enterprise
Our enterprise customers include large, multi-site commercial organiza-
tions, including participants in the financial, healthcare, transportation 
and retail industries. We offer equipment, software and services that 
facilitate wide area network consolidation, and storage extension for 
business continuity and disaster recovery. Our products enable inter-site 
connectivity between data centers, sales offices, manufacturing plants, 
retail stores and research and development centers, using an owned or 

17

leased private fiber network or a carrier-managed service. Our prod-
ucts facilitate key enterprise applications including data, voice, video, 
Ethernet services, online collaboration, conferencing and other business 
services. Our products also enable our enterprise customers to prevent 
unexpected network downtime and ensure the safety, security and avail-
ability of their data.

Government, Research and Education
Our government customers include federal and state agencies in the 
U.S. as well as government entities outside of the U.S. Our customers 
also include domestic and international research and education institu-
tions seeking to take advantage of technology innovation and facilitate 
increased collaboration. Our products, software and services enable 
these customers to improve network performance, security, reliability and 
flexibility. Our products also enable government agencies and research 
and education institutions to build their own secure, private networks.

Products and services
We offer a portfolio of communications networking hardware and soft-
ware that form the building blocks of a service-driven network. Our 
product portfolio consists of our optical service delivery products and our 
carrier Ethernet service delivery products. Together with our professional 
services, these offerings address the business needs of our customers and 
give them the tools necessary to face the market and technological chal-
lenges described above.

We have focused our product and service offerings on the following criti-
cal portions of the network: core networking, full-service metro, managed 
services and enterprise, and mobile backhaul. In the network’s core, we 
deliver transport and switching equipment that creates an automated, 
dynamic optical infrastructure supporting a wide variety of network ser-
vices. In the metro portion of the network, we deliver a comprehensive, 
converged transport and switching solution that manages circuits, wave-
lengths and packets. In managed services applications and enterprise 
networks, we enable services including storage, data connectivity, video 
and Ethernet services. In wireless and backhaul networks, we provide 
wireline and wireless carriers with the tools to migrate their networks to 
support mobile data applications and enable Ethernet-based backhaul.

Underpinning our product offerings are some common technology ele-
ments, including the key building blocks of our FlexSelect Architecture 
described above. These elements appear across our product portfolio 

and allow us to create differentiated solutions by combining various prod-
ucts from the core to the edge of customers’ networks.

Optical Service Delivery
Our optical service delivery portfolio includes transport and switching 
platforms that act as automated optical infrastructures for the delivery of a 
wide variety of enterprise and consumer-oriented network services. These 
products address both the core and metro segments of communications 
networks, as well as key managed service and enterprise applications.

Our principal core switching product is our CoreDirector® Multiservice 
Optical Switch. CoreDirector is a multiservice, multi-protocol switching 
system that consolidates the functionality of an add/drop multiplexer, 
digital cross-connect and packet aggregator, into a single, high-capacity 
intelligent switching system. CoreDirector’s mesh capability creates more 
efficient, more reliable networks. In addition to its application in core net-
works, CoreDirector may also be used in metro networks for aggregation 
and forwarding of multiple services, including Ethernet/TDM Private Line, 
Triple Play and IP services.

In nationwide networks, our CoreDirector switching elements are con-
nected by a reliable long-haul transport infrastructure. Our principal core 
transport product is our CoreStream® Agility Optical Transport System. 
CoreStream Agility is a flexible, scalable wavelength division multiplex-
ing (WDM) solution that enables cost-effective and efficient transport of 
voice, video and data related to a variety of services for core networks as 
well as regional and metro networks.

Our optical service delivery solution in metro networks is our CN 4200® 
FlexSelect Advanced Services Platform family. Our CN 4200 family of 
products provides optical transport, wavelength switching, TDM switch-
ing and packet switching, and includes a reconfigurable optical add-drop 
multiplexer (ROADM), several chassis sizes and a comprehensive set of 
line cards. Our CN 4200 platform is scalable and can be utilized from the 
customer premises, where space and power are critical, to the metro-
politan/regional core, where the need for high capacity and carrier-class 
performance are essential.

Our optical service delivery products also include enterprise-oriented 
transport and switching products designed for storage and LAN exten-
sion, interconnection of data centers over distance, which, when used 
together with CN 4200, enable virtual private networks. These products 

18  Ciena Corporation 10-K

address key enterprise applications while reducing bandwidth usage 
through hardware compression and efficient bandwidth utilization.

Carrier Ethernet Service Delivery
Our carrier Ethernet service delivery products include service delivery 
switching and aggregation platforms acquired from WWP, our broad-
band access products for residential services and our Ethernet access 
products for enterprise broadband services. These products allow cus-
tomers to utilize the automation and capacity created by our optical 
service delivery products in core and metro networks and to deliver new, 
revenue-generating services to consumers and enterprises. Our carrier 
Ethernet service delivery products have applications from the edge of 
the metro/core network to the customer premises.

Our service delivery and aggregation switches provide True Carrier 
Ethernet, a more reliable and feature rich type of Ethernet that can sup-
port a wider variety of services. These products support the access 
and aggregation tiers of communications networks, and are typically 
deployed in metro and access networks. Employing sophisticated carrier 
Ethernet switching technology, these products deliver quality of service 
capabilities, virtual local area networking and switching functions, and 
carrier-grade operations, administration, and maintenance features.

Our CN 3000 Ethernet Access Series platforms extend Ethernet services 
to customer sites, regardless of whether they are connected to the service 
provider’s network by copper or fiber access lines. Our Ethernet access 
products also facilitate mobile backhaul for 2G to 3G network migra-
tion. Our principal products for consumer broadband are our CNX-5 
Broadband DSL System and CNX-5Plus Modular Broadband Loop Carrier. 
These broadband access platforms allow service providers to transi-
tion legacy voice networks to support next-generation services such as 
Internet-based (IP) telephony, video services and DSL, and enable cost-
effective migration to higher bandwidth Ethernet network infrastructures.

Unified Software and Service Management Tools
Our optical service delivery and carrier Ethernet service delivery prod-
ucts include a shared suite of embedded operating system software 
and network management software tools that serve to unify our prod-
uct portfolio and provide the underlying automation and management 
features. Our embedded operating system is a robust, service aware 
operating system that improves network utilization and availability, 
while delivering enhanced performance monitoring and reliability. 

ON-Center® Network & Service Management Suite, our integrated net-
work and service management software, is designed to simplify network 
management and operation across our portfolio. ON-Center can track indi-
vidual services across multiple product suites, facilitating planned network 
maintenance, outage detection and identification of customers or services 
affected by network troubles. By increasing network automation, minimiz-
ing network downtime and monitoring network performance and service 
metrics, our embedded operating system software and network manage-
ment software tools enable customers to improve cost effectiveness, while 
increasing the performance and functionality of their network operations.

Consulting and Support Services
To complement our product portfolio, we offer a broad range of consult-
ing and support services that help our customers design, deploy and 
operationalize their services. We provide these professional services 
through our internal services resources as well as through service part-
ners. Our services portfolio includes:

•	 Network	analysis,	planning	and	design;
•	 Network	optimization	and	tuning;
•	 Project	management,	including	staging,	site	preparation	and	instal-

lation activities;

•	 Deployment	services,	including	turnkey	installation	and	turn-up	and	

test services; and

•	 Maintenance	and	support	services,	including	helpdesk	and	technical	
assistance and training, spares and logistics management, software 
updates, engineering dispatch, advanced technical support and 
hardware and software warranty extensions.

Product Development
Our industry is subject to rapid technological developments, evolv-
ing standards and protocols, and shifts in customer demand. To remain 
competitive, we must continually enhance existing product platforms 
by adding new features and functionality, increasing performance and 
flexibility, and creating business and operational value for our custom-
ers’ network investments. Our product development investments are 
driven by market demand and technological innovation, involving close 
collaboration among our product development, sales and marketing 
organizations and input from customers. In some cases, we work with 
third parties pursuant to technology licenses, OEM arrangements and 
other strategic technology relationships or investments, to develop new 

19

components or products, modify existing platforms or offer complemen-
tary technology to our customers. In addition, we participate in industry 
and standards organizations, where appropriate, and incorporate informa-
tion from these affiliations throughout the product development process.

As the markets into which we sell our products and the technologies 
that support these products evolve, we regularly review our product 
offerings and development projects to determine their fit within our port-
folio and broader strategy. We assess the market demand, prospective 
return on investment and growth opportunities, as well as the costs and 
resources necessary to support these products or development projects. 
In recent years, our strategy has been to pursue technology and prod-
uct convergence that allows us to consolidate multiple technologies and 
functionalities on a single platform, or to control and manage multiple 
elements throughout the network from a uniform management system, 
ultimately creating more robust and cost-effective network tools. We have 
also shifted our strategic approach to new portfolio investments from 
delivering point products to solutions consisting of hardware, software 
and services that holistically address the business needs of our customers. 
Our development efforts are focused on addressing customer needs in 
four target areas: core networking, full-service metro, managed services 
and enterprise, and mobile backhaul. With our acquisition of WWP during 
fiscal 2008, we have invested in and anticipate extending our portfolio of 
technologies that bolster our service delivery capability.

Our research and development expense was $111.1 million, $127.3 mil-
lion and $175.0 million for fiscal 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively. For 
more information regarding our research and development expense, 
see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and 
Results of Operations” in Item 7 of Part II of this report.

sales and marketing
We sell our communications networking equipment, software and services 
through our direct sales resources as well as through channel relationships. 
In addition to securing new customers, our sales strategy has focused 
on building long-term relationships with existing customers that allow us 
to leverage our incumbency by extending existing platforms and selling 
additional products to support new applications or facilitate new service 
offerings throughout our customers’ network.

We maintain a direct sales presence through which we sell our product 
and service offerings into customer markets in the following geographic 

locations: North America, Central and Latin America, Europe, Middle 
East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Within each geographic area, we main-
tain regional and customer-specific teams, including sales professionals, 
systems engineers and marketing, service and commercial management 
personnel, who ensure we operate closely with and provide a high level of 
support to our customers.

We also maintain a channel program that works with resellers, systems 
integrators and service providers to market and sell our products and ser-
vices. Our third party channel sales and other distribution arrangements 
enable us to leverage our direct sales resources and reach additional 
geographic regions and customer segments. Our use of channel partners 
has been a key component in our sales to government, research and edu-
cation and enterprise customers. Some of our service provider customers 
also serve as channel partners through which we sell products and ser-
vices as part of their managed service offerings. We believe our channel 
strategy affords us expanded market opportunities and reduces the finan-
cial risk of entering new markets and pursuing new customer segments.

In support of our sales efforts, we engage in marketing activities intended 
to position and promote both our brand and our product, software and 
service offerings. Our marketing team supports sales efforts through 
direct customer interaction, industry events, public relations, general busi-
ness publications, tradeshows, our website and other marketing channels 
for our customers and channel partners.

manufacturing and operations
Our manufacturing and operations personnel manage our relationships 
with our contract manufacturers, our supply chain, our product testing and 
quality, and logistics relating to our sales and distribution efforts. In recent 
years we have utilized a global sourcing strategy that focuses on sourcing 
of materials in lower cost regions such as Asia. We also rely on contract 
manufacturers, with facilities principally in China and Thailand, to perform 
the majority of the manufacturing for our products. We believe that this 
allows us to conserve capital, lower costs of product sales, efficiently adjust 
to changes in market demand, and operate without dedicating significant 
resources to manufacturing-related plant and equipment. We utilize a 
direct order fulfillment model for certain products. This allows us to rely on 
our contract manufacturers to perform final system integration and test, 
prior to direct shipment of products from their facilities to our customers. 
For certain product lines, we continue to perform a portion of the module 
assembly, final system integration and testing.

20  Ciena Corporation 10-K

Our contract manufacturers procure components necessary for assembly 
and manufacture our products based on our specifications, bill of materi-
als and testing and quality standards. Our contract manufacturers’ activity 
is based on rolling forecasts that we provide to them to estimate demand 
for our products. This build-to-forecast purchase model exposes us to the 
risk that our customers will not order those products for which we have 
forecast sales, or will purchase less than we have forecast. As a result, we 
may incur carrying charges or obsolete material charges for components 
purchased by our contract manufacturers. We work closely with our con-
tract manufacturers to manage material, quality, cost and delivery times, 
and we continually evaluate their services to ensure performance on a reli-
able and cost-effective basis.

Shortages in components that we rely upon have occurred and are pos-
sible. Our products include some components that are proprietary 
in nature and only available from one or a small number of suppliers. 
Significant time would be required to establish relationships with alternate 
suppliers or providers of proprietary components. We do not have long-
term contracts with any supplier or contract manufacturer that guarantees 
supply of components or manufacturing services. If component supplies 
become limited, production at a contract manufacturer is disrupted, or 
if we experience difficulty in our relationship with a key supplier or con-
tract manufacturer, we may encounter manufacturing delays that could 
adversely affect our business.

backlog and seasonality
Generally, we make sales pursuant to purchase orders issued under master 
purchase agreements that govern the terms and conditions of the sale of our 
products and services. These agreements typically do not provide for mini-
mum or guaranteed order quantities. At any given time, we have orders for 
products that have not been shipped and for services that have not yet been 
performed. We also have products and services awaiting customer accep-
tance. Generally, our customers may cancel or change their orders with 
limited advance notice, or they may decide not to accept these products 
and services. As a result, we do not consider these orders to be firm, and 
they are not necessarily an accurate indicator of future results of operations.

Some companies in our industry experience adverse quarterly fluctuations 
in customer spending patterns due to seasonal considerations, particu-
larly during the summer months and early in the calendar year as annual 
capital budgets are finalized. At times, we have experienced similar sea-
sonal effects affecting the level of order flow early in our fourth quarter 

and during our first quarter. These seasonal effects do not apply con-
sistently and should not be considered a reliable indicator of our future 
revenue or results of operations.

Competition
Competition among providers of communications networking equipment, 
software and services is intense. The markets for our products and ser-
vices are characterized by rapidly advancing and converging technologies. 
Competition in these markets is based on any one or a combination of the 
following factors:

•	 product	functionality	and	performance;
•	 price;
•	
•	 development	plans	and	the	ability	of	products	and	services	to	meet	

incumbency	and	existing	business	relationships;

customers’ immediate and future network requirements;

•	 flexibility	and	scalability	of	products;
•	 manufacturing	and	lead-time	capability;	and
•	

installation	and	support	capability.

Competition for sales of communications networking equipment is 
dominated by a small number of very large, multi-national companies. 
Our competitors include Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Huawei, 
Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel and Tellabs. These competitors have 
substantially greater financial, operational and marketing resources than 
us. Many of our competitors also have well-established relationships with 
large service providers. In recent years, mergers among some of our 
larger competitors have intensified these advantages. Our industry has 
also experienced increased competition from low-cost producers in Asia, 
which can contribute to pricing pressure.

We also compete with several smaller, but established, companies that offer 
one or more products that compete directly or indirectly with our offerings 
or whose products address specific niches within the markets we address. 
These competitors include ADVA and Infinera. In addition, there are a vari-
ety of earlier-stage companies with products targeted at specific segments 
of the communications networking market. These competitors, particularly 
those that are privately-held, often employ aggressive competitive and busi-
ness tactics as they seek to gain entry with certain customers or markets. 
Due to these practices and the narrower focus of their development efforts, 
these competitors may be able to develop and introduce products more 
quickly, or offer commercial terms that are more attractive to customers.

21

Patents, Trademarks and other  
Intellectual Property Rights
We rely upon patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secret laws to 
establish and maintain proprietary rights in our technology. We regularly 
file applications for patents and trademarks and have a significant number 
of patents and trademarks in the United States and other countries where 
we do business. We also rely on non-disclosure agreements and other 
contracts and policies regarding confidentiality, with employees, con-
tractors and customers to establish proprietary rights and protect trade 
secrets and confidential information. Our practice is to require employees 
and consultants to execute non-disclosure and proprietary rights agree-
ments upon commencement of employment or consulting arrangements 
with us. These agreements acknowledge our exclusive ownership of intel-
lectual property developed by the individual during the course of his or 
her work with us. The agreements also require that these persons maintain 
the confidentiality of all proprietary information disclosed to them.

Enforcing proprietary rights, especially patents, can be costly and uncer-
tain. Moreover, monitoring unauthorized use of our technology is difficult, 
and we cannot be certain that the steps that we are taking will detect 
or prevent unauthorized use, particularly as we expand our operations, 
product development and the manufacturing of our products interna-
tionally, into countries that may not provide the same level of intellectual 
property protection as the United States. In recent years, we have filed 
suit to enforce our intellectual property rights and have been subject to 
several claims related to patent infringement. In some cases, resolution of 
these claims has resulted in our payment of substantial sums. We believe 
that the frequency of patent infringement claims is increasing as patent 
holders, including entities that are not in our industry and who purchase 
patents as an investment or to monetize such rights by obtaining royalties, 
use such claims as a competitive tactic and source of additional revenue. 
Third party infringement assertions, even those without merit, could cause 
us to incur substantial costs. If we are not successful in defending these 
claims, we could be required to enter into a license requiring ongoing roy-
alty payments, we may be required to redesign our products, or we may 
be prohibited from selling any infringing technology.

Our operating system, network and service management software and 
other products incorporate software and components under licenses from 
third parties. We may be required to license additional technology from 
third parties in order to develop new products or product enhancements. 

There can be no assurance that these licenses will be available or continue 
to be available on acceptable commercial terms. Failure to obtain or main-
tain such licenses or other rights could affect our development efforts, 
require us to re-engineer our products or obtain alternate technologies, 
which could harm our business, financial condition and operating results.

environmental matters
Our business and operations are subject to environmental laws in vari-
ous jurisdictions around the world. We seek to operate our business in 
compliance with such laws. We are currently subject to laws relating to the 
materials and content of our products and certain requirements relating 
to product takeback and recycling. Environmental regulation is increasing, 
particularly outside of the United States, and we expect that our domestic 
and international operations may be subject to additional environmental 
compliance requirements, which could expose us to additional costs. To 
date, our compliance costs relating to environmental regulations have not 
resulted in a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations 
or financial condition.

employees
As of October 31, 2008, we had 2,203 employees. None of our employ-
ees is represented by labor unions or covered by a collective bargaining 
agreement. We have not experienced any work stoppages and we con-
sider the relationships with our employees to be good.

Directors and executive officers
The table below sets forth certain information concerning our directors 
and executive officers:

Name 
Patrick H. Nettles, Ph.D.  

Gary B. Smith  

Stephen B. Alexander 

Michael G. Aquino 

James E. Moylan, Jr. 

Andrew C. Petrik 
David M. Rothenstein 

Age 
65 

48 

49 

52 

57 

45 
40 

Position
 Executive Chairman of the Board  
of Directors
 President, Chief Executive Officer  
and Director
 Senior Vice President,  
Chief Technology Officer
 Senior Vice President,  
Global Field Operations
 Senior Vice President, Finance and 
Chief Financial Officer
Vice President and Controller
 Senior Vice President, General 
Counsel and Secretary

22  Ciena Corporation 10-K

Name 
Arthur D. Smith, Ph.D. 

Stephen P. Bradley, Ph.D.(2)(3) 
Harvey B. Cash(1)(3) 
Bruce L. Claflin(2) 
Lawton W. Fitt(2) 
Judith M. O’Brien(1)(3) 
Michael J. Rowny(2) 
Gerald H. Taylor(1) 

Age 
42 

67 
70 
57 
55 
58 
58 
67 

Position
 Senior Vice President,  
Chief Operating Officer
Director
Director
Director
Director
Director
Director
Director

(1)  Member of the Compensation Committee
(2)  Member of the Audit Committee
(3)  Member of the Governance and Nominations Committee

Our Directors hold staggered terms of office, expiring as follows: Messrs. 
Bradley, Claflin and Taylor in 2009; Ms. Fitt, Dr. Nettles and Mr. Rowny in 
2010; and Ms. O’Brien and Messrs. Cash and Smith in 2011.

Patrick H. Nettles, Ph.D. has served as a Director of Ciena since April 1994 
and as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors since May 2001. From 
October 2000 to May 2001, Dr. Nettles was Chairman of the Board and 
Chief Executive Officer of Ciena, and he was President and Chief Executive 
Officer from April 1994 to October 2000. Dr. Nettles serves as a Trustee for 
the California Institute of Technology and serves on the board of directors of 
Axcelis Technologies, Inc. and The Progressive Corporation. Dr. Nettles also 
serves on the board of directors of Apptrigger, Inc., a privately held company.

Gary B. Smith joined Ciena in 1997 and has served as President and Chief 
Executive Officer since May 2001. Mr. Smith has served on Ciena’s Board 
of Directors since October 2000. Mr. Smith also serves on the board of 
directors for CommVault Systems, Inc. and the American Electronics 
Association. Mr. Smith also serves as a member of the Global Information 
Infrastructure Commission.

Stephen B. Alexander joined Ciena in 1994 and has served as Chief 
Technology Officer since September 1998 and as a Senior Vice President 
since January 2000. Mr. Alexander has previously served as General 
Manager of Products & Technology and General Manager of Transport 
and Switching and Data Networking. Mr. Alexander serves on the Federal 
Communications Commission Technology Advisory Council.

Michael G. Aquino joined Ciena in June 2002 and has served as 
Ciena’s Senior Vice President, Global Field Operations since October 
2008. Mr. Aquino served as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales 

from April 2006 to October 2008. Mr. Aquino previously held posi-
tions as Ciena’s Vice President of Americas, with responsibility for sales 
activities in the region, and Vice President of Government Solutions, 
where he focused on supporting Ciena’s relationships with the U.S. and 
Canadian government.

James E. Moylan, Jr. has served as Senior Vice President, Finance and 
Chief Financial Officer since December 2007. From June 2006 to December 
2007, Mr. Moylan served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial 
Officer of Swett & Crawford, a wholesale insurance broker. From March 
2004 to February 2006, Mr. Moylan served as Executive Vice President 
and Chief Financial Officer of PRG-Shultz International, Inc., a publicly held 
recovery audit and business services firm. From June 2002 to April 2003, 
Mr. Moylan served as Executive Vice President in charge of Composite 
Panels Distribution and Administration for Georgia-Pacific Corporation’s 
building products business. From November 1999 to May 2002, Mr. Moylan 
served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of SCI Systems, 
Inc., an electronics contract manufacturing company.

Andrew C. Petrik joined Ciena in 1996 and has served as Vice President, 
Controller since August 1997.

David M. Rothenstein joined Ciena in January 2001 and has served as 
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary since November 
2008. Mr. Rothenstein served as Vice President and Associate General 
Counsel from July 2004 to October 2008 and previously as Assistant 
General Counsel.

Arthur D. Smith, Ph.D. joined Ciena in May 1997 and has served as 
Chief Operating Officer since October 2005. Dr. Smith served as Senior 
Vice President, Global Operations from September 2003 to October 
2005. Previously, Dr. Smith served as Senior Vice President, Worldwide 
Customer Services and Support from June 2002 to September 2003.

Stephen P. Bradley, Ph.D. has served as a Director of Ciena since April 1998.  
Professor Bradley is the William Ziegler Professor of Business Administration 
at the Harvard Business School. A member of the Harvard faculty since 
1968, Professor Bradley is also Chairman of Harvard’s Executive Program 
in Competition and Strategy: Building and Sustaining Competitive 
Advantage. Professor Bradley serves on the board of directors of i2 
Technologies, Inc. and the Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard 
Medical Institutions.

23

Harvey B. Cash has served as a Director of Ciena since April 1994. Mr. Cash 
is a general partner of InterWest Partners, a venture capital firm in Menlo 
Park, California, that he joined in 1985. Mr. Cash serves on the board of 
directors of First Acceptance Corp., Silicon Laboratories, Inc. and Argonaut 
Group, Inc.

Bruce L. Claflin has served as a Director of Ciena since August 2006. 
Mr. Claflin served as President and Chief Executive Officer of 3Com 
Corporation from January 2001 until his retirement in February 2006. 
Mr. Claflin joined 3Com as President and Chief Operating Officer in 
August 1998. Prior to 3Com, Mr. Claflin served as Senior Vice President 
and General Manager, Sales and Marketing, for Digital Equipment 
Corporation. Mr. Claflin also worked for 22 years at IBM, where he held 
various sales, marketing and management positions, including general 
manager of IBM PC Company’s worldwide research and development, 
product and brand management, as well as president of IBM PC Company 
Americas. Mr. Claflin also serves on the board of directors of Advanced 
Micro Devices (AMD).

Lawton W. Fitt has served as a Director of Ciena since November 2000. 
From October 2002 to March 2005, Ms. Fitt served as Director of the Royal 
Academy of Arts in London. From 1979 to October 2002, Ms. Fitt was an 
investment banker with Goldman Sachs & Co., where she was a partner 
from 1994 to October 2002, and a managing director from 1996 to October 
2002. Ms. Fitt serves on the board of directors of Thomson Reuters, Frontier 
Communications Corporation and Overture Acquisition Corporation.

Judith M. O’Brien has served as a Director of Ciena since July 2000. 
Since November 2006, Ms. O’Brien has served as Executive Vice President 
and General Counsel of Obopay, Inc., a provider of mobile payment ser-
vices. From February 2001 until October 2006, Ms. O’Brien served as a 
Managing Director at Incubic Venture Fund, a venture capital firm. From 
February 1984 until February 2001, Ms. O’Brien was a partner with Wilson 
Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where she specialized in corporate finance, 
mergers and acquisitions and general corporate matters.

Michael J. Rowny has served as a Director of Ciena since August 2004.  
Mr. Rowny has been Chairman of Rowny Capital, a private equity firm, since  
1999. From 1994 to 1999, and previously from 1983 to 1986, Mr. Rowny was with  
MCI Communications in positions including President and Chief Executive 
Officer of MCI’s International Ventures, Alliances and Correspondent group,  
acting Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President of Finance, and Treasurer. 
Mr. Rowny serves on the board of directors of Neustar, Inc.

Gerald H. Taylor has served as a Director of Ciena since January 2000. 
Mr. Taylor has informed Ciena’s Board of Directors that he intends to 
retire from the board upon the completion of his current term and he will 
not stand for re-election at the 2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. 
Mr. Taylor has served as a Managing Member of mortonsgroup, LLC, a 
venture partnership specializing in telecommunications and information 
technology, since January 2000. From 1996 to 1998, Mr. Taylor was Chief 
Executive Officer of MCI Communications Corporation.

ITem 1a.  RIsk faCToRs
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. In addition to the 
other information contained in this report, you should consider the follow-
ing risk factors before investing in our securities.

Our business and operating results could be adversely affected by 
unfavorable macroeconomic and industry conditions.
We have achieved considerable annual revenue growth over the last few 
fiscal years, in part due to favorable conditions in our markets. During the 
second half of 2008, however, our business began to experience the effects 
of worsening macroeconomic conditions, further exacerbated by certain 
customer-specific challenges and significant disruptions in the financial and 
credit markets globally. We initially experienced order delays, lengthening 
sales cycles and slowing deployments, principally among our largest service 
provider customers in North America and Europe. As economic conditions 
worsened globally, these effects on our business spread across our indus-
try into other customer segments and geographies. Significant uncertainty 
around macroeconomic and industry conditions persists, particularly the 
effect these conditions and any sustained lack of liquidity in the capital mar-
kets may have upon the capital spending of our largest customers. Moreover, 
we are uncertain of the impact that any change in enterprise and consumer 
spending and behavior, in response to these market conditions, may have 
on the spending or financial position of our customers. Continued weakness 
in our industry or the broader economy may cause our customers to delay 
or cancel network infrastructure projects. Economic weakness, customer 
financial difficulties and constrained spending on communications networks 
have previously resulted in sustained periods of decreased demand for our 
products and services that have adversely affected our operating results. 
Challenging economic and market conditions may also result in:

•	 difficulty	forecasting,	budgeting	and	planning	due	to	limited	visibility	

into the spending plans of current or prospective customers;

24  Ciena Corporation 10-K

•	

increased	competition	for	fewer	network	projects	and 	 
sales opportunities;

•	 pricing	pressure	that	may	adversely	affect	revenue	and	gross	margin;
•	 higher	overhead	costs	as	a	percentage	of	revenue;
•	

increased	risk	of	charges	relating	to	excess	and	obsolete	inventories	
and the write off of goodwill and other intangible assets; and

•	 customer	financial	difficulty	and	increased	risk	of	doubtful	 

accounts receivable.

We are uncertain as to how long current, unfavorable macroeconomic and 
industry conditions will persist and the magnitude of their effects on our busi-
ness and results of operations. If these conditions persist or further weaken, 
our business and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

A small number of communications service providers account for a 
significant portion of our revenue, and the loss of any of these cus-
tomers, or a significant reduction in their spending, would have a 
material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
A significant portion of our revenue is concentrated among a relatively 
small number of communications service providers. Five customers 
accounted for greater than 60% of our revenue in each of fiscal 2007 and 
2008. Consequently, our financial results are closely correlated with the 
spending of a relatively small number of communications service provid-
ers. Because their spending may be unpredictable and sporadic, our 
revenue and operating results can fluctuate on a quarterly basis. Reliance 
upon a relatively small number of customers increases our exposure 
to changes in their markets, capital expenditure budgets and network 
strategy. Our business and financial results are closely tied to the pros-
pects, performance, and financial condition of our largest customers, and 
market-wide changes, including reductions in enterprise and consumer 
spending, affecting communications service providers. We have recently 
seen our customers, including our large service provider customers, take 
a more cautious approach to their capital spending. The loss of one or 
more large service providers as customers, or significant reductions or 
delays in their spending, would have a material adverse effect on our 
business, financial condition and results of operations. Our concentration 
in revenue has increased in recent years, in part, as a result of consolida-
tions among a number of our largest customers. Consolidations may 
increase the likelihood of temporary or indefinite reductions in customer 
spending or changes in network strategy that could harm our business 
and operating results.

Our revenue and operating results can fluctuate unpredictably from 
quarter to quarter.
Our revenue and results of operations can fluctuate unpredictably from 
quarter to quarter. Our budgeted expense levels depend in part on our 
expectations of long-term future revenue and gross margin and substan-
tial reductions in expense are difficult and can take time to implement. 
Uncertainty or lack of visibility into customer spending, and changes 
in economic or market conditions, can make it difficult to prepare reli-
able estimates of future revenue and corresponding expense levels. 
Consequently, our level of operating expense or inventory may be high 
relative to our revenue, which could harm our ability to achieve or main-
tain profitability. Additional factors that contribute to fluctuations in our 
revenue and operating results include:

•	 economic	and	market	conditions	affecting	us	and	our	customers;
•	 changes	in	capital	spending	by	large	communications	service	providers;
•	 the	timing	and	size	of	orders,	including	our	ability	to	recognize	rev-

enue under customer contracts; and

•	 variations	in	the	mix	between	higher	and	lower	margin	products	and	

services and the level of pricing pressure we encounter.

Many factors affecting our results of operations are beyond our control, 
particularly in the case of large service provider orders and multi-vendor 
or multi-technology network infrastructure builds where the achievement 
of certain thresholds for acceptance is subject to the readiness and per-
formance of the customer or other providers, and changes in customer 
requirements or installation plans. As a consequence, our results for a 
particular quarter may be difficult to predict, and our prior results are not 
necessarily indicative of results likely in future periods. The factors above 
may cause our operating results to fall below the expectations of securi-
ties analysts or investors, which may cause our stock price to decline.

We face intense competition that could hurt our sales and results  
of operations.
The markets in which we compete for sales of networking equipment, soft-
ware and services are extremely competitive, particularly the market for 
sales to large communications service providers. This level of competition 
and pricing pressure that we face can be exacerbated during periods of 
macroeconomic weakness and constrained spending. Competition in our 
markets, generally, is based on any one or a combination of the following 
factors: price, product features and functionality, manufacturing capability 
and lead-times, incumbency and existing business relationships, scalability 

25

and the ability of products to meet the immediate and future network 
requirements of customers. A small number of very large companies have 
historically dominated our industry. These competitors have substantially 
greater financial, technical and marketing resources, greater manufacturing 
capacity, broader product offerings and more established relationships with 
service providers and other potential customers than we do. Consolidation 
activity among large networking equipment providers has caused some 
of our competitors to grow even larger, which may increase their strategic 
advantages and adversely affect our competitive position.

We also compete with a number of smaller companies that provide signifi-
cant competition for a specific product, application, customer segment 
or geographic market. Due to the narrower focus of their efforts, these 
competitors may achieve commercial availability of their products more 
quickly or may be more attractive to customers.

Increased competition in our markets has resulted in aggressive business 
tactics, including:

•	 significant	price	competition,	particularly	from	competitors	in	Asia;
•	 customer	financing	assistance;
•	 early	announcements	of	competing	products	and	extensive	market-

ing efforts;

•	 competitors	offering	equity	ownership	positions	to	customers;
•	 competitors	offering	to	repurchase	our	equipment	from	existing	customers;
•	 marketing	and	advertising	assistance;	and
•	

intellectual	property	assertions	and	disputes.

The tactics described above can be particularly effective in an increasingly 
concentrated base of potential customers such as communications service 
providers. If competitive pressures increase or we fail to compete success-
fully in our markets, our sales and profitability would suffer.

Investment of research and development resources in technologies 
for which there is not a matching market opportunity, or failure to 
sufficiently or timely invest in technologies for which there is market 
demand, would adversely affect our revenue and profitability.
The market for communications networking equipment is characterized by 
rapidly evolving technologies and changes in market demand. We continu-
ally invest in research and development to enhance our existing products, 
create new products and develop or acquire new technologies. There is 
often a lengthy period between commencing these development initiatives 

and bringing the new or revised product to market, and, during this time, 
technology or the market may move in directions we had not anticipated. 
Even if we are able to anticipate market conditions and develop and intro-
duce new products or enhancements, there is no guarantee that these 
products will achieve market acceptance. There is a significant possibil-
ity, therefore, that some of our development decisions will not turn out as 
anticipated, and that our investment in some projects will be unprofitable. 
Moreover, we may encounter difficulties developing, integrating and sell-
ing technology acquired from World Wide Packets and may be unable to 
achieve the strategic benefits and return on investment anticipated from 
this transaction. There is also a possibility that we may miss a market oppor-
tunity because we fail to invest, or invest too late, in a technology, product 
or enhancement that could have been highly profitable. Changes in market 
demand or investment priorities may also cause us to discontinue existing 
or planned development for new products or features, which can have a 
disruptive effect on our relationships with customers. If we fail to make the 
right investments or fail to make them at the right time, our competitive 
position may suffer and our revenue and profitability could be harmed.

We may be required to write off significant amounts of inventory as 
a result of our inventory purchase practices, the convergence of our 
product lines or unfavorable macroeconomic or industry conditions.
To avoid delays and meet customer demand for shorter delivery terms, we 
place orders with our contract manufacturers and suppliers to manufacture 
components and complete assemblies based on forecasts of customer 
demand. As a result, our inventory purchases expose us to the risk that 
our customers either will not order the products we have forecasted or will 
purchase fewer products than forecasted. Unfavorable market or industry 
conditions can limit visibility into customer spending plans and compound 
the difficulty of forecasting inventory at appropriate levels. Moreover, our 
customer purchase agreements generally do not guarantee any minimum 
purchase level, and customers often have the right to modify, reduce or 
cancel purchase quantities. As a result, we may purchase inventory in antic-
ipation of sales that do not occur. Historically, our inventory write-offs have 
resulted from the circumstances above. As features and functionalities con-
verge across our product lines, and we introduce new products, however, 
we face an additional risk that customers may forego purchases of one 
product we have inventoried in favor of another product with similar func-
tionality. At October 31, 2008, we had $93.5 million in inventory. If we are 
required to write off or write down a significant amount of inventory, our 
results of operations for the period would be materially adversely affected.

26  Ciena Corporation 10-K

We may be required to write down goodwill and long-lived assets and 
these impairment charges would adversely affect our operating results.
As of October 31, 2008, we had $455.7 million of goodwill on our bal-
ance sheet. This amount primarily represents the remaining excess of 
the total purchase price of our acquisitions over the fair value of the net 
assets acquired. At October 31, 2008, we also had $182.3 million in long-
lived assets, which includes $92.2 million of other intangible assets on our 
balance sheet. Given the current economic environment, uncertainties 
regarding the duration of these conditions and their potential impact on 
our business, an interim impairment review may be triggered for goodwill 
and long-lived assets during fiscal 2009. Our stock price, which declined 
considerably during fiscal 2008, is a significant factor in assessing our fair 
value for purposes of the goodwill impairment assessment. At the time 
of our assessment for fiscal 2008, our market capitalization had fallen to 
$886 million and our carrying value, including goodwill, had increased to 
$995 million. But for the inclusion of a control premium greater than 12%, 
our carrying value as of the end of fiscal 2008 would have exceeded fair 
value, requiring a further analysis which may have resulted in an impair-
ment of goodwill. If our recent stock price decline persists and our market 
capitalization remains below our carrying value for a sustained period, it is 
reasonably likely that a goodwill impairment assessment prior to the next 
annual review in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 would be necessary and 
an impairment of goodwill may be determined. Valuation of our long-lived 
assets requires us to make assumptions about future sales prices and sales 
volumes for our products. These and other assumptions are used to fore-
cast future, undiscounted cash flows. If actual market conditions differ or 
our forecasts change, we may be required to assess long-lived assets and 
could record an impairment charge. If we are required to record an impair-
ment charge relating to goodwill or long-lived assets, such charges would 
have the effect of decreasing our earnings or increasing our losses in such 
period. If we are required to take a substantial impairment charge, our 
operating results could be materially adversely affected in such period.

We are sometimes required to agree to contract terms or conditions that 
negatively affect pricing, payment terms and the timing of revenue recog-
nition in order to consummate a sale. These terms may, in turn, negatively 
affect our revenue and results of operations and increase our susceptibility 
to quarterly fluctuations in our results. Service providers may ultimately insist 
upon terms and conditions that we deem too onerous or not in our best 
interest. Moreover, our purchase agreements generally do not require that a 
customer guarantee any minimum purchase level and customers often have 
the right to modify, delay, reduce or cancel previous orders. As a result, we 
may incur substantial expense and devote time and resources to potential 
relationships that never materialize or result in lower than anticipated sales.

Product performance problems could damage our business reputa-
tion and negatively affect our results of operations.
The development and production of equipment that addresses multi-ser-
vice communications network traffic is complicated. Some of our products 
can be fully tested only when deployed in communications networks or 
with other equipment and therefore may contain undetected hardware or 
software errors at the time of release. As a result, product performance 
problems are often more acute for initial deployments of new products 
and product enhancements. Unanticipated problems can relate to the 
design, manufacturing, installation or integration of our products. If we 
experience significant performance, reliability or quality problems with 
our products, or our customers suffer significant repairs, network restora-
tion, or delays relating to these problems, a number of negative effects on 
our business could result, including:

increased	costs	to	address	or	remediate	software	or	hardware	defects;

•	
•		 payment	of	liquidated	damages	or	claims	for	damages	for	perfor-

mance failures or delays;

•		 increased	inventory	obsolescence	and	warranty	expense;
•		 delays	in	collecting	accounts	receivable;	and
•		 cancellation	or	reduction	in	orders	from	customers.	

Network equipment sales to large communications service providers 
often involve lengthy sales cycles and protracted contract negotiations 
and may require us to assume terms or conditions that negatively affect 
our pricing, payment terms and the timing of revenue recognition.
Our future success will depend in large part on our ability to maintain and 
expand our sales to large communications service providers. These sales 
typically involve lengthy sales cycles, protracted and sometimes difficult con-
tract negotiations, and extensive product testing and network certification. 

Product performance problems could damage our business reputation 
and negatively affect our business and results of operations.

We may not be successful in selling our products into new markets 
and developing and managing new sales channels.
We continue to take steps to sell our products into new geographic markets 
and to a broader customer base, including other large communications ser-
vice providers, enterprises, cable operators, wireless operators and federal, 

27

state and local governments. We have less experience in these markets 
and, in order to succeed in these markets, we believe we must develop and 
manage new sales channels and distribution arrangements. We expect 
these relationships to be an increasingly important part of our business. 
We may not be successful in reaching additional customer segments or 
expanding into new geographic regions and may be exposed to increased 
expense and business and financial risks associated with entering new mar-
kets and pursuing new customer segments. We may expend time, money 
and other resources on channel relationships that are ultimately unsuc-
cessful. In addition, sales to federal, state and local governments require 
compliance with complex procurement regulations with which we have little 
experience. We may be unable to increase our sales to government con-
tractors if we determine that we cannot comply with applicable regulations. 
Our failure to comply with regulations for existing contracts could result in 
civil, criminal or administrative proceedings involving fines and suspension, 
or exclusion from participation in federal government contracts. Failure to 
manage additional sales channels effectively would limit our ability to suc-
ceed in these new markets and could adversely affect our ability to expand 
our customer base and grow our business.

We may experience delays in the development of our products that 
may negatively affect our competitive position and business.
Our products are based on complex technology, and we can experience 
unanticipated delays in developing, manufacturing or deploying them. Each 
step in the development life cycle of our products presents serious risks of 
failure, rework or delay, any one of which could affect the cost-effective and 
timely development of our products. Intellectual property disputes, failure of 
critical design elements, and other execution risks may delay or even prevent 
the release of these products. Modification of research and development 
strategies and changes in allocation of resources could also be disruptive to 
our development efforts. If we do not develop and successfully introduce 
products in a timely manner, our competitive position may suffer and our 
business, financial condition and results of operations would be harmed.

Our reliance upon third party manufacturers exposes us to risks that 
could negatively affect our business and operations.
We rely upon third party contract manufacturers to perform the majority of 
the manufacturing of our products and components. In recent years we have 
transitioned a significant portion of our product manufacturing to overseas 
suppliers in Asia, with much of the manufacturing taking place in China and 
Thailand. Some of our contract manufacturers ship our products directly 

to our customers. Our reliance upon these manufacturers could expose us 
to increased risks related to lead times, continued supply, on-time delivery, 
quality assurance and compliance with environmental standards and other 
regulations. Our business could be adversely affected by disruptions in the 
business and operations of these manufacturers. Significant disruptions 
could arise as a result of, among other things, geopolitical events in the 
countries where our products or components thereof are manufactured. 
During the first quarter of fiscal 2009, protests resulted in a blockade of 
Thailand’s main international airport, which delayed product shipments 
from one of our key contract manufacturers. Disruptions could also arise as 
a result of difficulties in the financial position of our contract manufacturers 
and ineffective business continuity and disaster recovery plans. We do not 
have contracts in place with some of our manufacturers and do not have 
guaranteed supply of components or manufacturing capacity. From time to 
time, we may decide to transfer manufacturing to a new contract manufac-
turer or further consolidate our supplier base. These transitions may result 
in disruptions to our business and temporary increases in inventory volumes 
purchased in order to ensure continued supply. Difficulty managing our 
contract manufacturers, or transitions to new manufacturers, can negatively 
affect our business and operations and harm our customer relationships.

Difficulties with third party component suppliers, including sole and 
limited source suppliers, could increase our costs and harm our busi-
ness and customer relationships.
We depend on third party suppliers for our product components and 
subsystems, as well as for equipment used to manufacture and test our 
products. Our products include key optical and electronic components 
for which reliable, high-volume supply is often available from sole or lim-
ited sources. We have previously encountered shortages in availability for 
important components that have affected our ability to deliver products 
in a timely manner. Our business would be negatively affected if our sup-
pliers were to experience any significant disruption in their operations 
affecting the price, quality, availability or timely delivery of components. 
Current unfavorable economic conditions, including a lack of liquidity, 
may adversely affect our suppliers or the terms on which we purchase 
components. We may be unable to secure the components or subsystems 
that we require in sufficient quantities or on reasonable terms. The loss 
of a source of supply, or lack of sufficient availability of key components, 
could require us to redesign products that use those components, which 
would increase our costs and negatively affect our product gross margin 
and results of operations. Difficulties with suppliers could also result in 

28  Ciena Corporation 10-K

lost revenue, additional product costs and deployment delays that could 
harm our business and customer relationships.

Our failure to manage effectively our relationships with third party 
service partners could adversely impact our financial results and rela-
tionship with customers.
We rely on a number of third party service partners, both domestic and 
international, to complement our global service and support resources. We 
rely upon these partners for certain maintenance and support functions, as 
well as the installation of our equipment in some large network builds. These 
projects often include complex customization, installation and testing. In 
order to ensure the proper installation and maintenance of our products, we 
must identify, train and certify qualified service partners. Certification can 
be costly and time-consuming, and our partners often provide similar ser-
vices for other companies, including our competitors. We may not be able 
to manage effectively our relationships with our service partners and cannot 
be certain that they will be able to deliver services in the manner or time 
required. If our service partners are unsuccessful in delivering services:

•	 we	may	suffer	delays	in	recognizing	revenue;
•	 our	services	revenue	and	gross	margin	may	be	adversely	affected;	and
•	 our	relationship	with	customers	could	suffer.

Difficulties with service partners could cause us to transition a larger share 
of deployment and other services from third parties to internal resources, 
thereby increasing our service overhead costs and negatively affecting 
our services gross margin and results of operations.

We may incur significant costs as a result of our efforts to protect 
and enforce our intellectual property rights or respond to claims of 
infringement from others.
Our business is dependent upon the successful protection of our pro-
prietary technology and intellectual property. We are subject to the 
risk that unauthorized parties may attempt to access, copy or otherwise 
obtain and use our proprietary technology, particularly as we expand our 
product development into India and increase our reliance upon contract 
manufacturers in Asia. These and other international operations could 
expose us to a lower level of intellectual property protection than in the 
United States. Monitoring unauthorized use of our technology is difficult, 
and we cannot be certain that the steps that we are taking will prevent or 
minimize the risks of unauthorized use. If competitors are able to use our 
technology, our ability to compete effectively could be harmed.

From time to time we have been subject to litigation and other third party 
intellectual property claims, primarily alleging patent infringement. We 
have also been subject to third party claims arising as a result of our indem-
nification obligations to customers or resellers that purchase our products 
or as a result of alleged infringement relating to third party components 
that we include in our products. The frequency of these assertions is 
increasing as patent holders, including entities that are not in our industry 
and that purchase patents as an investment, use infringement assertions 
as a competitive tactic or as a source of additional revenue. Intellectual 
property infringement claims can significantly divert the time and atten-
tion of our personnel and result in costly litigation. These claims can also 
require us to pay substantial damages or royalties, enter into costly license 
agreements or develop non-infringing technology. Accordingly, the costs 
associated with intellectual property infringement claims could adversely 
affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our international operations could expose us to additional risks and 
result in increased operating expense.
We market, sell and service our products globally. We have established 
offices around the world, including in North America, Europe, Latin America 
and the Asia Pacific region. We have also established a major development 
center in India and are increasingly reliant upon overseas suppliers, particu-
larly in Asia, for sourcing of important components and manufacturing of 
our products. Our increasingly global operations may result in increased risk 
to our business and could give rise to unanticipated expense, difficulties or 
other effects that could adversely affect our financial results.

International operations are subject to inherent risks, including:

•		 effects	of	changes	in	currency	exchange	rates;
•	 greater	difficulty	in	collecting	accounts	receivable	and	longer	collec-

tion periods;

•		 difficulties	and	costs	of	staffing	and	managing	foreign	operations;
•		 the	impact	of	economic	conditions	in	countries	outside	the	United	States;
•		 less	protection	for	intellectual	property	rights	in	some	countries;
•	 adverse	tax	and	customs	consequences,	particularly	as	related	to	

transfer-pricing issues;

•		 social,	political	and	economic	instability;
•		 trade	protection	measures,	export	compliance,	qualification	to	trans-

act business and other regulatory requirements; and
•		 natural	disasters,	epidemics	and	acts	of	war	or	terrorism.

29

We expect that our international activities will be dynamic in the near 
term, and we may enter new markets and withdraw from or reduce opera-
tions in others. These changes to our international operations may require 
significant management attention and result in additional expense. In 
some countries, our success will depend in part on our ability to form rela-
tionships with local partners. Our inability to identify appropriate partners 
or reach mutually satisfactory arrangements for international sales of our 
products could impact our ability to maintain or increase international 
market demand for our products.

Our use and reliance upon development resources in India may 
expose us to unanticipated costs or liabilities.
We have a significant development center in India and, in recent years, 
have increased headcount and development activity at this facility. There 
is no assurance that our reliance upon development resources in India 
will enable us to achieve meaningful cost reductions or greater resource 
efficiency. Further, our development efforts and other operations in India 
involve significant risks, including:

•		 difficulty	hiring	and	retaining	appropriate	engineering	resources	due	
to intense competition for such resources and resulting wage inflation;

•		 the	knowledge	transfer	related	to	our	technology	and	resulting	

exposure to misappropriation of intellectual property or information 
that is proprietary to us, our customers and other third parties;

•	 heightened	exposure	to	changes	in	the	economic,	security	and	polit-

ical conditions of India; and

•		 fluctuations	in	currency	exchange	rates	and	tax	compliance	in	India.

Difficulties resulting from the factors above and other risks related to  
our operations in India could expose us to increased expense, impair  
our development efforts, harm our competitive position and damage  
our reputation.

We may be exposed to unanticipated risks and additional obligations 
in connection with our resale of complementary products or technol-
ogy of other companies.
We have entered into agreements with strategic partners that permit 
us to distribute their products or technology. We rely upon these rela-
tionships to add complementary products or technologies or to fulfill 
an element of our product portfolio. As part of our strategy to diversify 
our product portfolio and customer base, we may enter into additional 
original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or resale agreements in the 

30  Ciena Corporation 10-K

future. We may incur unanticipated costs or difficulties relating to our 
resale of third party products. Our third party relationships could expose 
us to risks associated with delays in their development, manufacturing 
or delivery of products or technology. We may also be required by cus-
tomers to assume warranty, indemnity, service and other commercial 
obligations greater than the commitments, if any, made to us by our 
technology partners. Some of our strategic partners are relatively small 
companies with limited financial resources. If they are unable to satisfy 
their obligations to us or our customers, we may have to expend our own 
resources to satisfy these obligations. Exposure to the risks above could 
harm our reputation with key customers and negatively affect our busi-
ness and our results of operations.

Our exposure to the credit risks of our customers and resellers may 
make it difficult to collect receivables and could adversely affect our 
revenue and operating results.
In the course of our sales to customers, we may have difficulty collecting 
receivables and could be exposed to risks associated with uncollectible  
accounts. We may be exposed to similar risks relating to third party 
resellers and other sales channel partners. A continued lack of liquidity 
in the capital markets or a sustained period of unfavorable economic 
conditions may increase our exposure to credit risks. While we monitor 
these situations carefully and attempt to take appropriate measures to 
protect ourselves, it is possible that we may have to write down or write 
off doubtful accounts. Such write-downs or write-offs could negatively 
affect our operating results for the period in which they occur, and, if 
large, could have a material adverse effect on our revenue and operat-
ing results.

Restructuring activities could disrupt our business and affect our 
results of operations.
We have previously taken steps, including reductions in force, office 
closures, and internal reorganizations to reduce the size and cost of our 
operations and to better match our resources with market opportuni-
ties. We may take similar steps in the future. These changes could be 
disruptive to our business and may result in the recording of accounting 
charges, including inventory and technology-related write-offs, workforce 
reduction costs and charges relating to consolidation of excess facilities. 
Substantial charges resulting from any future restructuring activities could 
adversely affect our results of operations in the period in which we take 
such a charge.

If we are unable to attract and retain qualified personnel, we may be 
unable to manage our business effectively.
Competition to attract and retain highly skilled technical and other 
personnel with experience in our industry is increasing in intensity, and 
our employees have been the subject of targeted hiring by our com-
petitors. With respect to our engineering resources, we may find it 
particularly difficult to attract and retain sufficiently skilled personnel in 
areas including data networking, Ethernet service delivery and network 
management software engineering in certain geographic markets. We 
may experience difficulty retaining and motivating existing employees 
and attracting qualified personnel to fill key positions. Because we rely 
upon equity awards as a significant component of compensation, particu-
larly for our executive team, a lack of positive performance in our stock 
price, reduced grant levels, or changes to our compensation program 
may adversely affect our ability to attract and retain key employees. 
In addition, none of our executive officers is bound by an employment 
agreement for any specific term. It may be difficult to replace members 
of our management team or other key personnel, and the loss of such 
individuals could be disruptive to our business. Because we generally do 
not have employment contracts with our employees, we must rely upon 
providing competitive compensation packages and a high-quality work 
environment in order to retain and motivate employees. If we are unable 
to attract and retain qualified personnel, we may be unable to manage 
our business effectively.

We may be adversely affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
To date, we have not hedged against foreign currency fluctuations. 
Historically, our primary exposure to currency exchange rates has been 
related to non-U.S. dollar denominated operating expense in Europe, 
Asia and Canada. In recent years, our international operations have 
grown considerably. As we increase our international sales and utiliza-
tion of international suppliers, we may transact additional business in 
currencies other than the U.S. dollar. A further increase in the value of 
the dollar could increase the real cost to our customers of our products 
in those markets outside the United States where we sell in dollars, and 
a weakened dollar could increase the cost of local operating expenses 
and procurement of raw materials to the extent that we must purchase 
components in foreign currencies. As a result, we may be subject to 
increased susceptibility to the effects of foreign exchange translation on 
our financial results and our business and result of operations could be 
adversely affected.

Our products incorporate software and other technology under license 
from third parties and our business would be adversely affected if 
this technology was no longer available to us on commercially reason-
able terms.
We integrate third-party software and other technology into our embedded 
operating system, network management system tools and other products. 
Licenses for this technology may not be available or continue to be available 
to us on commercially reasonable terms. Third party licensors may insist on 
unreasonable financial or other terms in connection with our use of such 
technology. Difficulties with third party technology licensors could result 
in termination of such licenses, which may result in significant costs and 
require us to obtain or develop a substitute technology. Difficulty obtaining 
and maintaining third-party technology licenses may disrupt development 
of our products and increase our costs, which could harm our business.

Our business is dependent upon the proper functioning of our inter-
nal business processes and information systems and modifications 
may disrupt our business, operating processes and internal controls.
The successful operation of various internal business processes and infor-
mation systems is critical to the efficient operation of our business. In recent 
years, we have experienced considerable growth in transaction volume, 
headcount and reliance upon international resources in our operations. Our 
business processes and information systems need to be sufficiently scal-
able to support growth of our business. To improve the efficiency of our 
operations and achieve greater automation, we routinely upgrade business 
processes and information systems. Significant changes to our processes 
and systems expose us to a number of operational risks. These changes 
may be costly and disruptive, and could impose substantial demands on 
management time. These changes may also require the modification of a 
number of internal control procedures. Any material disruption, malfunction 
or similar problems with our business processes or information systems, or 
the transition to new processes and systems, could have a negative effect 
on the operation of our business and our results of operations.

Strategic acquisitions and investments may expose us to increased 
costs and unexpected liabilities.
We may acquire or make strategic investments in other companies to 
expand the markets we address, diversify our customer base or acquire 
or accelerate the development of technology or products. To do so, we 
may use cash, issue equity that would dilute our current stockholders’ 

31

ownership, incur debt or assume indebtedness. These transactions involve 
numerous risks, including:

•	 difficulty	integrating	the	operations,	technologies	and	products	of	

the acquired companies;

•		 diversion	of	management’s	attention;
•		 difficulty	completing	projects	of	the	acquired	company	and	costs	

related to in-process projects;

•		 the	loss	of	key	employees	of	the	acquired	company;
•	 amortization	expense	related	to	intangible	assets	and	charges	asso-

ciated with impairment of goodwill;
ineffective	internal	controls	over	financial	reporting;

•	
•	 dependence	on	unfamiliar	supply	partners;	and
•	 exposure	to	unanticipated	liabilities,	including	intellectual	property	

infringement claims.

As a result of these and other risks, our acquisitions or strategic investments 
may not reap the intended benefits and may ultimately have a negative 
impact on our business, results of operation and financial condition.

Changes in government regulation affecting the communications 
industry and the businesses of our customers could harm our pros-
pects and operating results.
The Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, has jurisdiction over 
the U.S. communications industry and similar agencies have jurisdiction 
over the communication industries in other countries. Many of our larg-
est customers are subject to the rules and regulations of these agencies. 
Changes in regulatory requirements in the United States or other coun-
tries could inhibit service providers from investing in their communications 
network infrastructures or introducing new services. These changes could 
adversely affect the sale of our products and services. Changes in regula-
tory tariff requirements or other regulations relating to pricing or terms 
of carriage on communications networks could slow the development or 
expansion of network infrastructures and adversely affect our business, 
operating results, and financial condition.

Governmental regulations affecting the import or export of products, 
and environmental regulations relating to our products, could nega-
tively affect our revenues.
The United States and various foreign governments have imposed con-
trols, export license requirements and restrictions on the import or export 

of some technologies. Governmental regulation of imports or exports, 
or our failure to obtain required import or export approval for our prod-
ucts, could harm our international and domestic sales and adversely 
affect our revenues. Failure to comply with such regulations could result 
in penalties, costs and restrictions on export privileges. In addition, our 
operations may be negatively affected by environmental regulations, 
such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and 
Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and 
Electronic Equipment (RoHS) that have been adopted by the European 
Union. Compliance with these and similar environmental regulations may 
increase our cost of building and selling our products, make it difficult to 
obtain supply of compliant components or require us to write off non-
compliant inventory, which could have a material adverse effect on our 
business and operating results.

The investment of our substantial cash balance and our investments 
in marketable debt securities are subject to risks which may cause 
losses and affect the liquidity of these investments.
At October 31, 2008, we had $550.7 million in cash and cash equivalents 
and $522.5 million short-term and long-term investments in marketable 
debt securities. We have historically invested these amounts in corporate 
bonds, asset-backed obligations, commercial paper, securities issued by 
the United States, certificates of deposit and money market funds meeting 
certain criteria. These investments are subject to general credit, liquid-
ity, market and interest rate risks, which may be exacerbated by recent 
significant disruptions in the financial and credit markets. These market 
risks associated with our investment portfolio may have a negative adverse 
effect on our results of operations, liquidity and financial condition.

Failure to maintain effective internal controls over financial report-
ing could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating 
results and stock price.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires that we include 
in our annual report a report containing management’s assessment 
of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting as 
of the end of our fiscal year and a statement as to whether or not such 
internal controls are effective. Compliance with these requirements has 
resulted in, and is likely to continue to result in, significant costs and the 
commitment of time and operational resources. Changes in our business 
will necessitate ongoing modifications to our internal control systems, 
processes and information systems. Increases in our global operations 

32  Ciena Corporation 10-K

or expansion into new regions could pose additional challenges to our 
internal control systems as these operations become more significant. 
We cannot be certain that our current design for internal control over 
financial reporting will be sufficient to enable management or our inde-
pendent registered public accounting firm to determine that our internal 
controls are effective for any period, or on an ongoing basis. If we or our 
independent registered public accounting firms are unable to assert that 
our internal controls over financial reporting are effective, our business 
may be harmed. Market perception of our financial condition and the 
trading price of our stock may be adversely affected, and customer per-
ception of our business may suffer.

Obligations associated with our outstanding indebtedness on our 
convertible notes may adversely affect our business.
At October 31, 2008, indebtedness on our outstanding convertible  
notes totaled $798.0 million in aggregate principal. Our indebtedness 
and repayment obligations could have important negative conse-
quences, including:

•	

•	

increasing	our	vulnerability	to	general	adverse	economic	and	indus-
try conditions;
limiting	our	ability	to	obtain	additional	financing,	particularly	in	light	
of unfavorable conditions in the credit markets;

•	 reducing	the	availability	of	cash	resources	for	other	purposes,	includ-

•	

ing capital expenditures;
limiting	our	flexibility	in	planning	for,	or	reacting	to,	changes	in	our	
business and the markets in which we compete; and

•	 placing	us	at	a	possible	competitive	disadvantage	to	competitors	

that have better access to capital resources.

We may also add additional indebtedness such as equipment loans, work-
ing capital lines of credit and other long-term debt.

Our stock price is volatile.
Our common stock price has experienced substantial volatility in the 
past and may remain volatile in the future. Volatility in our stock price can 
arise as a result of a number of the factors discussed in this “Risk Factors” 
section. During fiscal 2008, our stock price ranged from a high of $48.82 
per share to a low of $6.60 per share. The stock market has experienced 
extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market 
price of many technology companies, with such volatility often unrelated 
to the operating performance of these companies. Divergence between 

our actual or anticipated financial results and published expectations of 
analysts can cause significant swings in our stock price. Our stock price 
can also be affected by announcements that we, our competitors, or our 
customers may make, particularly announcements related to acquisitions 
or other significant transactions. Our common stock is included in a num-
ber of widely followed market indices, including the S&P 500 Index, and 
any change in the composition of these indices to exclude our company 
would adversely affect our stock price. These factors, as well as condi-
tions affecting the general economy or financial markets, may materially 
adversely affect the market price of our common stock in the future.

ITem 1b.  unResolVeD sTaff CommenTs
Not applicable.

ITem 2.  PRoPeRTIes
As of October 31, 2008, all of our properties are leased. Our principal 
executive offices are located in Linthicum, Maryland. We lease thirty-one 
facilities related to our ongoing operations. These include five buildings 
located at various sites near Linthicum, Maryland, including an engineer-
ing facility, two manufacturing facilities, and two administrative and sales 
facilities. We have engineering and/or service facilities located in San 
Jose, California; Alpharetta, Georgia; Acton, Massachusetts; Spokane, 
Washington; Kanata, Canada; and Gurgaon, India. We also maintain a sales 
and service facility in London, England. In addition, we lease various small 
offices in the United States, Mexico, South America, Europe and Asia to 
support our sales and services operations. We believe the facilities we are 
now using are adequate and suitable for our business requirements.

We lease a number of properties that we no longer occupy. As part of 
our restructuring costs, we provide for the estimated cost of the future 
net lease expense for these facilities. The cost is based on the fair value 
of future minimum lease payments under contractual obligations offset 
by the fair value of the estimated future sublease payments that we may 
receive. As of October 31, 2008, our accrued restructuring liability related 
to these properties was $3.2 million. If actual market conditions relating to 
the use of these facilities are less favorable than those projected by man-
agement, additional restructuring costs associated with these facilities 
may be required. For additional information regarding our lease obliga-
tions, see Note 18 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of 
Part II of this report.

33

ITem 3.  legal PRoCeeDIngs
On November 7, 2008, JDS Uniphase Corp. filed a complaint with the United 
States International Trade Commission (ITC) against Ciena and several other 
respondents, alleging infringement of two patents (U.S. Patent Nos. 6,658,035 
and 6,687,278) relating to tunable laser chip technology. The complaint, which 
names Ciena as a company whose products incorporate the accused tech-
nology manufactured by certain other respondents and which technology is 
imported into the United States, seeks a determination and relief under Section 
337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. Specifically, the complaint seeks an order from the 
ITC blocking the importation of the accused technology, and products incor-
porating the accused technology, into the United States. We believe that we 
have valid defenses to the complaint and intend to defend it vigorously.

On May 29, 2008, Graywire, LLC filed a complaint in the United States 
District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against Ciena and four 
other defendants, alleging, among other things, that certain of the parties’ 
products infringe U.S. Patent 6,542,673, relating to an identifier system and 
components for optical assemblies. The complaint, which has not yet been 
served upon Ciena, seeks injunctive relief and damages. We believe that 
we have valid defenses to the lawsuit and intend to defend it vigorously.

As a result of our June 2002 merger with ONI Systems Corp., we became a 
defendant in a securities class action lawsuit filed in the United States District 
Court for the Southern District of New York in August 2001. The complaint 
named ONI, certain former ONI officers, and certain underwriters of ONI’s ini-
tial public offering (IPO) as defendants, and alleges, among other things, that 
the underwriter defendants violated the securities laws by failing to disclose 
alleged compensation arrangements (such as undisclosed commissions or 
stock stabilization practices) in ONI’s registration statement and by engaging 
in manipulative practices to artificially inflate ONI’s stock price after the IPO. 
The complaint also alleges that ONI and the named former officers violated 
the securities laws by failing to disclose the underwriters’ alleged compensa-
tion arrangements and manipulative practices. No specific amount of damages 
has been claimed. Similar complaints have been filed against more than 300 
other issuers that have had initial public offerings since 1998, and all of these 
actions have been included in a single coordinated proceeding. The former ONI 
officers have been dismissed from the action without prejudice. In July 2004, 
following mediated settlement negotiations, the plaintiffs, the issuer defen-
dants (including Ciena), and their insurers entered into a settlement agreement, 
whereby the plaintiffs’ cases against the issuers would be dismissed, the insur-
ers would agree to guarantee a recovery by the plaintiffs from the underwriter 

defendants of at least $1 billion, and the issuer defendants would agree to 
assign or surrender to the plaintiffs certain claims the issuers may have against 
the underwriters. The settlement agreement did not require Ciena to pay any 
amount toward the settlement or to make any other payments. In October 2004, 
the district court certified a class with respect to the Section 10(b) claims in six 
“focus cases” selected out of all of the consolidated cases, which cases did not 
include Ciena, and which decision was appealed by the underwriter defendants 
to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. On February 15, 2005, the 
district court granted the motion filed by the plaintiffs and issuer defendants 
for preliminary approval of the settlement agreement, subject to certain modi-
fications to the proposed bar order, and on August 31, 2005, the district court 
issued a preliminary order approving the revised stipulated settlement agree-
ment. On December 5, 2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit 
vacated the district court’s grant of class certification in the six focus cases. 
On April 6, 2007, the Second Circuit denied plaintiffs’ petition for rehearing. 
In light of the Second Circuit’s decision, the parties agreed that the settlement 
could not be approved. On June 25, 2007, the district court approved a stipula-
tion filed by the plaintiffs and the issuer defendants terminating the proposed 
settlement. On August 14, 2007, the plaintiffs filed second amended complaints 
against the defendants in the six focus cases, as well as a set of amended mas-
ter allegations against the other issuer defendants, including changes to the 
definition of the purported class of investors. On September 27, 2007, the plain-
tiffs filed a motion for class certification based on their amended complaints 
and allegations. On March 26, 2008, the district court denied motions to dismiss 
the second amended complaints filed by the defendants in the six focus cases, 
except as to Section 11 claims raised by those plaintiffs who sold their securi-
ties for a price in excess of the initial offering price and those who purchased 
outside the previously certified class period. Briefing on the plaintiffs’ motion for 
class certification in the focus cases was completed in May 2008. That motion 
was withdrawn without prejudice on October 10, 2008. Due to the inherent 
uncertainties of litigation, the ultimate outcome of the matter is uncertain.

In addition to the matters described above, we are subject to various legal 
proceedings, claims and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. 
We do not expect that the ultimate costs to resolve these matters will have a 
material effect on our results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

ITem 4.   submIssIon of maTTeRs To a  

VoTe of seCuRITy HolDeRs

No matters were submitted to a vote of security holders in the fourth 
quarter of fiscal 2008.

34  Ciena Corporation 10-K

PaRT II

ITem 5.   maRkeT foR RegIsTRanT’s Common 

sToCk, RelaTeD sToCkHolDeR  
maTTeRs anD IssueR PuRCHases  
of equITy seCuRITIes

(a)  Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market 

under the symbol “CIEN.” The following table sets forth the high and 
low sales prices of our common stock, as reported on the NASDAQ 
Global Select Market, for the fiscal periods indicated.

Fiscal Year 2007

First Quarter ended January 31 
Second Quarter ended April 30 
Third Quarter ended July 31 
Fourth Quarter ended October 31 

Fiscal Year 2008

First Quarter ended January 31 
Second Quarter ended April 30 
Third Quarter ended July 31 
Fourth Quarter ended October 31 

Price Range of Common Stock

High 

Low

$30.56 
$32.80 
$41.13 
$49.55 

$48.82 
$35.82 
$35.14 
$20.10 

$24.39
$24.75
$28.22
$32.75

$21.40
$24.00
$19.30
$  6.60

As of December 12, 2008, there were approximately 960 holders of record 
of our common stock and 90,533,370 shares of common stock outstand-
ing. We have never paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We intend 
to retain earnings for use in our business and we do not anticipate paying 
any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

The following graph shows a comparison of cumulative total returns for 
an investment in our common stock, the NASDAQ Telecommunications 
Index and the S&P 500 Index from October 31, 2003 to October 31, 2008. 
The NASDAQ Telecommunications Index contains securities of NASDAQ-
listed companies classified according to the Industry Classification 
Benchmark as Telecommunications and Telecommunications Equipment. 
They include providers of fixed-line and mobile telephone services, and 
makers and distributors of high-technology communication products. This 
graph is not deemed to be “filed” with the SEC or subject to the liabilities 
of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the graph shall 
not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any prior or subse-
quent filing by us under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act.

s
r
a

l
l

o
D

.
S
.
U

180

150

120

90

60

30

0

Oct 03 Apr 04 Oct 04 Apr 05 Oct 05 Apr 06 Oct 06 Apr 07 Oct 07 Apr 08 Oct 08

Ciena

S&P 500 Index

NASDAQ Telecommunications Index

Assumes $100 invested in Ciena Corporation, the NASDAQ 
Telecommunications Index and the S&P 500 Index on October 31, 2003 
with all dividends reinvested at month-end.

(b)  Not applicable.

(c)  Not applicable.

ITem 6.   seleCTeD ConsolIDaTeD  

fInanCIal DaTa

The following selected consolidated financial data should be read in 
conjunction with Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of 
Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the Consolidated 
Financial Statements and the notes thereto included in Item 8, “Financial 
Statements and Supplementary Data.” Fiscal 2008 results reflect the 
acquisition of World Wide Packets on March 3, 2008. See “Overview-
Acquisition of World Wide Packets” in Item 7. We have a 52- or 53-week 
fiscal year, which ends on the Saturday nearest to the last day of October 
in each year. For purposes of financial statement presentation, each fiscal 
year is described as having ended on October 31. Fiscal 2004, 2005, 2006 
and 2008 consisted of 52 weeks and fiscal 2007 consisted of 53 weeks.

35

 
 
 
balance sheet Data:

(in thousands, except per share data) 
Cash and cash equivalents 
Short-term investments 
Long-term investments 
Total assets 
Short-term convertible notes payable 
Long-term convertible notes payable 
Total liabilities 
Stockholders’ equity 

statement of operations Data:

(in thousands, except per share data) 
Revenue 
Cost of goods sold 
Gross profit 
Operating expenses:

Research and development 
Selling and marketing 
General and administrative 
Amortization of intangible assets 
In-process research and development 
Restructuring (recoveries) costs 
Goodwill impairment 
Long-lived asset impairment 
Gain on lease settlement 

Recovery of sale, export, use tax liabilities and payments 

Total operating expenses 
Income (loss) from operations 
Interest and other income, net 
Interest expense 
Gain (loss) on equity investments, net 
Realized loss on marketable debt investments, net 
Gain (loss) on extinguishment of debt 
Income (loss) before income taxes 
Provision for income taxes 
Net income (loss) 
Basic net income (loss) per common share 
Diluted net income (loss) per dilutive potential common share 
Weighted average basic common shares 
Weighted average dilutive potential common shares 

36  Ciena Corporation 10-K

2004 
$   185,868 
753,251 
329,704 
2,137,054 
— 
690,000 
982,632 
1,154,422 

2004 
$ 298,707 
226,954 
71,753 

205,364 
112,310 
25,798 
30,839 
30,200 
57,107 
371,712 
15,926 
— 
(5,388) 
843,868 
(772,115) 
25,936 
(29,841) 
(4,107) 
— 
(8,216) 
(788,343) 
1,121 
$(789,464) 
(10.60) 
$ 
(10.60) 
$ 
74,493 
74,493 

2005 
$   358,012 
579,531 
155,944 
1,675,229 
— 
648,752 
939,862 
735,367 

Year Ended October 31,
2006 
$   220,164 
628,393 
351,407 
1,839,713 
— 
842,262 
1,086,087 
753,626 

2007 
$   892,061 
822,185 
33,946 
2,416,273 
542,262 
800,000 
1,566,119 
850,154 

2005 
$ 427,257 
291,067 
136,190 

137,245 
115,022 
36,317 
38,782 
— 
18,018 
176,600 
45,862 
— 
— 
567,846 
(431,656) 
31,294 
(28,413) 
(9,486) 
— 
3,882 
(434,379) 
1,320 
$(435,699) 
  (5.30) 
$ 
  (5.30) 
$ 
82,170 
82,170 

Year Ended October 31,
2006 
$564,056 
306,275 
257,781 

111,069 
104,434 
44,445 
25,181 
— 
15,671 
— 
— 
(11,648) 
— 
289,152 
(31,371) 
50,245 
(24,165) 
215 
— 
7,052 
1,976 
1,381 
   595 
  0.01 
  0.01 
83,840 
85,011 

$ 
$ 
$ 

2007 
$779,769 
417,500 
362,269 

127,296 
118,015 
50,248 
25,350 
— 
(2,435) 
— 
— 
(4,871) 
— 
313,603 
48,666 
76,483 
(26,996) 
592 
(13,013) 
— 
85,732 
2,944 
$  82,788 
  0.97 
$ 
  0.87 
$ 
85,525 
99,604 

2008
$   550,669
366,336
156,171
2,024,594
—
798,000
1,025,645
998,949

2008
$902,448 
451,521 
450,927 

175,023 
152,018 
68,639 
32,264 
—
1,110 
—
—
—
—
429,054 
21,873 
36,762 
(12,927)
—
(5,101)
932 
41,539 
2,645 
$  38,894 
  0.44 
$ 
  0.42 
$ 
89,146 
110,605 

 
 
ITem 7.   managemenT’s DIsCussIon anD 

analysIs of fInanCIal ConDITIon  
anD ResulTs of oPeRaTIons
This section contains statements that discuss future events or expecta-
tions, projections of results of operations or financial condition, changes in 
the markets for our products and services, or other “forward-looking” 
information. Our “forward-looking” information is based on various factors 
and was derived using numerous assumptions. In some cases, you can 
identify these “forward-looking statements” by words like “may,” “will,” 
“should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” 
“predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of those words and 
other comparable words. You should be aware that these statements only 
reflect our current predictions and beliefs. These statements are subject to 
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and actual 
events or results may differ materially. Important factors that could cause 
our actual results to be materially different from the forward-looking 
statements are disclosed throughout this report, particularly under the 
heading “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I of this annual report. You should 
review these risk factors for a more complete understanding of the risks 
associated with an investment in our securities. We undertake no obliga-
tion to revise or update any forward-looking statements. The following 
discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our “Selected 
Consolidated Financial Data” and consolidated financial statements and 
notes thereto included elsewhere in this annual report.

overview
We are a provider of communications networking equipment, software 
and services that support the transport, switching, aggregation and 
management of voice, video and data traffic. Our optical service delivery 
and carrier Ethernet service delivery products are used, individually or as 
part of an integrated solution, in networks operated by communications 
service providers, cable operators, governments and enterprises around 
the globe. We are a network specialist targeting the transition of dispa-
rate, legacy communications networks to converged, next-generation 
architectures, better able to handle increased traffic and to deliver more 
efficiently a broader mix of high-bandwidth communications services. Our 
products, along with our service-aware operating system and unified ser-
vice and transport management enable service providers to efficiently and 
cost-effectively deliver critical enterprise and consumer-oriented commu-
nication services. Together with our professional support and consulting 

services, our product offering seeks to address holistically the business 
and network needs of our customers. By improving network productivity, 
reducing operating costs and enabling new and integrated service offer-
ings, we create business and operational value for our customers.

Effect of Recent Market Conditions and Uncertain Macroeconomic 
Environment on our Business
Through the first nine months of fiscal 2008, our financial performance 
continued to be strong. We achieved meaningful sequential quarterly 
revenue growth during this period and revenue was up 28.3% over the 
first nine months of fiscal 2007. Income from operations increased from 
$21.5 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2007 to $52.3 million for the 
first nine months of fiscal 2008. During the second half of 2008, however, 
our business began to experience the effects of worsening macroeco-
nomic conditions, further exacerbated by customer-specific challenges 
and significant disruptions in the financial and credit markets globally. We 
initially experienced order delays, lengthening sales cycles and slowing 
deployments, principally among our largest service provider customers 
in North America and Europe. As economic conditions worsened glob-
ally, these effects on our business spread across our industry into other 
customer segments and geographies. Revenue was $179.7 million for the 
fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, representing a 29.0% sequential decrease 
from the third quarter and a 16.9% decrease from our results in the fourth 
quarter of fiscal 2007. We also suffered a $30.5 million loss from opera-
tions during the fourth quarter of 2008.

Significant uncertainty around current macroeconomic and industry con-
ditions persists, particularly the effect these conditions and any sustained 
lack of liquidity in the capital markets may have upon the capital spending 
of our largest customers. Moreover, we are uncertain of the impact of any 
near-term change of enterprise and consumer spending and behavior, in 
response to these market conditions, may have on the spending or finan-
cial position of our customers. The level of competition we face during 
periods of economic weakness can be expected to increase. We can not 
be certain how long these conditions will continue and the magnitude 
of their effects on our business and results of operations. Consequently, 
these conditions have negatively affected visibility of our business and 
made our forecasting and planning more difficult.

While we expect the near-term market conditions to be challenging, we 
continue to believe in our longer-term market opportunities. We believe 
growing consumer and enterprise use, and increased dependence upon, 

37

high-bandwidth applications and services, will require our customers to 
continue to invest in their networks and transition to more efficient, robust 
and economical network architectures. As a result, we intend to continue 
to invest in our business, prioritizing spending related to product develop-
ment and sales efforts.

approximately $5.3 million above WWP’s original cost, of which we recog-
nized $1.1 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2008 and $4.2 million in 
the third quarter of fiscal 2008, as an increase in cost of goods sold. See 
Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of 
Part II of this report for additional information related to this acquisition.

During this period of uncertainty, we intend to balance our strategy of 
continued investment for the long term and manage our workforce and 
operating costs carefully to ensure that they are aligned with our business 
and market opportunities. To that end, during the fourth quarter of fiscal 
2008, we effected a targeted headcount reduction of 56 employees. This 
headcount reduction resulted in a restructuring charge of approximately 
$1.1 million, principally associated with severance costs.

Acquisition of World Wide Packets
On March 3, 2008, we completed our acquisition of World Wide Packets, 
Inc. (“WWP”), a provider of communications network equipment that 
enables the cost-effective delivery of a variety of carrier Ethernet-based 
services, including business Ethernet services, Internet access, video 
conferencing and VoIP. WWP’s service delivery and aggregation switches 
support the access and aggregation tiers of communications networks 
and are typically deployed in metro and access networks. Through 
our acquisition of WWP, we expanded our Ethernet offering beyond 
infrastructure to include service delivery capability and enhanced our 
embedded and management software suites. We believe that this trans-
action will improve our time to market with carrier Ethernet products and 
allow us to reach new customers and market segments, while strength-
ening and diversifying our position within existing customer networks. 
We also believe that the service delivery switching and aggregation 
technology acquired through this acquisition will enable us to penetrate 
additional application segments, including Ethernet business services, 
mobile backhaul for 4G wireless networks, and Ethernet infrastructure for 
high-bandwidth services such as IPTV and triple play.

As a result of this acquisition, we recorded $223.7 million in goodwill 
and $64.7 million in other intangible assets. We are amortizing the 
other intangible assets over their useful lives. See “Critical Accounting 
Policies and Estimates—Goodwill” and “—Long-lived Assets (excluding 
goodwill)” below for information relating to these items and our test for 
impairment. Under purchase accounting rules, we revalued the acquired 
WWP finished goods inventory to fair value at the time of the acquisition. 
This revaluation increased the marketable inventory carrying value by 

38  Ciena Corporation 10-K

Financial Results for Fiscal 2008 and Financial Position
We generated revenue of $902.4 million, representing a 15.7% increase 
from fiscal 2007 revenue of $779.8 million. Results for fiscal 2008 include 
revenue from our acquisition of WWP, which closed during the second 
quarter. Optical service delivery product sales increased $86.1 million, 
reflecting a $67.9 million increase in sales of CN 4200™ FlexSelect™ 
Advanced Service Platform and a $52.6 million increase in sales of our 
core switching products. Fiscal 2008 revenue growth also benefited from 
an increase in service revenue. Our percentage of international revenue 
increased from $226.2 million, or 29.0% of total revenue in fiscal 2007, to 
$311.6 million, or 34.5% of total revenue in fiscal 2008.

For fiscal 2008, two customers each accounted for greater than 10% 
of our revenue and 37.8% in the aggregate. AT&T represented 25.2% 
and BT represented 12.6% of total revenue. A small number of service 
providers continues to represent a large portion of our revenue. Our con-
centration of revenue has been affected in recent years by consolidation 
among communications service providers, including several of our larg-
est customers. While we believe this illustrates our success in leveraging 
our incumbent position within service provider networks, the resulting 
concentration of revenue increases our risk of quarterly fluctuations in rev-
enue and operating results. Our concentration in revenue can exacerbate 
our exposure to reductions in spending or changes in network strategy 
involving one or more of our significant customers.

Gross margin for fiscal 2008 was 50.0%, up from 46.5% in fiscal 2007. 
Product gross margin was 53.1% in fiscal 2008, up from 51.4% in fiscal 
2007. Gross margin improvement during fiscal 2008 reflects the effect 
of favorable product and customer mix, including increased sales of our 
core switching products, and a significant improvement in our services 
gross margin. Gross margin benefited from significant product cost 
reductions and improved manufacturing efficiencies as a result of supply 
chain consolidation efforts and our increased use of lower cost contract 
manufacturers and suppliers in Asia. Gross margin continues to be sus-
ceptible to quarterly fluctuation due to a number of factors, including 
product and customer mix during the period, our ability to drive product 

cost reductions, the level of pricing pressure we encounter, the effect of 
our services gross margin, the introduction of new products or entry into 
new markets, charges for excess and obsolete inventory and changes 
in warranty costs. Part of our strategy is to maintain the product gross 
margin improvements made in recent years by focusing our development 
and sale efforts on Ethernet-based, software-intensive products that 
enable the flexible, cost-effective delivery of higher value communica-
tions services.

Operating expense increased from $313.6 in fiscal 2007 to $429.1 million 
in fiscal 2008, and increased as a percentage of revenue from 40.2% to 
47.5%, respectively. Increased operating expense reflects the addition of 
the WWP operations during the second quarter of fiscal 2008 and higher 
employee costs associated with headcount growth. Increased operat-
ing expense also reflects the expansion and acceleration of research and 
development initiatives that add features and functionality to our optical 
service delivery products and extend our portfolio of carrier Ethernet ser-
vice delivery products to increase our addressable market.

Income from operations decreased from $48.7 million in fiscal 2007 
to $21.9 million in fiscal 2008, primarily due to increased operating 
expense as a percentage of revenue. Net income decreased from 
$82.8 million, or $0.87 per diluted share, in fiscal 2007, to $38.9 million, 
or $0.42 per diluted share, in fiscal 2008. The decrease in net income 
for fiscal 2008 reflects the reduction in operating income as well as a 
$39.7 million decrease in interest and other income, net, which was a 
significant component of our net income in fiscal 2007. Interest income 
decreased significantly during fiscal 2008 as a result of our repayment 
at maturity of the remaining principal balance of $542.3 million on our 
3.75% convertible notes during the first quarter of fiscal 2008 and our 
payment, during the second quarter, of approximately $210.0 million 
in cash consideration for our acquisition of WWP. Lower cash balances 
resulting from these payments, together with lower interest rates, were 
the principal cause of our net income reduction. This decline was par-
tially offset by a $14.1 million decrease in interest expense over this 
same period.

We generated $117.6 million in cash from operations during fiscal 2008 
as compared to $108.7 million during fiscal 2007. Cash from operations 
during fiscal 2008 consisted of $168.7 million in cash from net income 
(adjusted for non-cash charges) and a $51.1 million net decrease in cash 
resulting from changes in working capital. Cash from operations during 

fiscal 2007 consisted of $170.7 million in cash from net income (adjusted 
for non-cash charges) and a $62.0 million net decrease in cash resulting 
from changes in working capital.

At October 31, 2008, we had $550.7 million in cash and cash equivalents 
and $522.5 million of short-term and long-term investments in marketable 
debt securities. During fiscal 2007 and 2008, we recognized a $13.0 mil-
lion and $5.1 million loss, respectively, relating to our commercial paper 
investments in Rhinebridge LLC and SIV Portfolio plc (formerly known as 
Cheyne Finance plc). See “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates—
Investments” below for information relating to our losses associated 
with our investment in commercial paper issued by these two structured 
investment vehicles (SIVs). During fiscal 2008, we received final payment in 
connection with the completion of restructuring activities related to these 
SIVs and we no longer hold these investments.

As of October 31, 2008, headcount was 2,203, an increase from 1,797 at 
October 31, 2007 and 1,485 at October 31, 2006.

Results of operations
Our results of operations for the fiscal 2008 include the operations of 
World Wide Packets beginning on March 3, 2008, the effective date of  
the acquisition.

Revenue
We derive revenue from sales of our products and services, which we dis-
cuss in the following three major groupings:

1.  Optical Service Delivery. Included in product revenue, this revenue 
grouping reflects sales of our transport and switching products and 
legacy data networking products and related software. This revenue 
grouping was previously referred to as our converged Ethernet infra-
structure products.

2.  Carrier Ethernet Service Delivery. Included in product revenue, this 
revenue grouping reflects sales of our service delivery and aggre-
gation switches acquired from WWP, Ethernet access products, 
broadband access products, and the related software.

3.  Global Network Services. Included in Global Network Services 
revenue are sales of services, including installation, deployment, 
maintenance support and training activities.

39

A sizable portion of our revenue comes from sales to a small number of 
service providers for large communication network builds. These projects 
are generally characterized by large and sporadic equipment orders and 
contract terms that can result in the recognition or deferral of significant 
amounts of revenue in a given quarter. As a result, the nature of our busi-
ness exposes us to the likelihood of quarterly fluctuation in revenue. 
The level of demand for our products, the timing and size of equipment 
orders, our ability to deliver products to fulfill those orders, and the timing 
of product acceptance for revenue recognition all contribute to and can 
cause significant fluctuations in our revenue and operating results on a 
quarterly basis.

Cost of Goods Sold

Product cost of goods sold consists primarily of amounts paid to third-
party contract manufacturers, component costs, direct compensation 
costs and overhead associated with manufacturing-related operations, 
warranty and other contractual obligations, royalties, license fees, amorti-
zation of intangible assets and cost of excess and obsolete inventory.

Services cost of goods sold consists primarily of direct and third-party 
costs associated with provision of services including installation, deploy-
ment, maintenance support and training activities.

Operating Expense

Research and development expense primarily consists of salaries and 
related employee expense, including share-based compensation expense, 
prototype costs relating to design, development, testing of our products 
and third-party consulting costs.

Sales and marketing expense primarily consists of salaries, commissions 
and related employee expense, including share-based compensation 
expense, and sales and marketing support expense including travel, dem-
onstration units, trade show expense and third-party consulting costs.

General and administrative expense primarily consists of salaries and 
related employee expense, including share-based compensation 
expense, and costs for third-party consulting and other services.

Fiscal 2007 Compared to Fiscal 2008

Revenue, cost of goods sold and gross profit
The table below (in thousands, except percentage data) sets forth  
the changes in revenue, cost of goods sold and gross profit for the  
periods indicated:

Revenue:

Products 
Services 
Total revenue 
Costs:

Products 
Services 

Total cost of goods sold 
Gross profit 

2007 

Fiscal Year 
%* 

2008 

Increase
(decrease)  %**

%* 

$695,289 
84,480 
779,769 

89.2 
10.8 
100.0 

$791,415 
111,033 
902,448 

87.7 
12.3 
100.0 

$  96,126 
26,553 
122,679 

337,866 
79,634 
417,500 
$362,269 

43.3 
10.2 
53.5 
46.5 

371,238 
80,283 
451,521 
$450,927 

41.1 
8.9 
50.0 
50.0 

33,372 
649 
34,021 
$  88,658 

13.8
31.4
15.7

9.9 
0.8 
8.1 
24.5

*  Denotes % of total revenue
**  Denotes % change from 2007 to 2008

The table below (in thousands, except percentage data) sets forth the 
changes in product revenue, product cost of goods sold and product 
gross profit for the periods indicated:

Product revenue 
Product cost of goods sold 
Product gross profit 

2007 
$695,289 
337,866 
$357,423 

Fiscal Year 
%* 
100.0 
48.6 
51.4 

2008 
$791,415 
371,238 
$420,177 

Increase
(decrease)  %**
13.8 
9.9 
17.6

$96,126 
33,372 
$62,754 

%* 
100.0 
46.9 
53.1 

*  Denotes % of total revenue
**  Denotes % change from 2007 to 2008

The table below (in thousands, except percentage data) sets forth the 
changes in service revenue, service cost of goods sold and service gross 
profit (loss) for the periods indicated:

Service revenue 
Service cost of goods sold 
Service gross profit 

2007 
$84,480 
79,634 
$  4,846 

Fiscal Year 
%* 
100.0 
94.3 
5.7 

2008 
$111,033 
80,283 
$  30,750 

Increase
(decrease)  %**
31.4 
0.8 
534.5 

$26,553 
649 
$25,904 

%* 
100.0 
72.3 
27.7 

Amortization of intangible assets primarily reflects purchased technology 
and customer relationships, from our acquisitions.

*  Denotes % of total revenue
**  Denotes % change from 2007 to 2008

40  Ciena Corporation 10-K

 
 
 
 
 
 
The table below (in thousands, except percentage data) sets forth the 
changes in distribution of revenue for the periods indicated:

Optical service delivery 
Carrier Ethernet  
  service delivery 
Global network services 
Total 

2007 
$645,159 

Fiscal Year 
%* 
82.8 

2008 
$731,260 

Increase
(decrease)  %**
13.3

%* 
81.0  $  86,101 

50,129 
84,481 
$779,769 

6.4 
10.8 
100.0 

60,155 
111,033 
$902,448 

6.7 
12.3 

10,026 
26,552 
100.0  $122,679 

20.0
31.4
15.7

*  Denotes % of total revenue
**  Denotes % change from 2007 to 2008

Revenue from sales to customers outside of the United States is reflected 
as International in the geographic distribution of revenue below. The table 
below (in thousands, except percentage data) sets forth the changes in 
geographic distribution of revenue for the periods indicated:

United States 
International 
Total 

2007 
$553,582 
226,187 
$779,769 

Fiscal Year 
%* 
71.0 
29.0 
100.0 

2008 
$590,868 
311,580 
$902,448 

Increase
(decrease)  %**
6.7 
37.8 
15.7 

%* 
65.5  $  37,286 
85,393 
34.5 
100.0  $122,679 

*  Denotes % of total revenue
**  Denotes % change from 2007 to 2008

Certain customers each accounted for at least 10% of our revenue for the 
periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage data) as follows:

AT&T 
BT 
Sprint 
Total 

2007 
$196,924 
n/a 
100,122 
$297,046 

Fiscal Year

%* 
25.3 
— 
12.8 
38.1 

2008 
$227,737 
113,981 
n/a 
$341,718 

%*
25.2
12.6
—
37.8

•	

n/a Denotes revenue representing less than 10% of total revenue for the period
*  Denotes % of total revenue

Revenue

•	 Product revenue increased primarily due to an $86.1 million increase 
in sales of our optical service delivery products. Increased optical 
service delivery revenue reflects a $67.9 million increase in sales  
of our CN 4200™ FlexSelect™ Advanced Service Platform and a 
$52.6 million increase in sales of core switching products. These 

increases were offset by a $17.7 million decrease in core transport 
revenue and $16.7 million decrease in our legacy metro and data net-
working products. We believe that our optical service delivery revenue 
during fiscal 2008 benefited from increasing network capacity require-
ments and customer transition to more efficient and economical 
network architectures. In particular, sales of our core switching prod-
ucts have benefited from an expansion in mesh-style optical networks. 
Revenue from our carrier Ethernet service delivery products increased 
by $10.0 million, reflecting the addition of $24.4 million in sales related 
to service delivery and aggregation switches from our acquisition of 
WWP. This increase offset a $14.6 million reduction in revenue from 
our broadband access products.

•	 Services revenue increased primarily due to a $15.1 million increase 

in deployment services sales and $9.7 million increase in maintenance 
and support services, reflecting higher sales volume and increased 
installation activity.

•	 United States revenue increased primarily due to a $15.0 million 

increase in sales of optical service delivery products. Increased optical 
service delivery revenue reflects a $38.8 million increase in sales of CN 
4200 and a $22.5 million increase in sales of core switching products. 
These increases were partially offset by a $23.6 million decrease in 
core transport revenue and a $22.7 million decrease in sales of legacy 
metro and data networking products. Revenue from carrier Ethernet 
service delivery products increased by $5.2 million, reflecting the 
addition of $19.5 million in sales of products derived from our WWP 
acquisition. This increase offset a $14.6 million reduction in revenue 
from our broadband access products. In addition, U.S. revenue ben-
efited from a $17.0 million increase in services revenue.
International revenue increased primarily due to a $71.1 million 
increase in sales of our optical service delivery products. This pri-
marily reflects increases of $30.1 million in sales of core switching 
products, $29.1 million in sales of CN 4200 and $5.9 million in sales 
of core transport products. International revenue also benefited 
from a $4.8 million increase in carrier Ethernet service delivery rev-
enue and a $9.6 million increase in services revenue.

Gross profit

•	 Gross profit as a percentage of revenue increased due to signifi-

cant improvements in services gross margin, product cost reductions 
and favorable product mix.

41

 
 
 
 
 
 
•	 Gross profit on products as a percentage of product revenue 

•	 Selling and marketing expense increased primarily due a $19.4 mil-

lion increase in employee compensation cost, including a $4.1 million 
increase in share-based compensation expense, primarily reflecting 
increased headcount. Other increases included $3.1 million in travel 
and entertainment expense, $2.5 million of demonstration equip-
ment, $2.1 million in marketing programs, $2.1 million in facilities and 
information systems expense and $1.7 million in consulting expense.

•	 General and administrative expense increased due to higher 

employee compensation cost of $7.6 million, including a $2.1 million 
increase in share-based compensation expense, primarily reflect-
ing increased headcount. In addition, legal expense increased by 
$5.8 million, reflecting $2.3 million and $7.7 million in patent litigation 
settlements in fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2008, respectively. Fiscal 2008 
expense also reflects a $3.3 million increase in facilities and informa-
tion systems expense.

•	 Amortization of intangible assets costs increased due to the pur-
chase of intangible assets associated with the acquisition of WWP. 
See Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of 
Part II of this report for additional information related to purchased 
intangible assets.

•	 Restructuring (recoveries) costs for fiscal 2008 principally reflect 

costs associated with a workforce reduction of 56 employees during 
the fourth quarter. For fiscal 2007, recoveries primarily reflect adjust-
ments related to the return to use of previously restructured facilities.
•	 Gain on lease settlement for fiscal 2007 was related to the termina-

tion of lease obligations for our former San Jose, CA facilities. During 
fiscal 2007, we paid $53.0 million in connection with the settlement 
of these lease obligations. This transaction resulted in a gain on 
lease settlement of approximately $4.9 million by eliminating the 
remaining unfavorable lease commitment balance of $34.9 million 
and reducing our restructuring liabilities by $23.5 million, offset by 
approximately $0.5 million of other expenses.

increased primarily due to significant product cost reductions and 
improved manufacturing efficiencies as a result of consolidation 
efforts relating to our supply chain and our increased use of lower 
cost contract manufacturers and suppliers in Asia. Gross margin also 
benefited from a favorable product mix during fiscal 2008. This gross 
margin improvement was partially offset by the effect on product 
costs of goods sold of $5.3 million in costs related to the revaluation 
of the acquired WWP inventory, as described in “Overview” above, 
and $1.8 million in amortization of intangible assets costs relating to 
the acquisition of WWP.

•	 Gross profit on services as a percentage of services revenue 

increased significantly during fiscal 2008 due to improved deploy-
ment efficiencies. Services gross margin remains heavily dependent 
upon the mix of services in a given period and may fluctuate from 
quarter to quarter.

Operating expense
Increased operating expense for fiscal 2008 reflects, in part our acquisi-
tion of WWP on March 3, 2008. The table below (in thousands, except 
percentage data) sets forth the changes in operating expense for the  
periods indicated:

Research and development 
Selling and marketing 
General and administrative 
Amortization of  

2007 
$127,296 
118,015 
50,248 

Fiscal Year 
%* 
16.3 
15.1 
6.4 

2008 
$175,023 
152,018 
68,639 

Increase
(decrease)  %**
37.5
$  47,727 
28.8 
34,003 
36.6 
18,391 

%* 
19.4 
16.8 
7.6 

intangible assets 

25,350 

3.3 

32,264 

3.6 

6,914 

27.3

Restructuring (recoveries)  
  costs 
Gain on lease settlement 
Total operating expenses 

(2,435) 
(4,871) 
$313,603 

(0.3) 
(0.6) 
40.2 

1,110 
— 
$429,054 

0.1 
— 
47.5 

3,545 
4,871 
$115,451 

(145.6)
(100.0)
36.8 

*  Denotes % of total revenue
**  Denotes % change from 2007 to 2008

•	 Research and development expense increased due to higher 

employee compensation cost of $29.5 million, including a $3.6 million 
increase in share-based compensation expense, primarily reflecting 
increased headcount. Other increases included $7.3 million in consulting 
expense, $7.0 million in non-capitalized development tools and software 
maintenance support, and $2.4 million in depreciation expense.

42  Ciena Corporation 10-K

 
 
 
Other items
The table below (in thousands, except percentage data) sets forth the 
changes in other items for the periods indicated:

Interest and other income, net 
Interest expense 
Realized loss on marketable  
  debt investments, net 
Gain on extinguishment of debt 
Gain on equity investments, net 
Provision for income taxes 

2007 
$76,483 
26,996 

Fiscal Year 
%* 
9.8 
3.5 

2008 
$36,762 
12,927 

Increase
(decrease)  %**
(51.9)
$(39,721) 
(52.1)
(14,069) 

%* 
4.1 
1.4 

13,013 

1.7 
   —  — 
0.1 
 592 
0.4 
$  2,944 

0.6 
  5,101 
 932 
0.1 
   —  — 
0.3 

$  2,645 

  (7,912) 
  932 
 (592) 
 (299) 

$ 

(60.8)
100.0 
(100.0)
(10.2)

*  Denotes % of total revenue
**  Denotes % change from 2007 to 2008

•	

•	

Interest and other income, net decreased due to lower average cash 
and investment balances resulting from the repayment at maturity 
of the $542.3 million principal outstanding on our 3.75% convertible 
notes during the first quarter of fiscal 2008 and use of $210.0 million in 
cash consideration and acquisition-related expenses associated with 
our acquisition of WWP in the second quarter of fiscal 2008. Interest 
income was also significantly affected by lower interest rates on invest-
ment balances.
Interest expense decreased primarily due to the repayment of 
3.75% convertible notes at maturity at the end of the first quarter 
of fiscal 2008. This decrease was slightly offset by the interest asso-
ciated with our June 11, 2007 issuance of $500 million in 0.875% 
convertible senior notes.

•	 Realized loss on marketable debt investments, net reflects losses 

related to commercial paper investments in SIV Portfolio plc (formerly 
known as Cheyne Finance plc) and Rhinebridge LLC, two structured 
investment vehicles (SIVs) that entered into receivership during the 
fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 and failed to make payment at maturity. 
See “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates—Investments” below 
for information relating to these investments and related losses. 
During fiscal 2008, we received final payment in connection with the 
completion of restructuring activities related to these SIVs and we no 
longer hold these investments.

•	 Gain on extinguishment of debt reflects our repurchase of $2.0 million 
in principal amount of our outstanding 0.25 % convertible senior notes 
due May 1, 2013 in an open market transaction. We used $1.0 million of 
our cash to effect this repurchase, which resulted in a gain of approxi-
mately $0.9 million.

•	 Gain on equity investment, net during fiscal 2007 was related to a 
final payment from the sale of a privately held technology company 
in which we held a minority equity investment.

•	 Provision for income taxes was primarily attributable to foreign 
tax related to our foreign operations and recognition of domestic 
deferred tax assets from prior acquisitions. Federal tax is largely 
offset, except for any alternative minimum tax, by recognizing 
deferred tax assets that were previously reserved against by a 
valuation allowance. We will continue to maintain a valuation allow-
ance against all net deferred tax assets until sufficient evidence 
exists to support its reversal. See “Critical Accounting Policies and 
Estimates—Deferred Tax Valuation Allowance” below for infor-
mation relating to our deferred tax valuation allowance and the 
conditions required for its release.

Fiscal 2006 Compared to Fiscal 2007

Revenue, cost of goods sold and gross profit
The table below (in thousands, except percentage data) sets forth the changes 
in revenue, cost of goods sold and gross profit for the periods indicated:

2006 

Fiscal Year 
%* 

2007 

Increase
(decrease)  %**

%* 

Revenue:

Products 
Services 
Total revenue 
Costs:

Products 
Services 

Total cost of goods sold 
Gross profit 

$502,427 
61,629 
564,056 

89.1 
10.9 
100.0 

$695,289 
84,480 
779,769 

89.2 
10.8 
100.0 

$192,862 
22,851 
215,713 

263,667 
42,608 
306,275 
$257,781 

46.7 
7.6 
54.3 
45.7 

337,866 
79,634 
417,500 
$362,269 

43.3 
10.2 
53.5 
46.5 

74,199 
37,026 
111,225 
$104,488 

*  Denotes % of total revenue
**  Denotes % change from 2006 to 2007

38.4
37.1
38.2

28.1 
86.9 
36.3 
40.5

43

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The table below (in thousands, except percentage data) sets forth the 
changes in product revenue, product cost of goods sold and product 
gross profit for the periods indicated:

Product revenue 
Product cost of goods sold 
Product gross profit 

2006 
$502,427 
263,667 
$238,760 

Fiscal Year 
%* 
100.0 
52.5 
47.5 

2007 
$695,289 
337,866 
$357,423  

Increase
(decrease)  %**
38.4
$192,862 
74,199   28.1
$118,663   49.7 

%* 
100.0 
48.6 
51.4 

*  Denotes % of total revenue
**  Denotes % change from 2006 to 2007

The table below (in thousands, except percentage data) sets forth the 
changes in service revenue, service cost of goods sold and service gross 
profit (loss) for the periods indicated:

Service revenue 
Service cost of goods sold 
Service gross profit 

Fiscal Year 

2006 
$61,629 
42,608 
$19,021 

%* 
100.0 
69.1 
30.9 

2007 
$84,480 
79,634 
$  4,846 

%* 
100.0 
94.3 
5.7 

Increase
(decrease)  %**
37.1 
$ 22,851 
86.9 
37,026 
(74.5)
$(14,175) 

*  Denotes % of total revenue
**  Denotes % change from 2006 to 2007

The table below (in thousands, except percentage data) sets forth the 
changes in distribution of revenue for the periods indicated:

Optical service delivery 
Carrier Ethernet  
  service delivery 
Global network services 
Total 

2006 
$420,567 

Fiscal Year 
%* 
74.6 

2007 
$645,159 

Increase
(decrease)  %**
53.4

%* 
82.8  $224,592 

81,860 
61,629 
$564,056 

14.5 
10.9 
100.0 

50,129 
84,481 
$779,769 

6.4 
10.8 

(31,731) 
22,852 
100.0  $215,713 

(38.8)
37.1
38.2

*  Denotes % of total revenue
**  Denotes % change from 2006 to 2007

44  Ciena Corporation 10-K

Revenue from sales to customers outside of the United States is reflected 
as International in the geographic distribution of revenue below. The table 
below (in thousands, except percentage data) sets forth the changes in 
geographic distribution of revenue for the periods indicated:

United States 
International 
Total 

2006 
$423,687 
140,369 
$564,056 

Fiscal Year 
%* 
75.1 
24.9 
100.0 

2007 
$553,582 
226,187 
$779,769 

Increase
(decrease)  %**
30.7 
61.1 
38.2 

%* 
71.0  $129,895 
85,818 
29.0 
100.0  $215,713 

*  Denotes % of total revenue
**  Denotes % change from 2006 to 2007

Certain customers each accounted for at least 10% of our revenue for the 
periods indicated (in thousands, except percentage data) as follows:

Verizon 
Sprint 
AT&T 
Total 

2006 
$  70,225 
89,793 
66,926 
$226,944 

Fiscal Year

%* 
12.4 
15.9 
11.9 
40.2 

2007 

n/a 
100,122 
196,924 
$297,046 

%*
—
12.8 
25.3 
38.1 

n/a Denotes revenue representing less than 10% of total revenue for the period
*  Denotes % of total revenue

Revenue

•	 Product revenue increased due to a $224.6 million increase in sales 
of our optical service delivery products. Increased product revenue 
for fiscal 2007 primarily reflects a $140.2 million increase in sales of 
core switching products, a $60.5 million increase in core transport 
and a $59.4 million increase of our CN 4200™ FlexSelect™ Advanced 
Service Platform. The decrease in carrier Ethernet service delivery 
product revenue reflects a $36.8 million reduction in sales of our 
CNX-5™ Broadband DSL System, which was negatively affected by 
customer consolidation activity.

•	 Service revenue increased primarily due to increases of $17.1 mil-

lion in deployment service sales and $4.4 million in maintenance and 
support services, reflecting increased sales volume and increased 
installation activity.

•	 United States revenue increased due to a $152.6 million increase in 
sales of our optical service delivery products. This primarily reflects 
a $133.2 million increase in sales of core switching products, and a 
$40.0 million increase in core transport sales. United States revenue 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
•	

was also affected by a $31.9 million decrease in revenue from carrier 
Ethernet service delivery products.
International revenue increased due to a $72.0 million increase in 
sales of our optical service delivery products. This primarily reflects 
a $53.3 million increase in sales of CN 4200 and a $20.5 million 
increase in sales of core transport products. International revenue 
also reflects an increase of $13.7 million in service revenue, primarily 
related to deployment.

Gross profit

•	 Gross profit as a percentage of revenue increased primarily due to 
product gross margin improvement offset by a significant reduction 
in services gross margin.

•	 Gross profit on products as a percentage of product revenue 
increased primarily due to favorable product and customer mix, 
significant product cost reductions, improved manufacturing effi-
ciencies, and lower warranty expense.

•	 Gross profit on services as a percentage of services revenue 

decreased significantly as a result of increased deployment overhead 
costs associated with the expansion of our internal resources related to 
deployment activities for international network infrastructure projects.

Operating expense
The table below (in thousands, except percentage data) sets forth the 
changes in operating expense for the periods indicated:

Research and development 
Selling and marketing 
General and administrative 
Amortization of  

2006 
$111,069 
104,434 
44,445 

Fiscal Year 
%* 
19.7 
18.5 
7.9 

2007 
$127,296 
118,015 
50,248 

Increase
(decrease)  %**
14.6 
$ 16,227 
13.0 
13,581 
13.1 
5,803 

%* 
16.3 
15.1 
6.4 

intangible assets 

25,181 

4.5 

25,350 

3.3 

169 

0.7 

Restructuring (recoveries)  
  costs 
Gain on lease settlement 
Total operating expenses 

15,671 
(11,648) 
$289,152 

2.8 
(2.1) 
51.3 

(2,435) 
(4,871) 
$313,603 

(0.3) 
(0.6) 
40.2 

(18,106) 
6,777 
$ 24,451 

(115.5)
(58.2)
8.5 

*  Denotes % of total revenue
**  Denotes % change from 2006 to 2007

•	 Research and development expense increased due to higher 
employee compensation cost of $10.9 million, primarily due to 
growth in headcount at our India development center. Other 

increases included $4.8 million in prototype expense, $1.2 million 
in facilities and information systems costs and $0.6 million in travel-
related expenditures. This was partially offset by a decrease in 
consulting expense of $1.8 million.

•	 Selling and marketing expense increased primarily due to a  
$9.4 million increase in employee compensation, which primar-
ily reflects increased headcount in fiscal 2007. Other increases 
included $1.7 million in travel expense, $1.1 million in consulting, 
and $0.8 million in tradeshow activities.

•	 General and administrative expense increased due to an $8.6 million  
increase in employee compensation, which reflects a $3.2 million increase 
in stock compensation cost and increased headcount. This increase 
was partially offset by a $7.1 million reduction in legal expense.  
Legal expense for fiscal 2006 and fiscal 2007 included $5.7 million 
and $2.3 million, respectively, in costs associated with settlement of 
patent litigation.

•	 Amortization of intangible assets costs increased slightly due to 
the purchase of certain developed technology during the fourth 
quarter of fiscal 2007.

•	 Restructuring (recoveries) costs during fiscal 2007 primarily reflect 
adjustments related to the return to use of previously restructured 
facilities. Restructuring costs during fiscal 2006 were primarily 
related to an adjustment of $10.0 million due to changes in market 
conditions related to our former facilities in San Jose, CA. During 
fiscal 2006, we also recorded charges totaling $6.3 million related to 
the closure of our facilities in Kanata, Ontario, Shrewsbury, NJ and 
Beijing, China.

•	 Gain on lease settlement for fiscal 2007 was related to the termi-
nation of lease obligations for our former San Jose, CA facilities. 
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, we paid $53.0 million in  
connection with the settlement of this lease obligation. This trans-
action resulted in a gain on lease settlement of approximately  
$4.9 million by eliminating the remaining unfavorable lease com-
mitment balance of $34.9 million and reducing our restructuring 
liabilities by $23.5 million, offset by approximately $0.5 million of 
other expenses. Gain during fiscal 2006 was related to the termi-
nation of the lease obligations for our former Freemont, CA and 
Cupertino, CA facilities.

45

 
 
 
Other items
The table below (in thousands, except percentage data) sets forth the 
changes in other items for the periods indicated:

Interest and other income, net 
Interest expense 
Realized loss on marketable  
  debt investments, net 
Gain on equity investments, net 
Gain on extinguishment of debt 
Provision for income taxes 

2006 
$50,245 
24,165 

Fiscal Year 
%* 
8.9 
4.3 

2007 
$76,483 
26,996 

Increase
(decrease)  %**
52.2 
11.7 

$26,238 
  2,831 

%* 
9.8 
3.5 

   —  — 
 215  — 
1.3 
0.2 

  7,052 
$  1,381 

1.7 
13,013 
 592 
0.1 
   —  — 
0.4 

$  2,944 

13,013 
 377 
 (7,052) 
$  1,563 

100.0 
175.3 
(100.0)
113.2 

*  Denotes % of total revenue
**  Denotes % change from 2006 to 2007

•	

•	

Interest and other income, net increased due to increased average 
cash and investment balances and in part due to higher interest rates. 
Cash balances increased as a result of our April 10, 2006 issuance of 
$300 million in 0.25% convertible senior notes and our June 11, 2007 
issuance of $500 million in 0.875% convertible senior notes.
Interest expense increased primarily due to interest associated with 
our issuance of 0.25% convertible senior notes and 0.875% convert-
ible senior notes.

•	 Realized loss on marketable debt investments, net for fiscal 2007 
was the result of a realized loss of $13.0 million related to our invest-
ments in SIV Portfolio plc (formerly known as Cheyne Finance plc) 
and Rhinebridge LLC, two structured investment vehicles (SIVs) that 
entered into receivership during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 and 
failed to make payment at maturity. See “Critical Accounting Policies 
and Estimates—Investments” below for information relating to these 
investments and related losses.

•	 Gain on equity investment, net during fiscal 2006 and fiscal 2007 
related to final payments from the sale of privately held technology 
companies in which we held a minority equity investment.

•	 Gain on extinguishment of debt for fiscal 2006 resulted from our 
repurchase of $106.5 million of our outstanding 3.75% convertible 
notes in open market transactions for $98.4 million. We recorded 
a gain on the extinguishment of debt in the amount of $7.1 million, 
which consists of the $8.1 million gain from the repurchase of the 
notes, less $1.0 million of associated debt issuance costs.

•	 Provision for income taxes was primarily attributable to foreign 

tax related to our foreign operations. We will continue to maintain a 
valuation allowance against all net deferred tax assets until sufficient 
evidence exists to support its reversal. See “Critical Accounting 
Policies and Estimates—Deferred Tax Valuation Allowance” below 
for information relating to this valuation allowance and the condi-
tions required for our release of the valuation allowance.

liquidity and Capital Resources
At October 31, 2008, our principal sources of liquidity were cash and cash 
equivalents, short-term investments in marketable debt securities and 
cash from operations. The following table summarizes our cash and cash 
equivalents and investments in marketable debt securities (in thousands):

Cash and cash equivalents 
Short-term investments in marketable  
  debt securities 
Long-term investments in marketable 
  debt securities 
Total cash and cash equivalents 
  and investments in marketable  
  debt securities 

October 31, 

2007 
$   892,061 

2008 
$   550,669 

Increase
(decrease)
$(341,392)

822,185 

366,336 

(455,849)

33,946 

156,171 

122,225 

$1,748,192 

$1,073,176 

$(675,016)

The decrease in total cash and cash equivalents and investments in 
marketable debt securities at October 31, 2008 was primarily related to 
the repayment of the $542.3 million principal outstanding on our 3.75% 
convertible notes at maturity on February 1, 2008 and $210.0 million in 
cash consideration and acquisition-related expenses paid as part of our 
acquisition of WWP on March 3, 2008. This was partially offset by our 
cash provided by operating activities during fiscal 2008 described in 
“Operating Activities” below. Based on past performance and current 
expectations, we believe that our cash and cash equivalents, investments 
in marketable debt securities and cash generated from operations will 
satisfy our working capital needs, capital expenditures, and other liquidity 
requirements associated with our existing operations through at least the 
next 12 months.

Included in long-term investments in marketable debt securities at 
October 31, 2007 is approximately $33.9 million in investments in com-
mercial paper issued by two structured investment vehicles (SIVs) that 
entered into receivership during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 and 

46  Ciena Corporation 10-K

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
failed to make payment at maturity. See “Critical Accounting Policies 
and Estimates—Investments” below for information relating to these 
investments and the related losses. During fiscal 2008, we received final 
payment in connection with the completion of restructuring activities 
related to these SIVs and we no longer hold these investments.

During fiscal 2008, we recorded an additional $2.0 million of accounts 
receivable in connection with the acquisition of WWP. The following table 
sets forth (in thousands) changes to our accounts receivable, net of allow-
ance for doubtful accounts receivable, from the end of fiscal 2007 through 
the end of fiscal 2008:

The following sections review the significant activities that had an impact 
on our cash during fiscal 2008.

Accounts receivable, net 

October 31, 

2007 
$104,078 

2008 
$138,441 

Increase
(decrease)
$34,363 

Operating Activities
The following tables set forth (in thousands) components of our $117.6 mil-
lion of cash generated by operating activities for fiscal 2008:

Net income

Net income 

Year ended October 31, 
2008
$38,894

Our net income for fiscal 2008 included the significant non-cash items 
summarized in the following table (in thousands):

Loss from equity investments and marketable debt securities 
Depreciation of equipment, furniture and fixtures; and  
  amortization of leasehold improvements 
Share-based compensation costs 
Amortization of intangible assets 
Deferred tax provision 
Provision for inventory excess and obsolescence 
Provision for warranty 
Total significant non-cash charges 

Year ended October 31, 
2008
$  5,101 

18,599 
31,428 
37,956 
1,640 
18,325 
15,336 
$128,385 

Accounts receivable, net
Cash consumed by accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful 
accounts receivable, was $32.5 million from the end of fiscal 2007 through 
the end of fiscal 2008. Our days sales outstanding (DSOs) increased from 
48 days for fiscal 2007 to 55 days for fiscal 2008.

Inventory
Cash provided by inventory for fiscal 2008 was $3.7 million. Our inventory 
turns increased from 3.3 for fiscal 2007 to 4.0 for fiscal 2008.

During fiscal 2008, changes in inventory reflect an $18.3 million reduc-
tion related to a non-cash provision for excess and obsolescence and 
a $12.9 million increase related to additional inventory recorded in con-
nection with the acquisition of WWP. The following table sets forth (in 
thousands) changes to the components of our inventory from the end of 
fiscal 2007 through the end of fiscal 2008:

October 31, 

Raw materials 
Work-in-process 
Finished goods 
Gross inventory 
Provision for inventory excess  
  and obsolescence 
Inventory 

2007 
$  28,611 
4,123 
96,054 
128,788 

(26,170) 
$102,618 

2008 
$ 19,044 
1,702 
95,963 
116,709 

(23,257) 
$ 93,452 

Increase
(decrease)
$  (9,567)
(2,421)
(91)
(12,079)

2,913 
$  (9,166)

Accounts payable, accruals and other obligations
Cash consumed by accounts payable, accruals and other obligations dur-
ing fiscal 2008 was $23.9 million.

During fiscal 2008, we recorded an additional $10.0 million in accounts 
payable and accruals in connection with the acquisition of WWP. Changes 
in accrued liabilities also reflect a $15.3 million increase related to non-
cash provision for warranty, and the effect of other non-cash additions.

47

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The following table sets forth (in thousands) changes in our accounts pay-
able, accruals and other obligations from the end of fiscal 2007 through 
the end of fiscal 2008:

The following table reflects (in thousands) the balance of interest payable 
and the change in this balance from the end of fiscal 2007 through the 
end of fiscal 2008:

Accounts payable 
Accrued liabilities 
Restructuring liabilities 
Other long-term obligations 
Accounts payable and accruals 

October 31, 

2007 
$  55,389 
90,922 
4,688 
1,450 
$152,449 

2008 
$  44,761 
96,143 
4,225 
8,089 
$153,218 

Increase
(decrease)
$(10,628)
5,221 
(463)
6,639 
  769 

$ 

Interest payable on convertible notes
We paid the final $10.2 million interest payment on our 3.75% convertible 
notes, due February 1, 2008, during fiscal 2008.

Interest on our outstanding 0.25% convertible senior notes, due May 1, 2013, 
is payable on May 1 and November 1 of each year. We paid $0.7 million in 
interest on our 0.25% convertible notes during fiscal 2008.

Accrued interest payable 

Deferred revenue

October 31, 

2007 
$6,998  

2008 
$1,683 

Increase
(decrease)
$(5,315)

Excluding the effect of $3.2 million in deferred revenue added as a result 
of the acquisition of WWP, deferred revenue increased by $7.6 million dur-
ing fiscal 2008. Product deferred revenue represents payments received in 
advance of shipment and payments received in advance of our ability to rec-
ognize revenue. Services deferred revenue is related to payment for service 
contracts that will be recognized over the contract term. The following table 
reflects (in thousands) the balance of deferred revenue and the change in 
this balance from the end of fiscal 2007 through the end of fiscal 2008:

Interest on our outstanding 0.875% convertible senior notes, due June 15, 
2017, is payable on June 15 and December 15 of each year. We paid $4.4 mil-
lion in interest on our 0.875% convertible notes during fiscal 2008.

Products 
Services 
Total deferred revenue 

October 31, 

2007 
$13,208 
50,432 
$63,640 

2008 
$13,061 
61,366 
$74,427 

Increase
(decrease)
(147)
$ 
10,934 
$10,787

The indentures governing our outstanding convertible notes do not con-
tain any financial covenants. The indentures provide for customary events 
of default, including payment defaults, breaches of covenants, failure to 
pay certain judgments and certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency and 
reorganization. If an event of default occurs and is continuing, the prin-
cipal amount of the notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, may 
be declared immediately due and payable. These amounts automatically 
become due and payable if an event of default relating to certain events 
of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization occurs. For additional infor-
mation about our convertible notes, see Note 12 to our Consolidated 
Financial Statements included in Item 8 of Part II of this report.

Investing Activities
During fiscal 2008, we received net proceeds of approximately $329.9 mil-
lion from the maturity and purchases of marketable debt securities. These 
net proceeds were used to fund the repayment of our 3.75% convertible 
notes at maturity and the cash consideration paid as part of our acquisi-
tion of World Wide Packets on March 3, 2008. In connection with this 
acquisition, we paid cash consideration of approximately $196.7 million 
and incurred acquisition-related expenses of $14.2 million. We also issued 
equity consideration in the acquisition. See Note 2 to the Consolidated 
Financial Statements included in Item 8 of Part II of this report for a discus-
sion of the aggregate purchase price for this transaction.

48  Ciena Corporation 10-K

 
 
 
 
 
 
Financing Activities
On February 1, 2008, we paid the remaining principal balance of $542.3 million 
upon maturity of our 3.75% convertible notes. Cash received from financing 
activities during fiscal 2008 also includes $5.8 million relating to the exercise 
of employee stock options.

standby letters of credit by commitment expiration date as of October 31, 
2008 (in thousands):

Standby letters of credit 

Total 
$19,617 

Less than 
one year 
$13,654 

One to 

Three to 
three years  five years 

$5,701 

$239 

Thereafter
$23 

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, we repurchased $2.0 million in 
principal amount of our outstanding 0.25 % convertible senior notes in an 
open market transaction. We used $1.0 million of our cash to effect these 
repurchases during the quarter, which resulted in a gain of approximately 
$0.9 million relating to this repurchase. At October 31, 2008, we had out-
standing an aggregate principal amount of approximately $298.0 million 
under our 0.25% convertible senior notes and $500.0 million under our 
0.875% convertible senior notes. We intend to continue to evaluate and 
pursue alternatives that enable us to exercise prudent cash management 
and achieve cost savings relating to the repayment of our outstanding 
convertible notes.

Contractual obligations
The following is a summary of our future minimum payments under con-
tractual obligations as of October 31, 2008 (in thousands):

Total 

Less than 
one year 

One to 

Three to 
three years  five years 

Thereafter

Interest due on  
  convertible notes 
Principal due at maturity  
  on convertible notes 
Operating leases(1) 
Purchase obligations(2) 
Total(3) 

$  42,728 

$  5,120 

$10,240 

$  9,868 

$  17,500

798,000 
67,331 
76,046 
$984,105 

— 
14,346 
76,046
$95,512 

— 
23,757 

298,000 
16,117 

500,000
13,111

$33,997 

$323,985 

$530,611

(1)  The amount for operating leases above does not include insurance, taxes, maintenance and other 
costs required by the applicable operating lease. These costs are variable and are not expected to 
have a material impact.

(2)  Purchase obligations relate to purchase order commitments to our contract manufacturers and 

component suppliers for inventory. In certain instances, we are permitted to cancel, reschedule or 
adjust these orders. Consequently, only a portion of the amount reported above relates to firm, 
non-cancelable and unconditional obligations.

(3)  As of October 31, 2008, we had approximately $5.6 million of other long-term obligations in our 

condensed consolidated balance sheet for unrecognized tax positions that are not included in this 
table because the periods of cash settlement with the respective tax authority cannot be reason-
ably estimated.

Some of our commercial commitments, including some of the future mini-
mum payments set forth above, are secured by standby letters of credit. 
The following is a summary of our commercial commitments secured by 

off-balance sheet arrangements
We do not engage in any off-balance sheet financing arrangements. In 
particular, we do not have any equity interests in so-called limited pur-
pose entities, which include special purpose entities (SPEs) and structured 
finance entities.

Critical accounting Policies and estimates
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires that 
we make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of 
assets, liabilities, revenue and expense, and related disclosure of contin-
gent assets and liabilities. By their nature, these estimates and judgments 
are subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty. On an ongoing basis, 
we reevaluate our estimates, including those related to bad debts, inven-
tories, investments, intangible assets, goodwill, income taxes, warranty 
obligations, restructuring, and contingencies and litigation. We base 
our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions 
that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Among other 
things, these estimates form the basis for judgments about the carrying 
values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other 
sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different 
assumptions or conditions. To the extent that there are material differ-
ences between our estimates and actual results, our consolidated financial 
statements will be affected.

We believe that the following critical accounting policies reflect those 
areas where significant judgments and estimates are used in the prepara-
tion of our consolidated financial statements.

Revenue Recognition
We recognize revenue in accordance with SAB No. 104, “Revenue 
Recognition,” which states that revenue is realized or realizable and 
earned when all of the following criteria are met: persuasive evidence of 
an arrangement exists; delivery has occurred or services have been ren-
dered; the price to the buyer is fixed or determinable; and collectibility 
is reasonably assured. Customer purchase agreements and customer 

49

 
 
 
 
 
 
purchase orders are generally used to determine the existence of an 
arrangement. Shipping documents and customer acceptance, when appli-
cable, are used to verify delivery. We assess whether the price is fixed or 
determinable based on the payment terms associated with the transaction 
and whether the sales price is subject to refund or adjustment. We assess 
collectibility based primarily on the creditworthiness of the customer as 
determined by credit checks and analysis, as well as the customer’s pay-
ment history. In instances where final acceptance of the product, system, 
or solution is specified by the customer, revenue is deferred until all 
acceptance criteria have been met. Revenue for maintenance services is 
generally deferred and recognized ratably over the period during which 
the services are to be performed.

Some of our communications networking equipment is integrated 
with software that is essential to the functionality of the equipment. 
Accordingly, we account for revenue from such equipment in accordance 
with SOP No. 97-2, “Software Revenue Recognition,” and all related inter-
pretations. SOP 97-2 incorporates additional guidance unique to software 
arrangements incorporated with general accounting guidance, such 
as, revenue is recognized when persuasive evidence of an arrangement 
exists, delivery has occurred, the fee is fixed or determinable, and collect-
ibility is probable. In instances where final acceptance of the product is 
specified by the customer, revenue is deferred until all acceptance criteria 
have been met.

Arrangements with customers may include multiple deliverables, including 
any combination of equipment, services and software. If multiple element 
arrangements include software or software-related elements that are 
essential to the equipment, we apply the provisions of SOP 97-2 to deter-
mine the amount of the arrangement fee to be allocated to those separate 
units of accounting. Multiple element arrangements that include software 
are separated into more than one unit of accounting if the functionality of 
the delivered element(s) is not dependent on the undelivered element(s), 
there is vendor-specific objective evidence of the fair value of the unde-
livered element(s), and general revenue recognition criteria related to 
the delivered element(s) have been met. The amount of product and 
services revenue recognized is affected by our judgments as to whether 
an arrangement includes multiple elements and, if so, whether vendor-
specific objective evidence of fair value exists. Changes to the elements in 
an arrangement and our ability to establish vendor-specific objective evi-
dence for those elements could affect the timing of revenue recognition. 
For all other deliverables, we apply the provisions of EITF 00-21, “Revenue 

Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables.” EITF 00-21 allows for separa-
tion of elements into more than one unit of accounting if the delivered 
element(s) have value to the customer on a stand-alone basis, objective 
and reliable evidence of fair value exists for the undelivered element(s), 
and delivery of the undelivered element(s) is probable and substantially 
within our control. Revenue is allocated to each unit of accounting based 
on the relative fair value of each accounting unit or using the residual 
method if objective evidence of fair value does not exist for the delivered 
element(s). The revenue recognition criteria described above are applied 
to each separate unit of accounting. If these criteria are not met, revenue is 
deferred until the criteria are met or the last element has been delivered.

Our total deferred revenue for products was $13.2 million and $13.1 million 
as of October 31, 2007 and October 31, 2008, respectively. Our services 
revenue is deferred and recognized ratably over the period during which 
the services are to be performed. Our total deferred revenue for services 
was $50.4 million and $61.4 million as of October 31, 2007 and October 31, 
2008, respectively.

Share-Based Compensation
We recognize share-based compensation expense in accordance with 
SFAS 123(R), “Share-Based Payments,” as interpreted by SAB 107. SFAS 
123(R) requires the measurement and recognition of compensation 
expense for share-based awards based on estimated fair values on the 
date of grant. We estimate the fair value of each option-based award 
on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. This 
option pricing model requires that we make several estimates, including 
the option’s expected life and the price volatility of the underlying stock. 
The expected life of employee stock options represents the weighted-
average period the stock options are expected to remain outstanding. 
Because we considered our options to be “plain vanilla,” we calculated 
the expected term using the simplified method as prescribed in SAB 107 
for fiscal 2007. Under SAB 107, options are considered to be “plain vanilla” 
if they have the following basic characteristics: they are granted “at-the-
money;” exercisability is conditioned upon service through the vesting 
date; termination of service prior to vesting results in forfeiture; there is a 
limited exercise period following termination of service; and the options 
are non-transferable and non-hedgeable. Beginning in fiscal 2008, as 
prescribed by SAB 107, we gathered more detailed historical information 
about specific exercise behavior of our grantees, which we used to deter-
mine expected term. We considered the implied volatility and historical 

50  Ciena Corporation 10-K

volatility of our stock price in determining our expected volatility, and, 
finding both to be equally reliable, determined that a combination of both 
measures would result in the best estimate of expected volatility. We rec-
ognize the estimated fair value of option-based awards, net of estimated 
forfeitures, as share-based compensation expense on a straight-line basis 
over the requisite service period.

We estimate the fair value of our restricted stock unit awards based on 
the fair value of our common stock on the date of grant. Our outstanding 
restricted stock unit awards are subject to service-based vesting condi-
tions and/or performance-based vesting conditions. We recognize the 
estimated fair value of service-based awards, net of estimated forfeitures, 
as share-based expense ratably over the vesting period on a straight-line 
basis. Awards with performance-based vesting conditions require the 
achievement of certain financial or other performance criteria or targets 
as a condition to the vesting, or acceleration of vesting. We recognize 
the estimated fair value of performance-based awards, net of estimated 
forfeitures, as share-based expense over the performance period, using 
graded vesting, which considers each performance period or tranche 
separately, based upon our determination of whether it is probable that 
the performance targets will be achieved. At each reporting period, 
we reassess the probability of achieving the performance targets and 
the performance period required to meet those targets. Determining 
whether the performance targets will be achieved involves judgment, and 
the estimate of expense may be revised periodically based on changes 
in the probability of achieving the performance targets. Revisions are 
reflected in the period in which the estimate is changed. If any perfor-
mance goals are not met, no compensation cost is ultimately recognized 
against that goal, and, to the extent previously recognized, compensa-
tion cost is reversed.

Because share-based compensation expense is based on awards that are 
ultimately expected to vest, the amount of expense takes into account 
estimated forfeitures. SFAS 123(R) requires forfeitures to be estimated at 
the time of grant and revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual 
forfeitures differ from those estimates. Changes in these estimates and 
assumptions can materially affect the measure of estimated fair value of 
our share-based compensation. See Note 16 to our Consolidated Financial 
Statements in Item 8 of Part II of this report for information regarding our 
assumptions related to share-based compensation and the amount of 
share-based compensation expense we incurred for the periods covered 
in this report. As of October 31, 2008, total unrecognized compensation 

expense was: (i) $22.0 million, which relates to unvested stock options and 
is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.3 years; 
and (ii) $43.7 million, which relates to unvested restricted stock units and is 
expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.7 years.

We recognize windfall tax benefits associated with the exercise of stock 
options or release of restricted stock units directly to stockholders’ equity 
only when realized. A windfall tax benefit occurs when the actual tax 
benefit realized by us upon an employee’s disposition of a share-based 
award exceeds the deferred tax asset, if any, associated with the award 
that we had recorded. When assessing whether a tax benefit relating to 
share-based compensation has been realized, we follow the tax law “with-
and-without” method. Under the with-and-without method, the windfall is 
considered realized and recognized for financial statement purposes only 
when an incremental benefit is provided after considering all other tax 
benefits including our net operating losses. The with-and-without method 
results in the windfall from share-based compensation awards always 
being effectively the last tax benefit to be considered. Consequently, the 
windfall attributable to share-based compensation will not be considered 
realized in instances where our net operating loss carryover (that is unre-
lated to windfalls) is sufficient to offset the current year’s taxable income 
before considering the effects of current-year windfalls.

Reserve for Inventory Obsolescence
We make estimates about future customer demand for our products when 
establishing the appropriate reserve for excess and obsolete inventory. 
We write down inventory that has become obsolete or unmarketable by 
an amount equal to the difference between the cost of inventory and 
the estimated market value based on assumptions about future demand 
and market conditions. Inventory write downs are a component of our 
product cost of goods sold. Upon recognition of the write down, a new 
lower cost basis for that inventory is established, and subsequent changes 
in facts and circumstances do not result in the restoration or increase in 
that newly established cost basis. We recorded charges for excess and 
obsolete inventory of $12.2 million and $18.3 million in fiscal 2007 and 
2008, respectively. These charges were primarily related to excess inven-
tory due to a change in forecasted product sales. In an effort to limit our 
exposure to delivery delays and to satisfy customer needs we purchase 
inventory based on forecasted sales across our product lines. In addition, 
part of our research and development strategy is to promote the con-
vergence of similar features and functionalities across our product lines. 

51

Each of these practices exposes us to the risk that our customers will not 
order products for which we have forecasted sales, or will purchase less 
than we have forecasted. Historically, we have experienced write downs 
due to changes in strategic direction, discontinuance of a product and 
declines in market conditions. If actual market conditions worsen or differ 
from those we have assumed, if there is a sudden and significant decrease 
in demand for our products, or if there is a higher incidence of inventory 
obsolescence due to a rapid change in technology, we may be required 
to take additional inventory write-downs, and our gross margin could be 
adversely affected. Our inventory net of allowance for excess and obso-
lete was $102.6 million and $93.5 as of October 31, 2007 and October 31, 
2008, respectively.

Restructuring
As part of our restructuring costs, we provide for the estimated cost of 
the net lease expense for facilities that are no longer being used. The 
provision is equal to the fair value of the minimum future lease payments 
under our contracted lease obligations, offset by the fair value of the esti-
mated sublease payments that we may receive. As of October 31, 2008, 
our accrued restructuring liability related to net lease expense and other 
related charges was $3.2 million. The total minimum lease payments for 
these restructured facilities are $14.5 million. These lease payments will 
be made over the remaining lives of our leases, which range from sixteen 
months to ten years. If actual market conditions are different than those 
we have projected, we will be required to recognize additional restructur-
ing costs or benefits associated with these facilities.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts
Our allowance for doubtful accounts receivable is based on manage-
ment’s assessment, on a specific identification basis, of the collectibility 
of customer accounts. We perform ongoing credit evaluations of our 
customers and generally have not required collateral or other forms of 
security from customers. In determining the appropriate balance for 
our allowance for doubtful accounts receivable, management considers 
each individual customer account receivable in order to determine col-
lectibility. In doing so, we consider creditworthiness, payment history, 
account activity and communication with such customer. If a customer’s 
financial condition changes, or if actual defaults are higher than our his-
torical experience, we may be required to take a charge for an allowance 
for doubtful accounts receivable which could have an adverse impact on 
our results of operations. Our accounts receivable net of allowance for 

52  Ciena Corporation 10-K

doubtful accounts was $104.1 million and $138.4 as of October 31, 2007 
and October 31, 2008, respectively. Our allowance for doubtful accounts 
as of October 31, 2007 and October 31, 2008 was $0.1 million.

Goodwill
As of October 31, 2007 and October 31, 2008, our consolidated balance 
sheet included $232.0 million and $455.7 million in goodwill, respectively. 
Goodwill represents the excess purchase price over amounts assigned to 
tangible or identifiable intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed 
from our acquisitions. The increase above reflects goodwill recorded 
in connection with our acquisition of World Wide Packets during the 
second quarter of fiscal 2008. See Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial 
Statements in Item 8 of Part II of this report for additional information 
related to the allocation of the purchase price.

In accordance with SFAS 142, we test our goodwill for impairment on an 
annual basis, which we have determined to be the last business day of 
fiscal September each year. We also test our goodwill for impairment 
between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that 
would, more likely than not, reduce the fair value of the reporting unit 
below its carrying value. SFAS 142 requires a two-step method for deter-
mining goodwill impairment. Step one is to compare the fair value of the 
reporting unit with the unit’s carrying amount, including goodwill. If this 
test indicates that the fair value is less than the carrying value, then step 
two is required to compare the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s 
goodwill with the carrying amount of the reporting unit’s goodwill.

We determine the fair value of our single reporting unit to be equal to 
our market capitalization plus a control premium. Market capitalization 
is determined by multiplying the shares outstanding on the assessment 
date by the average market price of our common stock over a 10-day 
period before and a 10-day period after each assessment date. We use 
this 20-day duration to consider inherent market fluctuations that may 
affect any individual closing price. We believe that our market capitaliza-
tion alone does not fully capture the fair value of our business as a whole, 
or the substantial value that an acquirer would obtain from its ability to 
obtain control of our business. As such, in determining fair value, we add 
a control premium—which seeks to give effect to the increased consid-
eration a potential acquirer would be required to pay in order to gain 
sufficient ownership to set policies, direct operations and make decisions 
related to our company—to our market capitalization.

No goodwill impairment loss was recorded in fiscal 2007 or in fiscal 2008. 
For fiscal 2007 and 2008, we performed the step one fair value compari-
son as of September 29, 2007 and September 27, 2008, respectively. For 
fiscal 2007, our market capitalization, calculated as described above, was 
$3.6 billion and our carrying value, including goodwill, was $865 million. 
Because market capitalization significantly exceeded our carrying value, 
our estimate of the control premium was not a determining factor in 
the outcome of step one of the impairment assessment. For fiscal 2008, 
our market capitalization had fallen to $886 million and our carrying value, 
including goodwill, had increased to $995 million. We applied a 25% control 
premium to market capitalization to determine a fair value of $1.1 billion. We 
believe that including a control premium at this level is supported by recent 
transaction data in our industry. But for the inclusion of a control premium 
greater than 12% for fiscal 2008, our carrying value would have exceeded 
fair value, requiring a step two analysis which may have resulted in an impair-
ment of goodwill.

As evidenced above, our stock price and control premium are significant 
factors in assessing our fair value for purposes of the goodwill impairment 
assessment. Our stock price can be affected by, among other things, 
changes in industry or market conditions, changes in our results of opera-
tions, and changes in our forecasts or market expectations relating to 
future results. Significant turmoil in the financial markets and weakness in 
macroeconomic conditions globally have recently contributed to volatil-
ity in our stock price and a significant decline in our stock price during 
the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. Our stock price has fluctuated from a 
high of $20.10 to a low of $6.60 during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. 
On numerous occasions during the fourth quarter, our stock price was 
high enough that our market capitalization exceeded our carrying value 
without giving effect to a control premium. The current macroeconomic 
environment, however, continues to be challenging and we cannot be 
certain of the duration of these conditions and their potential impact on 
our stock price performance. If our recent stock price decline persists and 
our market capitalization remains below our carrying value for a sustained 
period, it is reasonably likely that a goodwill impairment assessment prior 
to the next annual review in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 would be 
necessary and an impairment of goodwill may be recorded. A non-cash 
goodwill impairment charge would have the effect of decreasing our earn-
ings or increasing our losses in such period. If we are required to take a 
substantial impairment charge, our operating results would be materially 
adversely affected in such period.

Long-Lived Assets (excluding goodwill)
Our long-lived assets, excluding goodwill, include: equipment, furniture 
and fixtures; finite-lived intangible assets; and maintenance spares.  
As of October 31, 2007 and 2008 these assets totaled $134.6 million and 
$182.3 million, net, respectively. We account for the impairment or disposal 
of these long-lived assets in accordance with the provisions of SFAS 144. 
In accordance with SFAS 144, we test long-lived assets for impairment 
whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the assets’ 
carrying amount is not recoverable from its undiscounted cash flows. Our 
long-lived assets are part of a single reporting unit which represents the 
lowest level for which we identify cash flows.

Due to effects on our business of worsening macroeconomic conditions, 
further exacerbated by significant disruptions in the financial and credit 
markets globally, we have recently experienced order delays, lengthening 
sales cycles and slowing deployments. As a result of these conditions, we 
performed an impairment analysis of all our long-lived assets during the 
fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. Valuation of our long-lived assets requires 
us to make assumptions about future sales prices and sales volumes for 
our products that involve new technologies and uncertainties around 
customer acceptance of new products. These and other assumptions are 
used to forecast future, undiscounted cash flows. Based on our estimate 
of future, undiscounted cash flows as of October 31, 2008, no impairment 
was required. If actual market conditions differ or our forecasts change, 
we may be required to record a non-cash impairment charge related to 
long-lived assets in future periods. Such charges would have the effect of 
decreasing our earnings or increasing our losses in such period.

Investments
We have an investment portfolio comprised of marketable debt securities 
including short-term commercial paper, certificates of deposit, corporate 
bonds, asset-backed obligations and U.S. government obligations. The 
value of these securities is subject to market volatility for the period we 
hold these investments and until their sale or maturity. We recognize losses 
when we determine that declines in the fair value of our investments, 
below their cost basis, are other-than-temporary. In determining whether 
a decline in fair value is other-than-temporary, we consider various factors 
including market price (when available), investment ratings, the financial 
condition and near-term prospects of the investee, the length of time and 
the extent to which the fair value has been less than our cost basis, and 
our intent and ability to hold the investment until maturity or for a period 

53

of time sufficient to allow for any anticipated recovery in market value. We 
make significant judgments in considering these factors. If we judge that 
a decline in fair value is other-than-temporary, the investment is valued at 
the current fair value, and we would incur a loss equal to the decline, which 
could materially adversely affect our profitability and results of operations.

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, we determined that declines in the 
estimated fair value of our investments in certain commercial paper were 
other-than-temporary. This commercial paper was issued by SIV Portfolio 
plc (formerly known as Cheyne Finance plc) and Rhinebridge LLC, two 
structured investment vehicles (SIVs) that entered into receivership during 
the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 and failed to make payment at maturity. 
Due to its mortgage-related assets, these SIVs were exposed to adverse 
market conditions that affected the value of its collateral and its ability to 
access short-term funding. We purchased these investments in the third 
quarter of fiscal 2007 and, at the time of purchase, each investment had 
a rating of A1+ by Standard and Poor’s and P-1 by Moody’s, their highest 
ratings respectively. At the end of fiscal 2007, these investments were no 
longer trading and had no readily determinable market value. We reviewed 
current investment ratings, valuation estimates of the underlying collateral, 
company specific news and events, and general economic conditions in 
considering the fair value of these investments at the end of fiscal 2007. 
In estimating fair value, we used a valuation approach based on a liquida-
tion of assets held by each SIV and their subsequent distribution of cash. 
We utilized assessments of the underlying collateral from multiple indica-
tors of value, which were then discounted to reflect the expected timing 
of disposition and market risks. Based on this assessment of fair value, as 
of October 31, 2007, we recognized losses of $13.0 million related to these 
investments. Giving effect to these losses, our investment portfolio at 
October 31, 2007 included an estimated fair value of $33.9 million in com-
mercial paper issued by these entities. During fiscal 2008, we recognized 
additional losses of $5.1 million related to these investments, received pay-
ments of totaling $28.8 million in connection with the restructuring of these 
SIVs, and, as of the end of the fiscal year, no longer hold these investments.

As of October 31, 2008, our minority investments in privately held tech-
nology companies, reported in other assets, were $6.7 million. These 
investments are generally carried at cost because we own less than 20% of 
the voting equity and do not have the ability to exercise significant influ-
ence over any of these companies. These investments are inherently high 
risk. The markets for technologies or products manufactured by these 
companies are usually early stage at the time of our investment and such 

markets may never materialize or become significant. We could lose our 
entire investment in some or all of these companies. We monitor these 
investments for impairment and make appropriate reductions in carrying 
values when necessary. If market conditions, the expected financial per-
formance, or the competitive position of the companies in which we invest 
deteriorate, we may be required to record a non-cash charge in future 
periods due to impairment in their value.

Deferred Tax Valuation Allowance
As of October 31, 2008, we have recorded a valuation allowance fully 
offsetting our gross deferred tax assets of $1.2 billion. We calculated 
the valuation allowance in accordance with the provisions of SFAS 109, 
“Accounting for Income Taxes,” which requires an assessment of both pos-
itive and negative evidence regarding the realizability of these deferred tax 
assets, when measuring the need for a valuation allowance. We record a 
valuation allowance to reduce our deferred tax assets to the amount that is 
more likely than not to be realized. In determining net deferred tax assets 
and valuation allowances, management is required to make judgments 
and estimates related to projections of profitability, the timing and extent 
of the utilization of net operating loss carryforwards, applicable tax rates, 
transfer pricing methodologies and tax planning strategies. The valuation 
allowance is reviewed quarterly and is maintained until sufficient positive 
evidence exists to support the reversal. Based on our recent historical 
results and forecast, prior to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, management 
believed it was reasonably likely that there would be sufficient positive 
evidence to support the reversal of all or some portion of our valuation 
allowance at the end of fiscal 2008. Due to our most recent quarterly loss, 
the uncertain macroeconomic environment, and limited visibility into 
our future results, management does not believe such sufficient positive 
evidence exists as of October 31, 2008 and determined to maintain a full 
valuation allowance. We will release this valuation allowance when manage-
ment determines that it is more likely than not that our deferred tax assets 
will be realized. Any release of valuation allowance may be recorded as a 
tax benefit increasing net income, an adjustment to acquisition intangibles, 
or an adjustment to paid-in capital, based on tax ordering requirements.

Warranty
Our liability for product warranties, included in other accrued liabilities, 
was $33.6 million and $37.3 million as of October 31, 2007 and October 31,  
2008, respectively. Our products are generally covered by a warranty 
for periods ranging from one to five years. We accrue for warranty costs 

54  Ciena Corporation 10-K

as part of our cost of goods sold based on associated material costs, 
technical support labor costs, and associated overhead. Material cost is 
estimated based primarily upon historical trends in the volume of product 
returns within the warranty period and the cost to repair or replace the 
equipment. Technical support labor cost is estimated based primarily 
upon historical trends and the cost to support the customer cases within 
the warranty period. The provision for product warranties was $12.7 mil-
lion and $15.3 million for fiscal 2007 and 2008, respectively. The provision 
for warranty claims may fluctuate on a quarterly basis depending upon 
the mix of products and customers in that period. If actual product fail-
ure rates, material replacement costs, service or labor costs differ from 
our estimates, revisions to the estimated warranty provision would be 
required. An increase in warranty claims or the related costs associated 
with satisfying these warranty obligations could increase our cost of sales 
and negatively affect our gross margin.

Uncertain Tax Positions
Effective at the beginning of the first quarter of 2008, we adopted FIN 48, 
“Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes—an interpretation of FASB 
Statement No. 109,” which changes accounting for income taxes. FIN 48 
contains a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax 
positions accounted for in accordance with SFAS No. 109, “Accounting for 
Income Taxes.” The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recogni-
tion by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is 
more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including 
resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second 
step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 
50% likely of being realized upon settlement. As a result of the imple-
mentation of FIN 48, we reduced the liability for net unrecognized tax 
benefits by $0.1 million, and accounted for the reduction as a cumulative 
effect of a change in accounting principle that resulted in an increase to 
retained earnings of $0.1 million and a decrease to income tax payable of 
$0.1 million. Significant judgment is required in evaluating our uncertain 

tax positions and determining our provision for income taxes. Although 
we believe our reserves are reasonable, no assurance can be given that 
the final tax outcome of these matters will not be different from that 
which is reflected in our historical income tax provisions and accruals. We 
adjust these reserves in light of changing facts and circumstances, such as 
the closing of a tax audit or the refinement of an estimate. To the extent 
that the final tax outcome of these matters is different than the amounts 
recorded, such differences will affect the provision for income taxes in the 
period in which such determination is made. As of October 31, 2007, we 
had $6.0 million in uncertain tax positions recorded as income tax pay-
able. Beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2008, in accordance with FIN 
48, we reclassified these amounts to other long-term obligations on our 
consolidated balance sheet. As of October 31, 2008, we had $5.6 million 
recorded as other long-term obligations related to uncertain tax positions. 
The provision for income taxes includes the effect of reserve provisions 
and changes to reserves that are considered appropriate, as well as the 
related net interest.

Loss Contingencies
We are subject to the possibility of various losses arising in the ordinary 
course of business. These may relate to disputes, litigation and other 
legal actions. We consider the likelihood of loss or the incurrence of a 
liability, as well as our ability to reasonably estimate the amount of loss, 
in determining loss contingencies. A loss is accrued when it is probable 
that a liability has been incurred and the amount of loss can be reason-
ably estimated. We regularly evaluate current information available to us 
to determine whether any accruals should be adjusted and whether new 
accruals are required.

Effects of Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 1 to our Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II 
of this report for information relating to our discussion of the effects of 
recent accounting pronouncements.

55

Unaudited Quarterly Results of Operations
The tables below (in thousands, except per share data) set forth the operating results represented by certain items in our statements of operations for 
each of the eight quarters in the period ended October 31, 2008. This information is unaudited, but in our opinion reflects all adjustments (consisting 
only of normal recurring adjustments) that we consider necessary for a fair statement of such information in accordance with generally accepted account-
ing principles. The results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of results for any future period.

Jan. 31, 2007 

Apr. 30, 2007 

Jul. 31, 2007 

Oct. 31, 2007 

Jan. 31, 2008 

Apr. 30, 2008 

Jul. 31, 2008  Oct. 31, 2008

$146,282 
18,819 
165,101 

74,979 
16,494 
91,473 
73,628 

29,853 
24,875 
10,291 
6,295 
(466) 
— 
70,848 
2,780 
14,845 
(6,148) 
— 

— 
— 
11,477 
421 
$  11,056 
  0.13 
$ 

$ 

  0.12 
84,953 

$173,212 
20,315 
193,527 

91,319 
20,378 
111,697 
81,830 

31,642 
30,182 
11,707 
6,295 
(734) 
— 
79,092 
2,738 
16,897 
(6,148) 
— 

— 
— 
13,487 
477 
$  13,010 
  0.15 
$ 

$ 

  0.14 
85,198 

$182,143 
22,808 
204,951 

84,383 
22,903 
107,286 
97,665 

31,671 
30,303 
14,564 
6,295 
(1,196) 
— 
81,637 
16,028 
19,464 
(6,931) 
592 

— 
— 
29,153 
841 
$  28,312 
  0.33 
$ 

$ 

  0.29 
85,651 

$193,652 
22,538 
216,190 

87,185 
19,859 
107,044 
109,146 

34,130 
32,655 
13,686 
6,465 
(39) 
(4,871) 
82,026 
27,120 
25,277 
(7,769) 
— 

(13,013) 
— 
31,615 
1,205 
$  30,410 
  0.35 
$ 

$ 

  0.30 
86,241 

$201,790 
25,626 
227,416 

91,387 
19,460 
110,847 
116,569 

35,444 
33,608 
22,628 
6,470 
— 
— 
98,150 
18,419 
19,082 
(7,358) 
— 

— 
— 
30,143 
1,336 
$  28,807 
  0.33 
$ 

$ 

  0.28 
86,910 

$216,181 
26,018 
242,199 

$223,661 
29,518 
253,179 

$149,783
29,871
179,654

96,041 
18,562 
114,603 
127,596 

44,628 
38,591 
16,650 
8,760 
— 
— 
108,629 
18,967 
8,487 
(1,861) 
— 

— 
— 
25,593 
1,833 
$  23,760 
  0.27 
$ 

$ 

  0.23 
89,102 

107,953 
19,595 
127,548 
125,631 

47,809 
39,440 
14,758 
8,671 
— 
— 
110,678 
14,953 
5,342 
(1,855) 
— 

(5,114) 
— 
13,326 
1,603 
$  11,723 
  0.13 
$ 

$ 

  0.12 
90,216 

75,857
22,666
98,523
81,131

47,142
40,379
14,603
8,363
1,110
—
111,597
(30,466)
3,851
(1,853)
—

13
932
(27,523)
(2,127)
$ (25,396)
(0.28)
$  

$  

(0.28)
90,413

93,259 

93,737 

101,568 

108,812 

109,009 

110,770 

111,681 

90,413

Revenue:

Products 
Services 
Total Revenue 
Costs:

Products 
Services 

Total cost of goods sold 
Gross profit 
Operating expenses:

Research and development 
Selling and marketing 
General and administrative 
Amortization of intangible assets 
Restructuring (recoveries) costs 
Gain on lease settlement 

Total operating expenses 
Income (loss) from operations 
Interest and other income, net 
Interest expense 
Gain on equity investments, net 
Realized gain (loss) on marketable  
  debt investments, net 
Gain on early extinguishment of debt 
Income (loss) before income taxes 
Provision (benefit) for income tax 
Net income (loss) 
Basic net income (loss) per common share  
Diluted net income (loss) per dilutive  
  potential common share 
Weighted average basic common shares 
Weighted average dilutive potential  
  common shares 

56  Ciena Corporation 10-K

 
ITem 7a.   quanTITaTIVe anD qualITaTIVe 

DIsClosuRes abouT maRkeT RIsk

ITem 8.   fInanCIal sTaTemenTs anD 
suPPlemenTaRy DaTa

The following is an index to the consolidated financial statements:

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 
Consolidated Balance Sheets 
Consolidated Statements of Operations 
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity 
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 

Page Number
58
59
60
61
62
64

The following discussion about our market risk disclosures involves  
forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from 
those projected in the forward-looking statements. We are exposed 
to market risk related to changes in interest rates and foreign currency 
exchange rates. We do not use derivative financial instruments for specu- 
lative or trading purposes.

Interest Rate Sensitivity. We maintain a short-term and long-term invest-
ment portfolio. See Note 5 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in 
Item 8 of Part II of this report for information relating to the fair value of 
these investments. These available-for-sale securities are subject to inter-
est rate risk and will fall in value if market interest rates increase. If market 
interest rates were to increase immediately and uniformly by 10% from 
levels at October 31, 2008, the fair value of the portfolio would decline by 
approximately $16.8 million.

Foreign Currency Exchange Risk. As a global concern, we face expo-
sure to adverse movements in foreign currency exchange rates. Because 
our sales are primarily denominated in U.S. dollars, the impact of foreign 
currency fluctuations on sales has not been material. Our primary expo-
sures are related to non-U.S. dollar denominated operating expense in 
Canada, United Kingdom, the European Union and India. During fiscal 
2008, approximately 78.3% of our operating expense was U.S. dollar 
denominated. As of October 31, 2008, our assets and liabilities related to 
non-dollar denominated currencies were primarily related to intercom-
pany payables and receivables. We do not expect an increase or decrease 
of 10% in the foreign exchange rate would have a material impact on 
our financial position. To date, we have not hedged against foreign cur-
rency fluctuations. Due to the recent, significant fluctuations in currency 
exchange rates, we are considering and may pursue hedging strategies in 
fiscal 2009.

57

 
Report of Independent Registered Public accounting firm

To The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Ciena Corporation:

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements listed in the accompanying index present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of 
Ciena Corporation and its subsidiaries at October 31, 2008 and 2007, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years 
in the period ended October 31, 2008 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also in our opinion, 
the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of October 31, 2008, based on criteria established 
in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The Company’s 
management is responsible for these financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of 
the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Report of Management on Internal Control over Financial 
Reporting. Our responsibility is to express opinions on these financial statements and on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based 
on our integrated audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United 
States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of 
material misstatement and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audits of the financial 
statements included examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting 
principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our audit of internal con-
trol over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness 
exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included per-
forming such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.

As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company changed the manner in which it accounts for uncertain tax positions in 2008.

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial report-
ing and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal 
control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately 
and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as nec-
essary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of 
the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assur-
ance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect 
on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation 
of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of 
compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
McLean, Virginia
December 23, 2008

58  Ciena Corporation 10-K

ConsolIDaTeD balanCe sHeeTs

(in thousands, except share data) 
ASSETS
Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents 
Short-term investments 
Accounts receivable, net 
Inventories 
Prepaid expenses and other 

Total current assets 
Long-term investments 
Equipment, furniture and fixtures, net 
Goodwill 
Other intangible assets, net 
Other long-term assets 

Total assets 

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:

Accounts payable 
Accrued liabilities 
Restructuring liabilities 
Income taxes payable 
Deferred revenue 
Convertible notes payable 
Total current liabilities 

Long-term deferred revenue 
Long-term restructuring liabilities 
Other long-term obligations 
Convertible notes payable 

Total liabilities 

Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ equity:

Preferred stock—par value $0.01; 20,000,000 shares authorized;  
  zero shares issued and outstanding 
Common stock—par value $0.01; 140,000,000 and 290,000,000 shares  
  authorized; 86,752,069 and 90,470,803 shares issued and outstanding 
Additional paid-in capital 
Changes in unrealized gains (losses) on investments, net of income taxes 
Translation adjustment 
Accumulated deficit 
Total stockholders’ equity 
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

October 31,

2007 

2008

$  892,061 
822,185 
104,078 
102,618 
47,817 
1,968,759 
33,946 
46,671 
232,015 
67,144 
67,738 
$ 2,416,273 

$ 

  55,389 
90,922 
1,026 
7,768 
33,025 
542,262
730,392 
30,615 
3,662 
1,450 
800,000 
1,566,119 

— 

868 
5,519,741 
350 
(1,593) 
(4,669,212) 
850,154 
$ 2,416,273 

$  550,669
366,336
138,441
93,452
35,888
1,184,786
156,171
59,967
455,673
92,249
75,748
$ 2,024,594

$ 

  44,761
96,143
1,668
—
36,767

179,339
37,660
2,557
8,089
798,000
1,025,645

—

905
5,629,498
(1,129)
(146)
(4,630,179)
998,949
$ 2,024,594

59

 
ConsolIDaTeD sTaTemenTs of oPeRaTIons

(in thousands, except per share data) 
Revenue:

Products 
Services 
Total revenue 
Costs:

Products 
Services 

Total cost of goods sold 

Gross profit 
Operating expenses:

Research and development 
Selling and marketing 
General and administrative 
Amortization of intangible assets 
Restructuring (recoveries) costs 
Gain on lease settlement 

Total operating expenses 
Income (loss) from operations 
Interest and other income, net 
Interest expense 
Realized loss on marketable debt investments, net 
Gain on extinguishment of debt 
Gain on equity investments, net 
Income before income taxes 
Provision for income taxes 
Net income 
Basic net income per common share 
Diluted net income per dilutive potential common share 
Weighted average basic common shares 
Weighted average dilutive potential common shares 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

60  Ciena Corporation 10-K

2006 

$502,427 
61,629 
564,056 

263,667 
42,608 
306,275 
257,781 

111,069 
104,434 
44,445 
25,181 
15,671 
(11,648) 
289,152 
(31,371) 
50,245 
(24,165) 
— 
7,052 
215 
1,976 
1,381 
   595 
  0.01 
  0.01 
83,840 
85,011 

$ 
$ 
$ 

Year Ended October 31,
2007 

$695,289 
84,480 
779,769 

337,866 
79,634 
417,500 
362,269 

127,296 
118,015 
50,248 
25,350 
(2,435) 
(4,871) 
313,603 
48,666 
76,483 
(26,996) 
(13,013) 
— 
592 
85,732 
2,944 
$  82,788 
  0.97 
$ 
  0.87 
$ 
85,525 
99,604 

2008

$791,415
111,033
902,448

371,238
80,283
451,521
450,927

175,023
152,018
68,639
32,264
1,110
—
429,054
21,873
36,762
(12,927)
(5,101)
932
—
41,539
2,645
$  38,894
  0.44
$ 
  0.42
$ 
89,146
110,605

 
ConsolIDaTeD sTaTemenTs of CHanges In sToCkHolDeRs’ equITy

(in thousands, except share data) 
Balance at October 31, 2005  
Net income 
Changes in unrealized gains on investments, net 
Translation adjustment 
Comprehensive income 
Exercise of stock options, net 
Share-based compensation expense 
Removal of opening deferred stock compensation  
  balance upon adoption of SFAS 123(R) 
Purchase of call spread option 
Balance at October 31, 2006  
Net income 
Changes in unrealized losses on investments, net 
Translation adjustment 
Comprehensive income 
Exercise of stock options, net 
Share-based compensation expense 
Exercise of warrant 
Purchase of call spread option 
Balance at October 31, 2007  
Cumulative effect of adopting FIN 48 
Net income 
Changes in unrealized gains on investments, net 
Translation adjustment 
Comprehensive income 
Exercise of stock options, net 
Tax benefit from employee stock option plans 
Share-based compensation expense 
Issuance of common stock for acquisitions,  
  net of issuance costs 
Balance at October 31, 2008  

Common 
Stock 
Shares 
82,905,849 
— 
— 
— 
— 
1,985,807 
— 

— 
— 
84,891,656 
— 
— 
— 
— 
1,847,455 
— 
12,958 
— 
86,752,069 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
1,253,350 
— 
— 

2,465,384 
90,470,803 

Additional 
Paid-in 
Capital 
$5,494,587 
— 
— 
— 
— 
27,967 
14,042 

(2,286) 
(28,457) 
5,505,853 
— 
— 
— 
— 
36,816 
19,572 
— 
(42,500) 
5,519,741 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
5,764 
318 
31,428 

Deferred 
Stock 
Compensation 
$(2,286) 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 

Accumulated 
Other 
Comprehensive 
Income 
$(5,168) 
— 
4,177 
(85) 
— 
— 
— 

2,286 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 

— 

— 
— 
(1,076) 
— 
846 
(1,013) 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
(1,243) 
— 
— 
(1,479) 
1,447 
— 
— 

— 

Accumulated 
Deficit 
$(4,752,595) 
595 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 

— 
— 
(4,752,000) 
82,788 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
(4,669,212) 
139 
38,894 
— 
— 
— 
— 

— 

Total 
Stockholders’ 
Equity
$735,367
595
4,177
(85)
4,687
27,987
14,042

—
(28,457)
753,626
82,788
846
(1,013)
82,621
36,835
19,572
—
(42,500)
850,154
139
38,894
(1,479)
1,447
38,862
5,776
318
31,428

Par 
Value 
$829 
— 
— 
— 
— 
20 
— 

— 
— 
849 
— 
— 
— 
— 
19 
— 
— 
— 
868 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
12 
— 
— 

25 
$905 

72,247 
$5,629,498 

— 
  — 

$ 

— 
$(1,275) 

— 
$(4,630,179) 

72,272
$998,949

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

61

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ConsolIDaTeD sTaTemenTs of CasH floWs

(in thousands) 
Cash flows from operating activities:

Net income 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:

Early extinguishment of debt 
Amortization of discount on marketable debt securities 
Loss from equity investments and marketable debt securities 
Depreciation and amortization of leasehold improvements 
Share-based compensation 
Amortization of intangibles 
Deferred tax provision 
Provision for inventory excess and obsolescence 
Provision for warranty 
Other 
Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisition:

Accounts receivable 
Inventories 
Prepaid expenses and other 
Accounts payable, accruals and other obligations 
Income taxes payable 
Deferred revenue 
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 

Cash flows from investing activities:

Payments for equipment, furniture, fixtures and intellectual property 
Change in restricted cash 
Purchase of available for sale securities 
Proceeds from maturities of available for sale securities 
Minority equity investments, net 
Acquisition of business, net of cash acquired 

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities 

Cash flows from financing activities:

Proceeds from issuance of convertible notes payable 
Repurchase or payment at maturity of 3.75% convertible notes payable 
Repurchase of 0.25% convertible notes payable 
Debt issuance costs 
Purchase of call spread option 
Repayment of indebtedness of acquired business 
Excess tax benefit from employee stock option plans 
Proceeds from issuance of common stock 

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents 
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 

62  Ciena Corporation 10-K

2006 

$ 

 595 

(7,052) 
(823) 
733 
16,401 
14,042 
29,050 
— 
9,012 
14,522 
2,028 

(34,386) 
(65,764) 
4,056 
(59,161) 
196 
(2,842) 
(79,393) 

(17,760) 
4,552 
(1,090,409) 
851,084 
948 
— 
(251,585) 

300,000 
(98,410) 
— 
(7,990) 
(28,457) 
— 
— 
27,987 
193,130 
— 
(137,848) 

Year Ended October 31,
2007 

$   82,788 

— 
(14,191) 
13,013 
12,833 
19,572 
29,220 
— 
12,180 
12,743 
2,544 

3,094 
(8,713) 
(20,568) 
(60,524) 
1,787 
22,964 
108,742 

(32,105) 
(13,277) 
(864,012) 
989,705 
(181) 
— 
80,130 

500,000 
— 
— 
(11,750) 
(42,500) 
— 
— 
36,835 
482,585 
440 
671,897 

2008

$   38,894

(932)
(2,878)
5,101
18,599
31,428
37,956
1,640
18,325
15,336
5,243

(32,471)
3,713
1,649
(23,945)
(7,655)
7,616
117,619

(29,998)
1,340
(571,511)
901,433
—
(210,016)
91,248

—
(542,262)
(1,034)
—
—
(12,363)
318
5,776
(549,565)
(694)
(341,392)

 
 
ConsolIDaTeD sTaTemenTs of CasH floWs (Continued)

(in thousands) 
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period 
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information

Cash paid during the period for:

Interest expense 
Income taxes 

Non-cash investing and financing activities

Purchase of equipment in accounts payable 
Value of common stock issued in acquisition 
Fair value of vested options assumed in acquisition 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

2006 
358,012 
$  220,164 

$ 
$ 

$ 
$ 
$ 

  21,685 
 969 

  — 
  — 
  — 

Year Ended October 31,
2007 
220,164 
$ 892,061 

$   21,504 
 1,157 
$ 

$ 
$ 
$ 

 3,062 
  — 
  — 

2008
892,061
$ 550,669

$   15,339
 3,120
$ 

 2,316
$ 
$   62,360
 9,912
$ 

63

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
noTes To ConsolIDaTeD fInanCIal sTaTemenTs

(1)   CIena CoRPoRaTIon anD sIgnIfICanT 

aCCounTIng PolICIes anD esTImaTes

Description of Business
Ciena Corporation is a provider of communications networking equip-
ment, software and services that support the transport, switching, 
aggregation and management of voice, video and data traffic. Ciena’s 
optical service delivery and carrier Ethernet service delivery products 
are used, individually or as part of an integrated solution, in networks 
operated by communications service providers, cable operators, govern-
ments and enterprises around the globe. Ciena is a network specialist 
targeting the transition of disparate, legacy communications networks to 
converged, next-generation architectures, better able to handle increased 
traffic and to deliver more efficiently a broader mix of high-bandwidth 
communications services. Ciena’s products, along with its service-aware 
operating system and unified service and transport management enable 
service providers to efficiently and cost-effectively deliver critical enter-
prise and consumer-oriented communication services.

Ciena was incorporated in Delaware in November 1992, and completed 
its initial public offering on February 7, 1997. Ciena’s principal executive 
offices are located at 1201 Winterson Road, Linthicum, Maryland 21090.

Principles of Consolidation
Ciena has 13 wholly owned U.S. and international subsidiaries, which have 
been consolidated in the accompanying financial statements.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts 
of Ciena and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All material inter-company 
accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Fiscal Year
Ciena has a 52- or 53-week fiscal year, which ends on the Saturday nearest to 
the last day of October in each year (October 28, 2006, November 3, 2007 
and November 1, 2008 for the periods reported). For purposes of financial 
statement presentation, each fiscal year is described as having ended on 
October 31. Fiscal 2006 and fiscal 2008 consisted of 52 weeks and fiscal 2007 
consisted of 53 weeks.

During fiscal 2007, Ciena identified certain immaterial adjustments and 
recorded expenses of $0.7 million related to its provision for warranty and 
$0.3 million related to service costs, each of which related to fiscal 2006. 
Also, during fiscal 2007, Ciena identified immaterial operating expense 
totaling $0.5 million incurred in fiscal 2007 that was inadvertently recorded 
in fiscal 2006. Ciena’s revenue for fiscal 2007 is understated by $0.8 million 
due to an equivalent overstatement of revenue during fiscal 2006. Ciena 
believes that these adjustments are not material to its results for fiscal 
2006 or fiscal 2007, or any interim period therein.

Use of Estimates
The preparation of the financial statements and related disclosures in con-
formity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States 
requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the 
amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accom-
panying notes. Estimates are used for bad debts, valuation of inventories 
and investments, recoverability of intangible assets, other long-lived 
assets and goodwill, income taxes, warranty obligations, restructuring 
liabilities and contingencies and litigation. Ciena bases its estimates on 
historical experience and assumptions that it believes are reasonable. 
Actual results may differ materially from management’s estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents
Ciena considers all highly liquid investments purchased with original 
maturities of three months or less to be cash equivalents. Restricted cash 
collateralizing letters of credits are included in other current assets and 
other long-term assets depending upon the duration of the restriction.

Investments
Ciena’s investments represent investments in marketable debt securities 
that are classified as available-for-sale and are reported at fair value, with 
unrealized gains and losses recorded in accumulated other comprehensive 
income. Realized gains or losses and declines in value on available-for-sale 
securities determined to be other-than-temporary are reported in other 
income or expense as incurred. Ciena considers all marketable debt securi-
ties that it expects to convert to cash within one year or less to be classified 
as short-term investments. All others are considered long-term investments.

Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market, with cost computed 
using standard cost, which approximates actual cost on a first-in, first-out 

64  Ciena Corporation 10-K

basis. Ciena records a provision for excess and obsolete inventory when 
an impairment has been identified.

Equipment, Furniture and Fixtures

Equipment, furniture and fixtures are recorded at cost. Depreciation 
and amortization are computed using the straight-line method over use-
ful lives of two years to five years for equipment, furniture and fixtures 
and the shorter of useful life or lease term for leasehold improvements. 
Impairments of equipment, furniture and fixtures are determined in accor-
dance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 144, 
“Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets.”

Internal use software and web site development costs are capitalized in 
accordance with Statement of Position (SOP) No. 98-1, “Accounting for the 
Costs of Computer Software Developed or Obtained for Internal Use,” 
and Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) Issue No. 00-2, “Accounting for 
Web Site Development Costs.” Qualifying costs incurred during the appli-
cation development stage, which consist primarily of outside services and 
purchased software license costs, are capitalized and amortized straight-
line over the estimated useful life of the asset.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Ciena has recorded goodwill and purchased intangible assets as a result 
of several acquisitions. Ciena accounts for goodwill in accordance with 
SFAS 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets,” which requires Ciena 
to test each reporting unit’s goodwill for impairment on an annual basis, 
which Ciena has determined to be the last business day of its fiscal 
September each year. Testing is required between annual tests if events 
occur or circumstances change that would, more likely than not, reduce 
the fair value of the reporting unit below its carrying value. Ciena operates 
its business and tests its goodwill for impairment as a single reporting 
unit. See Note 4 below.

Minority Equity Investments
Ciena has certain minority equity investments in privately held technol-
ogy companies that are classified as other assets. These investments are 
carried at cost because Ciena owns less than 20% of the voting equity 
and does not have the ability to exercise significant influence over these 
companies. These are inherently high risk investments as the markets 
for technologies or products manufactured by these companies are usu-
ally early stage at the time of investment and such markets may never be 
significant. Ciena could lose its entire investment in some or all of these 
companies. Ciena monitors these investments for impairment and makes 
appropriate reductions in carrying values when necessary.

Concentrations
Substantially all of Ciena’s cash and cash equivalents and short-term 
and long-term investments in marketable debt securities are maintained 
at three major U.S. financial institutions. The majority of Ciena’s cash 
equivalents consist of money market funds. Deposits held with banks may 
exceed the amount of insurance provided on such deposits. Generally, 
these deposits may be redeemed upon demand and, therefore, manage-
ment believes that they bear minimal risk.

Historically, a large percentage of Ciena’s revenue has been the result 
of sales to a small number of communications service providers. 
Consolidation among Ciena’s customers has increased this concentration. 
Consequently, Ciena’s accounts receivable are concentrated among these 
customers. See Notes 6 and 19 below.

Additionally, Ciena’s access to certain raw materials is dependent upon 
sole or limited source suppliers. The inability of any supplier to fulfill 
Ciena’s supply requirements could affect future results. Ciena relies 
on a small number of contract manufacturers, principally in China and 
Thailand, to perform the majority of the manufacturing for its products. If 
Ciena cannot effectively manage these manufacturers and forecast future 
demand, or if they fail to deliver products or components on time, Ciena’s 
business and results of operations may suffer.

Purchased finite-lived intangible assets are carried at cost less accu-
mulated amortization. Amortization is computed using the straight-line 
method over the economic lives of the respective assets, generally 
three to seven years, which approximates the use of intangible assets. 
Impairments of finite-lived intangible assets are determined in accordance 
SFAS 144.

Revenue Recognition
Ciena recognizes revenue in accordance with Staff Accounting Bulletin 
(SAB) No. 104, “Revenue Recognition,” which states that revenue is real-
ized or realizable and earned when all of the following criteria are met: 
persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists; delivery has occurred 
or services have been rendered; the price to the buyer is fixed or 

65

determinable; and collectibility is reasonably assured. Customer pur-
chase agreements and customer purchase orders are generally used to 
determine the existence of an arrangement. Shipping documents and 
evidence of customer acceptance, when applicable, are used to verify 
delivery. Ciena assesses whether the price is fixed or determinable based 
on the payment terms associated with the transaction and whether the 
sales price is subject to refund or adjustment. Ciena assesses collectibility 
based primarily on the creditworthiness of the customer as determined 
by credit checks and analysis, as well as the customer’s payment history. 
In instances where final acceptance of the product, system, or solution is 
specified by the customer, revenue is deferred until all acceptance criteria 
have been met. Revenue for maintenance services is generally deferred 
and recognized ratably over the period during which the services are to 
be performed.

Some of Ciena’s communications networking equipment is integrated 
with software that is essential to the functionality of the equipment. 
Accordingly, Ciena accounts for revenue from such equipment in 
accordance with Statement of Position No. 97-2, “Software Revenue 
Recognition,” (SOP 97-2) and all related interpretations. SOP 97-2 
incorporates additional guidance unique to software arrangements 
incorporated with general revenue recognition criteria, such as, revenue 
is recognized when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, deliv-
ery has occurred, the fee is fixed or determinable, and collectibility is 
probable. In instances where final acceptance of the product is specified 
by the customer, revenue is deferred until all acceptance criteria have 
been met.

Arrangements with customers may include multiple deliverables, includ-
ing any combination of equipment, services and software. If multiple 
element arrangements include software or software-related elements 
that are essential to the equipment, Ciena applies the provisions of SOP 
97-2 to determine the amount of the arrangement fee to be allocated 
to those separate units of accounting. Multiple element arrangements 
that include software are separated into more than one unit of account-
ing if the functionality of the delivered element(s) is not dependent on 
the undelivered element(s), there is vendor-specific objective evidence 
of the fair value of the undelivered element(s), and general revenue 
recognition criteria related to the delivered element(s) have been met. 
The amount of product and services revenue recognized is affected by 
Ciena’s judgments as to whether an arrangement includes multiple ele-
ments and, if so, whether vendor-specific objective evidence of fair value 

66  Ciena Corporation 10-K

exists. Changes to the elements in an arrangement and Ciena’s abil-
ity to establish vendor-specific objective evidence for those elements 
could affect the timing of revenue recognition. For all other deliverables, 
Ciena applies the provisions of Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) No. 
00-21, “Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables.” EITF 00-21 
allows for separation of elements into more than one unit of accounting 
if the delivered element(s) have value to the customer on a stand-alone 
basis, objective and reliable evidence of fair value exists for the undeliv-
ered element(s), and delivery of the undelivered element(s) is probable 
and substantially in Ciena’s control. Revenue is allocated to each unit 
of accounting based on the relative fair value of each accounting unit 
or using the residual method if objective evidence of fair value does 
not exist for the delivered element(s). The revenue recognition criteria 
described above are applied to each separate unit of accounting. If these 
criteria are not met, revenue is deferred until the criteria are met or the 
last element has been delivered.

Warranty Accruals
Ciena provides for the estimated costs to fulfill customer warranty obliga-
tions upon the recognition of the related revenue. Estimated warranty 
costs include material costs, technical support labor costs and associated 
overhead. The warranty liability is included in cost of goods sold and 
determined based upon actual warranty cost experience, estimates of 
component failure rates and management’s industry experience. Ciena’s 
sales contracts do not permit the right of return of product by the cus-
tomer after the product has been accepted.

Accounts Receivable, Net
Ciena’s allowance for doubtful accounts receivable is based on its assess-
ment, on a specific identification basis, of the collectibility of customer 
accounts. Ciena performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers and 
generally has not required collateral or other forms of security from its 
customers. In determining the appropriate balance for Ciena’s allowance 
for doubtful accounts receivable, management considers each individual 
customer account receivable in order to determine collectibility. In doing 
so, management considers creditworthiness, payment history, account 
activity and communication with such customer. If a customer’s financial 
condition changes, Ciena may be required to take a charge for an allow-
ance for doubtful accounts receivable.

Research and Development
Ciena charges all research and development costs to expense as 
incurred. Types of expense incurred in research and development include 
employee compensation, prototype, consulting, depreciation, facility 
costs and information technologies.

Advertising Costs
Ciena expenses all advertising costs as incurred.

Legal Costs
Ciena expenses legal costs associated with litigation defense as incurred.

Share-Based Compensation Expense
Ciena accounts for share-based compensation expense in accordance 
with SFAS 123(R), as interpreted by SAB 107. SFAS 123(R) requires the 
measurement and recognition of compensation expense for share-based 
awards based on estimated fair values on the date of grant. Ciena esti-
mates the fair value of each option-based award on the date of grant 
using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. This model is affected by 
Ciena’s stock price as well as estimates regarding a number of variables 
including expected stock price volatility over the expected term of the 
award and projected employee stock option exercise behaviors. Ciena 
estimates the fair value of each share-based award based on the fair value 
of the underlying common stock on the date of grant. In each case, Ciena 
only recognizes expense to its consolidated statement of operations for 
those options or shares that are expected ultimately to vest. Ciena uses 
two attribution methods to record expense, the straight-line method for 
grants with only service-based vesting or the graded-vesting method, 
which considers each performance period or tranche separately, for all 
other awards. See Note 16 below.

Income Taxes
Ciena accounts for income taxes in accordance with SFAS 109, 
“Accounting for Income Taxes.” SFAS 109 describes an asset and liability 
approach that requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabili-
ties for the expected future tax consequences attributable to differences 
between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial report-
ing purposes and their respective tax bases, and for operating loss and 
tax credit carry forwards. In estimating future tax consequences, SFAS 
109 generally considers all expected future events other than the enact-
ment of changes in tax laws or rates. Valuation allowances are provided, if, 

based upon the weight of the available evidence, it is more likely than not 
that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

Ciena adopted the provisions of FASB Interpretation (FIN) No. 48, 
“Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes, an interpretation of 
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 109, Accounting for 
Income Taxes,” at the beginning of fiscal 2008. The adoption of FIN 48 
resulted in Ciena’s recognition of a cumulative effect adjustment that 
was accounted for as an increase of $0.1 million to retained earnings, a 
decrease of $0.1 million to income taxes payable and the reclassifica-
tion of $6.0 million from current income taxes payable to other long-term 
liabilities as of November 1, 2007. The total amount of unrecognized tax 
benefits as of the beginning of fiscal 2008 was $6.0 million, which includes 
$1.0 million of interest and some minor penalties. All of the uncertain tax 
positions, if recognized, would decrease the effective income tax rate.

Ciena historically classified interest and penalties related to uncertain tax 
positions as a component of income tax expense. With the adoption of FIN 
48, Ciena is maintaining its historical method of accruing interest and penal-
ties associated with uncertain tax positions as a component of tax expense.

In the ordinary course of business, transactions occur for which the ulti-
mate outcome may be uncertain. In addition, tax authorities periodically 
audit Ciena’s income tax returns. These audits examine significant tax filing 
positions, including the timing and amounts of deductions and the alloca-
tion of income tax expenses among tax jurisdictions. Ciena’s major tax 
jurisdictions include the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and India, 
with open tax years beginning with fiscal year 2005, 2003, 2004 and 2006, 
respectively. However, limited adjustments can be made to Federal tax 
returns in earlier years in order to reduce net operating loss carryforwards.

Ciena has not provided U.S. deferred income taxes on the cumulative 
unremitted earnings of its non-U.S. affiliates as it plans to permanently 
reinvest cumulative unremitted foreign earnings outside the U.S. and it is 
not practicable to determine the unrecognized deferred income taxes. 
These cumulative unremitted foreign earnings relate to ongoing opera-
tions in foreign jurisdictions and are required to fund foreign operations, 
capital expenditures, and any expansion requirements.

Ciena recognizes windfall tax benefits associated with the exercise of 
stock options or release of restricted stock units directly to stockholders’ 
equity only when realized. A windfall tax benefit occurs when the actual 
tax benefit realized by Ciena upon an employee’s disposition of a share-

67

based award exceeds the deferred tax asset, if any, associated with the 
award that Ciena had recorded. When assessing whether a tax benefit 
relating to share-based compensation has been realized, Ciena follows 
the tax law “with-and-without” method. Under the with-and-without 
method, the windfall is considered realized and recognized for financial 
statement purposes only when an incremental benefit is provided after 
considering all other tax benefits including Ciena’s net operating losses. 
The with-and-without method results in the windfall from share-based 
compensation awards always being effectively the last tax benefit to 
be considered. Consequently, the windfall attributable to share-based 
compensation will not be considered realized in instances where Ciena’s 
net operating loss carryover (that is unrelated to windfalls) is sufficient to 
offset the current year’s taxable income before considering the effects of 
current-year windfalls.

translated at a monthly average rate. Resulting translation adjustments are 
recorded directly to a separate component of stockholders’ equity. Where 
the U.S. dollar is the functional currency of foreign branch offices or sub-
sidiaries, re-measurement adjustments are recorded in other income. The 
net gain (loss) on foreign currency re-measurement and exchange rate 
changes is immaterial for separate financial statement presentation.

Computation of Basic Net Income per Common Share and  
Diluted Net Income per Dilutive Potential Common Share
Ciena calculates earnings per share (EPS) in accordance with the SFAS 128, 
“Earnings per Share.” This statement requires dual presentation of basic 
and diluted EPS on the face of the income statement for entities with a 
complex capital structure and requires a reconciliation of the numerator 
and denominator used for the basic and diluted EPS computations.

Loss Contingencies
Ciena is subject to the possibility of various losses arising in the ordinary 
course of business. These may relate to disputes, litigation and other legal 
actions. Ciena considers the likelihood of loss or the incurrence of a liabil-
ity, as well as Ciena’s ability to reasonably estimate the amount of loss, in 
determining loss contingencies. An estimated loss contingency is accrued 
when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount 
of loss can be reasonably estimated. Ciena regularly evaluates current 
information available to it to determine whether any accruals should be 
adjusted and whether new accruals are required.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The carrying value of Ciena’s cash and cash equivalents, accounts receiv-
able, accounts payable, and accrued liabilities, approximates fair market 
value due to the relatively short period of time to maturity. The fair value 
of investments in marketable debt securities is determined using quoted 
market prices for those securities or similar financial instruments. For con-
vertible notes, see Note 12 below.

Foreign Currency
Some of Ciena’s foreign branch offices and subsidiaries use the U.S. dol-
lar as their functional currency, because Ciena, as the U.S. parent entity, 
exclusively funds the operations of these branch offices and subsidiaries 
with U.S. dollars. For those subsidiaries using the local currency as their 
functional currency, assets and liabilities are translated at exchange rates 
in effect at the balance sheet date, and the statement of operations is 

Software Development Costs
SFAS 86, “Accounting for the Costs of Computer Software to be Sold, 
Leased or Otherwise Marketed,” requires the capitalization of certain 
software development costs incurred subsequent to the date technologi-
cal feasibility is established and prior to the date the product is generally 
available for sale. The capitalized cost is then amortized straight-line over 
the estimated product life. Ciena defines technological feasibility as being 
attained at the time a working model is completed. To date, the period 
between achieving technological feasibility and the general availability of 
such software has been short, and software development costs qualifying 
for capitalization have been insignificant. Accordingly, Ciena has not capi-
talized any software development costs.

Segment Reporting
SFAS 131, “Disclosures about Segments of an Enterprise and Related 
Information,” establishes annual and interim reporting standards for oper-
ating segments and requires certain disclosures about the products and 
services an entity provides, the material countries in which it holds assets 
and reports revenue, and its major customers. Operating segments are 
defined as components of an enterprise about which separate financial 
information is available that is evaluated regularly by the chief operating 
decision maker, or decision making group, in deciding how to allocate 
resources and in assessing performance. Ciena’s chief operating deci-
sion maker is its chief executive officer, who reviews financial information 
presented on a consolidated basis for purposes of allocating resources 
and evaluating financial performance. Ciena has one business activity, and 

68  Ciena Corporation 10-K

there are no segment managers who are held accountable for operations, 
operating results and plans for levels or components below the consoli-
dated unit level. Accordingly, Ciena considers its business to be in a single 
reportable segment.

Newly Issued Accounting Standards
In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS 157, “Fair Value Measurements.” 
SFAS 157 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair 
value under generally accepted accounting principles, and expands 
disclosures about fair value measurements. SFAS 157 is effective for fis-
cal years beginning after November 15, 2007, and interim periods within 
those fiscal years. Ciena does not believe the adoption of this statement 
will have a material effect on its financial condition, results of operations 
and cash flows.

In February 2008, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position 157-1, “Application 
of FASB Statement No. 157 to FASB Statement No. 13 and Other 
Accounting Pronouncements That Address Fair Value Measurements  
for Purposes of Lease Classification or Measurement under Statement 
13.” This staff position amends SFAS 157 to remove certain leasing trans-
actions from its scope. Also in February 2008 the FASB issued FASB 
Staff Position 157-2, “Effective Date of FASB Statement No. 157.” This 
staff position delays the effective date of SFAS 157 for all non-financial 
assets and non-financial liabilities, except for items that are recognized 
or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring basis 
(at least annually), until fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2008. 
Ciena is currently evaluating the impact the adoption of these staff posi-
tions could have on its financial condition, results of operations and  
cash flows.

In February 2007, the FASB issued SFAS 159, “The Fair Value Option for 
Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities — Including an Amendment of 
FASB Statement No. 115.” SFAS 159 permits an entity to measure at fair 
value many financial instruments and certain other items not currently 
required to be measured at fair value. Entities that elect the fair value 
option will report unrealized gains and losses in earnings at each subse-
quent reporting date. SFAS 159 is effective for fiscal years beginning after 
November 15, 2007. Ciena does not plan to elect the fair value option per-
mitted under SFAS 159.

In June 2007, the FASB ratified EITF 07-3, “Accounting for Nonrefundable 
Advance Payments for Goods or Services Received for Use in Future 

Research and Development Activities.” EITF 07-3 requires nonrefundable 
advance payments for goods or services that will be used or rendered 
for future research and development activities to be deferred and 
capitalized. Such amounts should be recognized as an expense as the 
related goods are delivered or the related services are performed. If an 
entity does not expect the goods to be delivered or services to be ren-
dered, the capitalized advance payment should be charged to expense. 
EITF 07-3 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2007, 
and interim periods within those fiscal years. Earlier application is not 
permitted. Ciena does not believe the adoption of this statement will 
have a material effect on its financial condition, results of operations and 
cash flows.

In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, “Noncontrolling 
Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements—an amendment of ARB 
No. 51.” SFAS 160 requires all entities to report noncontrolling (minority) 
interests in subsidiaries as equity in the consolidated financial statements. 
This statement is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those 
fiscal years, beginning on or after December 15, 2008. Earlier adoption is 
prohibited. Ciena is currently evaluating the impact the adoption of this 
statement could have on its financial condition, results of operations and 
cash flows.

In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS 141(R), a revised version of SFAS 
141, “Business Combinations.” The revision is intended to simplify exist-
ing guidance and converge rulemaking under U.S. generally accepted 
accounting principles with international accounting rules. This statement 
applies prospectively to business combinations where the acquisition date 
is on or after the beginning of the first annual reporting period beginning 
on or after December 15, 2008. An entity may not apply this statement 
before that date. Ciena is currently evaluating the impact the adoption of 
this statement could have on its financial condition, results of operations 
and cash flows. Its effect will depend on the nature and significance of any 
acquisitions subject to this statement.

In March 2008, the FASB issued SFAS 161, “Disclosures about Derivative 
Instruments and Hedging Activities, an amendment of FASB Statement 
No. 133.” SFAS 161 requires additional disclosures about the objectives of 
using derivative instruments, the method by which the derivative instru-
ments and related hedged items are accounted for under SFAS 133 and 
its related interpretations, and the effect of derivative instruments and 
related hedged items on financial position, financial performance, and 

69

cash flows. SFAS 161 also requires disclosure of the fair values of deriva-
tive instruments and their gains and losses in a tabular format. SFAS 161 
is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years and interim peri-
ods beginning after November 15, 2008, with early adoption encouraged. 
Ciena is currently evaluating the impact the adoption of this statement 
could have on its financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In May 2008, the FASB issued SFAS 162, “The Hierarchy of Generally 
Accepted Accounting Principles.” SFAS 162 identifies the sources of 
accounting principles and the framework for selecting the accounting 
principles to be used. Any effect of applying the provisions of this state-
ment will be reported as a change in accounting principle in accordance 
with SFAS No. 154, “Accounting Changes and Error Corrections.” This 
Statement is effective 60 days following the SEC’s approval of the Public 
Company Accounting Oversight Board amendments to AU Section 411, 
“The Meaning of Present Fairly in Conformity With Generally Accepted 
Accounting Principles.” Ciena does not expect the adoption of this 
statement to have a material effect on its financial condition, results of 
operations and cash flows.

In April 2008, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position No. FAS 142-3, 
“Determination of the Useful Life of Intangible Assets,” which amends 
the factors that should be considered in developing renewal or extension 
assumptions used to determine the useful life of a recognized intangible 
asset under FASB Statement No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible 
Assets.” This pronouncement requires enhanced disclosures concerning 
a company’s treatment of costs incurred to renew or extend the term of a 
recognized intangible asset. FSP 142-3 is effective for fiscal years begin-
ning after December 15, 2008. Ciena is currently evaluating the impact the 
adoption of this statement could have on its financial condition, results of 
operations and cash flows.

In May 2008, the FASB issued Staff Position No. APB 14-1, “Accounting 
for Convertible Debt Instruments That May Be Settled in Cash Upon 
Conversion.” APB 14-1 requires that the liability and equity components 
of convertible debt instruments that may be settled in cash upon conver-
sion (including partial cash settlement) be separately accounted for in 
a manner that reflects an issuer’s nonconvertible debt borrowing rate. 
The resulting debt discount is amortized over the period the convert-
ible debt is expected to be outstanding as additional non-cash interest 
expense. APB 14-1 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal 
years beginning after December 15, 2008, and interim periods within 

those fiscal years. Retrospective application to all periods presented is 
required except for instruments that were not outstanding during any of 
the periods that will be presented in the annual financial statements for 
the period of adoption but were outstanding during an earlier period. 
Ciena’s existing convertible notes payable do not provide for settlement 
in cash upon conversion and Ciena does not expect the adoption of this 
statement to have an effect on its financial condition, results of opera-
tions and cash flows.

(2)  busIness CombInaTIons
On March 3, 2008, Ciena acquired World Wide Packets, Inc. (“World 
Wide Packets” or “WWP”) pursuant to the terms of an Agreement 
and Plan of Merger dated January 22, 2008 (the “Merger Agreement”) 
by and among Ciena, World Wide Packets, Wolverine Acquisition 
Subsidiary, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Ciena (“Merger Sub”), and 
Daniel Reiner, as stockholders’ representative. Pursuant to the Merger 
Agreement, on March 3, 2008, Merger Sub was merged with and into 
World Wide Packets, with World Wide Packets continuing as the surviving 
corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Ciena. World Wide Packets 
is a supplier of communications networking equipment that enables 
the cost-effective delivery of a wide variety of carrier Ethernet-based 
services. Prior to the acquisition, World Wide Packets was a privately 
held company. Ciena’s results of operations for fiscal 2008 in this report 
include the operations of World Wide Packets beginning on March 3, 
2008, the effective date of the acquisition.

Upon the closing of the acquisition, all of the outstanding shares of World 
Wide Packets common stock and preferred stock were exchanged for 
approximately 2.5 million shares of Ciena common stock and approxi-
mately $196.7 million in cash. Of this amount, $20.0 million in cash and 
340,000 shares of Ciena common stock were placed into escrow for a 
period of one year as security for the indemnification obligations of World 
Wide Packets’ stockholders under the Merger Agreement. Upon the clos-
ing, Ciena also assumed all then outstanding World Wide Packets options 
and exchanged them for options to acquire approximately 0.9 million 
shares of Ciena common stock. Under the Merger Agreement, Ciena also 
agreed to indemnify certain officers and directors of World Wide Packets 
against third-party claims arising out of their employment relationship. 
Ciena has determined the fair value of this indemnification obligation to 
be insignificant.

70  Ciena Corporation 10-K

The following table summarizes the purchase price for the acquisition  
(in thousands):

Cash 
Acquisition-related costs 
Value of common stock issued 
Fair value of vested options assumed 
Total purchase price 

Amount 
$196,668 
14,183 
62,360 
9,912 
$283,123 

The value of Ciena common stock issued in the acquisition was based on 
the average closing price of Ciena’s common stock for the two trading 
days prior to, the date of, and the two trading days after the announce-
ment of the acquisition. The fair value of the vested options assumed was 
determined using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model.

The acquisition has been accounted for under the purchase method of 
accounting, which requires the total purchase price to be allocated to 
the acquired assets and assumed liabilities based on their estimated 
fair values. The amount of the purchase price in excess of the amounts 
assigned to acquired tangible or intangible assets and assumed liabili-
ties is recognized as goodwill. Amounts allocated to goodwill are not tax 
deductible. As set forth below, Ciena recorded acquired, finite-lived intan-
gible assets related to developed technology, covenants not to compete, 
and customer relationships, outstanding purchase orders and contracts. 
The following table summarizes the allocation of the acquisition pur-
chase price based on the estimated fair value of the acquired assets and 
assumed liabilities (in thousands):

Cash 
Accounts receivable 
Inventory 
Equipment, furniture and fixtures 
Other tangible assets 
Developed technology 
Covenants not to compete 
Customer relationships, outstanding purchase orders and contracts 
Goodwill 
Accounts payable, accrued liabilities and deferred revenue 
Promissory notes and loans payable 
Total purchase price allocation 

Amount
   835
$ 
2,049
12,872
2,691
2,003
42,400
3,200
19,100
223,658
(13,322)
(12,363)
$283,123

Under purchase accounting rules, Ciena revalued the acquired finished 
goods inventory to fair value, which is defined as the estimated selling 

price less the sum of (a) costs of disposal, and (b) a reasonable profit allow-
ance for Ciena’s selling effort. This revaluation resulted in an increase in 
inventory carrying value of approximately $5.3 million for marketable inven-
tory slightly offset by a decrease of $0.7 million for unmarketable inventory.

Developed technology represents purchased technology which has 
reached technological feasibility and for which World Wide Packets had 
substantially completed development as of the date of acquisition. Fair 
value is determined using future discounted cash flows related to the 
projected income stream of the developed technology for a discrete 
projection period. Cash flows are discounted to their present value. 
Developed technology will be amortized on a straight line basis over its 
estimated useful life of 4 years to 6 years.

Covenants not to compete represent agreements entered into with key 
employees of World Wide Packets. Covenants not to compete will be 
amortized on a straight line basis over estimated useful lives of 3.5 years.

Customer relationships, outstanding purchase orders and contracts rep-
resent agreements with existing World Wide Packets’ customers and have 
estimated useful lives of 4 months to 6 years.

The following unaudited pro forma financial information summarizes the 
results of operations for the periods indicated as if Ciena’s acquisition of 
World Wide Packets had been completed as of the beginning of each of 
the periods presented. These pro forma amounts (in thousands, except 
per share data) do not purport to be indicative of the results that would 
have actually been obtained if the acquisition occurred as of the begin-
ning of the periods presented or that may be obtained in the future.

Pro forma revenue 
Pro forma net income 
Pro forma basic net income per common share 
Pro forma diluted net income per potential common share 

Years Ended October 31,

2007 
$802,323 
$  39,721 
  0.45 
$ 
  0.43 
$ 

2008
$909,098
$  22,179
  0.25
$ 
  0.24
$ 

(3)  ResTRuCTuRIng CosTs
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, management committed to and 
implemented a restructuring plan to reduce operating expense and 
improve overall operational efficiencies. All actions of this plan were com-
pleted during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. Ciena has previously taken 
actions to align its workforce, facilities and operating costs with perceived 

71

 
 
 
 
market opportunities and business conditions. Ciena implemented these 
restructuring plans and incurred the associated liability concurrently 
in accordance with the provisions of SFAS 146, “Accounting for Costs 
Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities.”

The following table displays the activity and balances of the historical 
restructuring liability accounts for the fiscal years indicated (in thousands):

Balance at October 31, 2005 
Additional liability recorded 
Adjustment to previous estimates 
Lease settlements 
Cash payments 
Balance at October 31, 2006 
Additional liability recorded 
Adjustment to previous estimates 
Lease settlements 
Cash payments 
Balance at October 31, 2007 
Additional liability recorded 
Cash payments 
Balance at October 31, 2008 
Current restructuring liabilities 
Non-current restructuring liabilities 

Workforce 
reduction 
  270 
$ 
4,652(a) 
— 

(4,922) 
— 
72(b) 1
— 
— 
(72) 
— 
1,057(c) 
(75) 
  982 
  982 
  — 

$ 
$ 
$ 

Consolidation 
of excess 
facilities 
$ 69,507 

1,782(a) 
9,237(a) 
(11,648)(a) 
(33,244) 
35,634 

(b) 
(2,508)(b) 
(4,871)(b) 

(23,568) 
4,688 

53(c) 
(1,498) 
$   3,243 
  686 
$ 
$   2,557 

Total
$ 69,777
6,434
9,237
(11,648)
(38,166)
35,634
73
(2,508)
(4,871)
(23,640)
4,688
1,110
(1,573)
$   4,225
$   1,668
$   2,557

(a)  During the first quarter of fiscal 2006, Ciena recorded a charge of $0.7 million related to the closure 
of one of its facilities located in Kanata, Canada and a charge of $1.5 million related to a workforce 
reduction of 62 employees. During the first quarter of fiscal 2006, Ciena recorded a credit adjust-
ment of $0.2 million related to costs associated with previously restructured facilities. During the 
first quarter of fiscal 2006, Ciena recorded a gain of $6.0 million related to the buy-out of the lease 
of its former Fremont, CA facility, which Ciena had previously restructured.

  During the second quarter of fiscal 2006, Ciena recorded a charge of $0.7 million related to the 

closure of its Shrewsbury, NJ facility and a charge of $2.5 million related to a workforce reduction 
of 86 employees. During the second quarter of fiscal 2006, Ciena recorded a credit adjustment of 
$0.2 million related to costs associated with previously restructured facilities. During the second 
quarter of fiscal 2006, Ciena recorded a gain of $5.6 million related to the buy-out of the lease of 
its former Cupertino, CA facility, which Ciena had previously restructured.

  During the third quarter of fiscal 2006, Ciena recorded a charge of $0.5 million related to a 

workforce reduction of 7 employees and additional employee costs related to the closure of its 
Shrewsbury, NJ facility in the second quarter of fiscal 2006. During the third quarter of fiscal 2006, 
primarily due to changes in market conditions, Ciena recorded an adjustment of $10.1 million 
related to costs associated with previously restructured facilities, $10.0 million of which was related 
to its former facilities located in San Jose, CA. Ciena also recorded a charge of $0.4 million related 
to the closure of its facility located in Beijing, China during the third quarter of fiscal 2006.

  During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006, Ciena recorded a charge of $0.1 million related to other 

costs associated with a previous workforce reduction and a credit of $0.5 million related to the 
settlement of a previously recorded facility liability.

72  Ciena Corporation 10-K

(b)  During the first quarter of fiscal 2007, Ciena recorded a charge of $0.1 million related to other costs 

associated with a previous workforce reduction and an adjustment of $0.5 million related to costs 
associated with previously restructured facilities.

  During the second quarter of fiscal 2007, Ciena recorded an adjustment of $0.8 million related to its 

return to use of a facility that had been previously restructured.

  During the third quarter of fiscal 2007, Ciena recorded an adjustment of $1.2 million primarily related 

to its return to use of a facility that had been previously restructured.

  During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, Ciena recorded a gain on lease settlement of $4.9 million 
related to the termination of lease obligations for our former San Jose, CA facilities. Ciena paid 
$53.0 million in connection with the settlement of this lease obligation. This transaction eliminated 
Ciena’s remaining unfavorable lease commitment balance of $34.9 million and reduced Ciena’s 
restructuring liabilities by $23.5 million, offset by approximately $0.5 million of other expenses.

(c)  During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, Ciena recorded a charge of $1.0 million related to a work-

force reduction of 56 employees and a charge of approximately $0.1 million related to the closure of 
a facility located in San Antonio, Texas.

(4)   gooDWIll anD long-lIVeD asseT assessmenT

Goodwill
Ciena tests its single reporting unit’s goodwill for impairment on an 
annual basis, which Ciena has determined to be the last business day of 
fiscal September each year. Testing is required between annual tests if 
events occur or circumstances change that would, more likely than not, 
reduce the fair value of the reporting unit below its carrying value. The fair 
value of Ciena’s goodwill was tested for impairment on a single reporting 
unit. The table below sets forth changes in carrying amount of goodwill 
during the fiscal years indicated (in thousands):

Balance as of October 31, 2005 
Goodwill acquired  
Impairment losses 
Balance as of October 31, 2006 
Goodwill acquired 
Impairment losses 
Balance as of October 31, 2007 
Goodwill acquired 
Impairment losses 
Balance as of October 31, 2008 

Total
$232,015
—
—
232,015
—
—
232,015
223,658
—
$455,673

Ciena performed assessments of the fair value of its single reporting unit 
as of September 23, 2006, September 29, 2007, and September 27, 2008. 
Ciena compared its fair value on each assessment date to its carrying 
value, including goodwill, and determined that the carrying value, includ-
ing goodwill, did not exceed fair value. Because the carrying amount was 
less than its fair value, no impairment loss was recorded.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Ciena determines the fair value of its single reporting unit to be equal 
to its market capitalization plus a control premium. Market capitalization 
is determined by multiplying the shares outstanding on the assessment 
date by the average market price of Ciena’s common stock over a 10-day 
period before and a 10-day period after each assessment date. Ciena 
uses this 20-day duration to consider inherent market fluctuations that 
may affect any individual closing price. Ciena believes that its market 
capitalization alone does not fully capture the fair value of its business as 
a whole, or the substantial value that an acquirer would obtain from its 
ability to obtain control of Ciena’s business. As such, in determining fair 
value, Ciena added a control premium—which seeks to give effect to the 
increased consideration a potential acquirer would be required to pay in 
order to gain sufficient ownership to set policies, direct operations and 
make decisions related to Ciena—to its market capitalization. In determin-
ing an appropriate control premium, Ciena looked to recent transaction 
data in its industry. For fiscal 2006, 2007 and 2008, Ciena used a 25% con-
trol premium in its goodwill assessment.

For fiscal 2006, Ciena’s market capitalization, calculated as described 
above, was $2.4 billion and its carrying value, including goodwill, was 
$733 million. For fiscal 2007, Ciena’s market capitalization, calculated as 
described above, was $3.6 billion and its carrying value, including good-
will, was $865 million. Because Ciena’s market capitalization significantly 
exceeded its carrying value in each of these years, the control premium 
was not a determining factor in the outcome of step one of the impair-
ment assessment. For fiscal 2008, Ciena’s market capitalization had fallen 
to $886 million and its carrying value, including goodwill, had increased to 
$995 million. Ciena applied a 25% control premium to market capitaliza-
tion to determine a fair value of $1.1 billion.

Ciena’s stock price and control premium are significant factors in assess-
ing its fair value for purposes of the goodwill impairment assessment. 
Ciena’s stock price can be affected by, among other things, changes 
in industry or market conditions, changes in its results of operations, 
and changes in its forecasts or market expectations relating to future 
results. Significant turmoil in the financial markets and weakness in 

macroeconomic conditions globally have recently contributed to volatil-
ity in Ciena’s stock price and a significant decline in its stock price during 
the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. Ciena’s stock price has fluctuated from 
a high of $20.10 to a low of $6.60 during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. 
The current macroeconomic environment, however, continues to be chal-
lenging and Ciena cannot be certain of the duration of these conditions 
and their potential impact on its stock price performance. If Ciena’s recent 
stock price decline persists and its market capitalization remains below its 
carrying value for a sustained period, it is reasonably likely that a goodwill 
impairment assessment prior to the next annual review in the fourth quar-
ter of fiscal 2009 would be necessary and an impairment of goodwill may 
be recorded.

Long-Lived Assets
Our long-lived assets, excluding goodwill, include: equipment, furniture 
and fixtures; finite-lived intangible assets; and maintenance spares. Ciena 
tests long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in cir-
cumstances indicate that the assets’ carrying amount is not recoverable 
from its undiscounted cash flows. Ciena’s long-lived assets are part of a 
single reporting unit which represents the lowest level for which it can 
identify cash flows.

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, Ciena experienced order delays, 
lengthening sales cycles and slowing deployments. Ciena believes that 
these conditions are the result of uncertain macroeconomic conditions, 
further exacerbated by significant disruptions in the financial and credit 
markets globally. As a result, Ciena performed an impairment analysis 
of its long-lived assets during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. Based 
on Ciena’s estimate of future, undiscounted cash flows as of October 31, 
2008, no impairment was recorded in fiscal 2008.

During fiscal 2006 and fiscal 2007 there were no events or changes in 
circumstances that indicated the assets’ carrying amount were not recov-
erable from its undiscounted cash flows. Consequently, Ciena did not 
perform an impairment test or record an impairment of its long-lived 
assets during these periods.

73

(5)   maRkeTable DebT seCuRITIes
As of the dates indicated, short-term and long-term investments in marketable debt securities are comprised of the following (in thousands):

Corporate bonds 
Asset backed obligations 
Commercial paper 
US government obligations 
Certificate of deposit 

Included in short-term investments 
Included in long-term investments 

Corporate bonds 
Asset backed obligations 
Commercial paper 
US government obligations 
Certificate of deposit 

Included in short-term investments 
Included in long-term investments 

Amortized  
Cost 
$116,531 
10,188 
49,871 
334,195 
13,000 
$523,785 
366,054 
157,731 
$523,785 

Amortized  
Cost 
$258,904 
121,274 
198,407 
31,186 
246,003 
$855,774 
821,828 
33,946 
$855,774 

October 31, 2008

Gross 
Unrealized Gains 

$ 

 81 
— 
7 
949 
— 
$1,037 
812 
225 
$1,037 

October 31, 2007

Gross 
Unrealized Gains 
$252 
136 
— 
55 
— 
$443 
443 
— 
$443 

Gross 
Unrealized Losses 
$2,260 
7 
8 
40 
— 
$2,315 
530 
1,785 
$2,315 

Gross 
Unrealized Losses 
$42 
44 
— 
— 
— 
$86 
86 
— 
$86 

Estimated 
Fair Value
$114,352
10,181
49,870
335,104
13,000
$522,507
366,336
156,171
$522,507

Estimated 
Fair Value
$259,114
121,366
198,407
31,241
246,003
$856,131
822,185
33,946
$856,131

Estimated fair value of commercial paper at October 31, 2007 includes 
investments in SIV Portfolio plc (formerly known as Cheyne Finance plc) 
and Rhinebridge LLC, two structured investment vehicles (SIVs) that 
entered into receivership during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 and failed 
to make payment at maturity. Due to their mortgage-related assets, each 
of these entities was exposed to adverse market conditions that affected 
its collateral and its ability to access short-term funding. Ciena purchased 
these investments in the third quarter of fiscal 2007 and, at the time of 
purchase, each investment had a rating of A1+ by Standard and Poor’s and 
P-1 by Moody’s, their highest ratings respectively. In estimating fair value, 
Ciena used a valuation approach based on a liquidation of assets held by 

each SIV and their subsequent distribution of cash. Ciena utilized assess-
ments of the underlying collateral from multiple indicators of value which 
were then discounted to reflect the expected timing of disposition and 
market risks. Based on this assessment of fair value, as of October 31, 2007, 
Ciena recognized realized losses of $13.0 million related to these invest-
ments. Giving effect to these losses, our investment portfolio at October 31,  
2007 included an estimated fair value of $33.9 million in commercial paper 
issued by these entities. During fiscal 2008, Ciena recognized additional 
losses of $5.1 million related to these investments, received payments of 
$28.8 million in connection with the restructuring of these SIVs, and, as of 
the end of the fiscal year, no longer hold these investments.

74  Ciena Corporation 10-K

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Gross unrealized losses related to marketable debt investments, included in short-term and long-term investments, were primarily due to changes in 
interest rates. Ciena’s management has determined that the gross unrealized losses at October 31, 2007 and October 31, 2008 are temporary in nature 
because Ciena has the ability and intent to hold these investments until a recovery of fair value, which may be maturity. As of the dates indicated, gross 
unrealized losses were as follows (in thousands):

Corporate bonds 
Asset backed obligations 
Commercial Paper 
US government obligations 

Unrealized Losses 
Less Than 12 Months 

Gross  
Unrealized Losses 
$2,260 
7 
8 
40 
$2,315 

Fair Value 
$  88,176 
10,181 
29,709 
23,438 
$151,504 

Unrealized Losses 
Less Than 12 Months 

October 31, 2008
Unrealized Losses  
12 Months or Greater 
Gross 
Unrealized Losses 
$— 
— 
— 
— 
$— 

Fair Value 
$— 
— 
— 
— 
$— 

October 31, 2007
Unrealized Losses  
12 Months or Greater 

Corporate bonds 
Asset backed obligations 

Gross  
Unrealized Losses 
$41 
7 
$48 

Fair Value 
$50,152 
6,140 
$56,292 

Gross 
Unrealized Losses 
$  1 
37 
$38 

Fair Value 
$  2,999 
22,923 
$25,922 

Total

Gross 
Unrealized Losses 
$2,260 
7 
8 
40 
$2,315 

Total

Gross 
Unrealized Losses 
$42 
44 
$86 

Fair Value
$  88,176
10,181
29,709
23,438
$151,504

Fair Value
$53,151
29,063
$82,214

The following table summarizes legal maturities of debt investments at 
October 31, 2008 (in thousands):

Less than one year 
Due in 1–2 years 
Due in 2–5 years 

Amortized Cost 
$361,668 
162,117 
— 
$523,785 

Estimated Fair Value
$361,934
160,573
—
$522,507

During fiscal 2006, Ciena recorded a recovery of doubtful accounts in the 
amount of $3.0 million as a result of the receipt of amounts due from cus-
tomers from whom payment was previously deemed doubtful due to their 
financial condition. In addition, during fiscal 2006, $0.1 million of uncollect-
ible accounts was written off against the allowance.

The following table summarizes the activity in Ciena’s allowance for 
doubtful accounts for the fiscal years indicated (in thousands):

(6)  aCCounTs ReCeIVable
As of October 31, 2008, three customers accounted for 59.0% of net 
trade accounts receivable. As of October 31, 2007, one customer 
accounted for 40.1% of net trade accounts receivable. Ciena’s allowance 
for doubtful accounts as of each of October 31, 2008 and October 31, 
2007 was $0.1 million.

Year ended  
October 31, 
2006 
2007 
2008 

Balance at 
beginning 
of period 
$3,291 
$   146 
$   132 

Net 
Provisions 
(Recovery) 
$(3,031) 
$ 
 (14) 
$    157 

Deductions 
$114 
$  — 
$165 

Balance 
at end of 
period
$146
$132
$124

75

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(7)  InVenToRIes
As of the dates indicated, inventories are comprised of the following  
(in thousands):

(8)  PRePaID eXPenses anD oTHeR
As of the dates indicated, prepaid expenses and other are comprised of 
the following (in thousands):

October 31,

October 31,

Raw materials 
Work-in-process 
Finished goods 

Provision for excess and obsolescence 

2007 
$  28,611 
4,123 
96,054 
128,788 
(26,170) 
$102,618 

2008
$  19,044 
1,702 
95,963 
116,709 
(23,257)
$  93,452 

Interest receivable 
Prepaid VAT and other taxes 
Deferred deployment expense 
Prepaid expenses 
Restricted cash 
Other non-trade receivables 

2007 
$  4,981 
18,092 
6,237 
10,724 
3,994 
3,789 
$47,817 

2008
$  2,082 
15,160 
4,481 
10,557 
1,717 
1,891 
$35,888 

Ciena writes down its inventory for estimated obsolescence or unmarket-
able inventory equal to the difference between the cost of inventory and 
the estimated market value based on assumptions about future demand 
and market conditions. During fiscal 2006, fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2008, Ciena 
recorded provisions for inventory reserves of $9.0 million, $12.2 million and 
$18.3 million, respectively, primarily related to changes in forecasted sales 
for certain products. Deductions from the reserve for excess and obsolete 
inventory generally relate to disposal activities.

Equipment, furniture and fixtures 
Leasehold improvements 

The following table summarizes the activity in Ciena’s reserve for excess 
and obsolete inventory for the fiscal years indicated (in thousands):

Accumulated depreciation and amortization 

Year ended  
October 31, 
2006 
2007 
2008 

Balance at 
beginning 
of period 
$22,595 
$22,326 
$26,170 

Provisions 
$  9,012 
$12,180 
$18,325 

Disposals 
$  9,281 
$  8,336 
$21,238 

Balance 
at end of 
period
$22,326 
$26,170 
$23,257

(10)  oTHeR InTangIble asseTs
As of the dates indicated, other intangible assets are comprised of the following (in thousands):

(9)  equIPmenT, fuRnITuRe anD fIXTuRes
As of the dates indicated, equipment, furniture and fixtures are comprised 
of the following (in thousands):

October 31,

2007 
$ 269,534 
37,249 
306,783 
(260,112) 
$   46,671 

2008
$ 286,940 
40,574 
327,514 
(267,547)
$   59,967

Gross  
Intangible 
$145,073 
47,370 

45,981 
$238,424 

2007 
Accumulated 
Amortization 
$(104,822) 
(31,708) 

(34,750) 

October 31,

Net 
Intangible 
$40,251 
15,662 

11,231 
$67,144 

Gross 
Intangible 
$185,833 
47,370 

68,281 
$301,484 

2008
Accumulated 
Amortization 
$(128,255) 
(37,952) 

(43,028) 

Net 
Intangible
$57,578 
9,418 

25,253 
$92,249 

Developed technology 
Patents and licenses 
Customer relationships, covenants not to compete,  
  outstanding purchase orders and contracts 

76  Ciena Corporation 10-K

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Year ended  
October 31,
2009 
2010 
2011 
2012 
Thereafter 

The aggregate amortization expense of other intangible assets was 
$29.1 million, $29.2 million and $38.0 million for fiscal 2006, fiscal 2007 
and fiscal 2008, respectively. During fiscal 2008, developed technology 
increased by $42.4 million and customer relationships, covenants not  
to compete, outstanding purchase order and contracts increased by 
$22.3 million due to Ciena’s acquisition of World Wide Packets. See  
Note 2 above. Developed technology as of October 31, 2008 reflects 
a $1.6 million decrease due to the release of valuation allowance of 
deferred tax assets from prior acquisitions. Expected future amortiza-
tion of other intangible assets for the fiscal years indicated is as follows 
(in thousands):

As of the dates indicated, accrued liabilities are comprised of the follow-
ing (in thousands):

October 31,

Warranty 
Accrued compensation, payroll  

related tax and benefits 
Accrued interest payable 
Other 

2007 
$33,580 

32,053 
6,998 
18,291 
$90,922 

2008
$37,258 

35,200 
1,683 
22,002 
$96,143 

The following table summarizes the activity in Ciena’s accrued warranty 
for the fiscal years indicated (in thousands):

$31,228
28,073
13,852
9,473
9,623
$92,249

Year ended  
October 31, 
2006 
2007 
2008 

Balance at 
beginning 
of period 
$27,044 
$31,751 
$33,580 

Provisions 
$14,522 
$12,743 
$15,336 

Settlements 
$  9,815 
$10,914 
$11,658 

Balance 
at end of 
period
$31,751 
$33,580 
$37,258

As of the dates indicated, deferred revenue is comprised of the following 
(in thousands):

Products 
Services 

Less current portion 
Long-term deferred revenue 

October 31,

2007 
$13,208 
50,432 
63,640 
(33,025) 
$30,615 

2008
$ 13,061 
61,366 
74,427 
(36,767)
$ 37,660 

(11)  oTHeR balanCe sHeeT DeTaIls
As of the dates indicated, other long-term assets are comprised of the fol-
lowing (in thousands):

October 31,

Maintenance spares inventory, net 
Deferred debt issuance costs 
Investments in privately held companies 
Restricted cash 
Other 

2007 
$20,816 
18,059 
6,671 
19,499 
2,693 
$67,738 

2008
$30,038 
15,127 
6,671 
20,436 
3,476 
$75,748 

Debt issuance costs are amortized using the straight line method which 
approximates the effect of the effective interest rate method on the 
maturity of the related debt. Amortization of debt issuance cost, which is 
included in interest expense, was $3.1 million, $4.0 million and $2.9 million 
for fiscal 2006, fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2008, respectively.

77

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(12)  ConVeRTIble noTes Payable

Ciena 3.75% Convertible Notes, due February 1, 2008
During fiscal 2008, Ciena paid at maturity the remaining $542.3 million 
in aggregate principal amount on its 3.75% convertible notes. All of the 
notes were retired without conversion into common stock.

0.25% Convertible Senior Notes due May 1, 2013
On April 10, 2006, Ciena completed a public offering of 0.25% Convertible 
Senior Notes due May 1, 2013, in aggregate principal amount of $300.0 mil-
lion. Interest is payable on May 1 and November 1 of each year. The notes 
are senior unsecured obligations of Ciena and rank equally with all of Ciena’s 
other existing and future senior unsecured debt.

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, Ciena repurchased $2.0 million 
in principal amount of its outstanding 0.25 % convertible senior notes in 
an open market transaction. We used $1.0 million of cash to effect these 
repurchases during the quarter, which resulted in a gain of approximately 
$0.9 million relating to this repurchase.

At the election of the holder, notes may be converted prior to maturity into 
shares of Ciena common stock at the initial conversion rate of 25.3001 shares 
per $1,000 in principal amount, which is equivalent to an initial conversion 
price of $39.5255 per share. The notes may not be redeemed by Ciena prior 
to May 5, 2009. At any time on or after May 5, 2009, if the closing sale price of 
Ciena’s common stock for at least 20 trading days in any 30 consecutive trad-
ing day period ending on the date one day prior to the date of the notice of 
redemption exceeds 130% of the conversion price, Ciena may redeem the 
notes in whole or in part, at a redemption price in cash equal to the principal 
amount to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest.

If Ciena undergoes a “fundamental change” (as that term is defined in the 
indenture governing the notes to include certain change in control transac-
tions), holders of notes will have the right, subject to certain exemptions, to 
require Ciena to purchase for cash any or all of their notes at a price equal to 
the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest. If the holder elects to 
convert his or her notes in connection with a specified fundamental change, 
in certain circumstances, Ciena will be required to increase the applicable 
conversion rate, depending on the price paid per share for Ciena common 
stock and the effective date of the fundamental change transaction.

Ciena used approximately $28.5 million of the net proceeds of this offer-
ing to purchase a call spread option on its common stock that is intended 

to limit exposure to potential dilution from the conversion of the notes. 
See Note 14 below for a description of this call spread option.

At October 31, 2007 and 2008, the fair value of the outstanding $300.0 million 
and $298.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 0.25% convertible senior 
notes outstanding was $387.5 million and $154.4 million, respectively. Fair 
value is based on the quoted market price for the notes on the dates above.

0.875% Convertible Senior Notes due June 15, 2017
On June 11, 2007, Ciena completed a public offering of 0.875% 
Convertible Senior Notes due June 15, 2017, in aggregate principal 
amount of $500.0 million. Interest is payable on June 15 and December 
15 of each year, beginning on December 15, 2007. The notes are senior 
unsecured obligations of Ciena and rank equally with all of Ciena’s other 
existing and future senior unsecured debt.

At the election of the holder, notes may be converted prior to maturity 
into shares of Ciena common stock at the initial conversion rate of 26.2154 
shares per $1,000 in principal amount, which is equivalent to an initial 
conversion price of approximately $38.15 per share. The notes are not 
redeemable by Ciena prior to maturity.

If Ciena undergoes a “fundamental change” (as that term is defined in 
the indenture governing the notes to include certain change in con-
trol transactions), holders of notes will have the right, subject to certain 
exemptions, to require Ciena to purchase for cash any or all of their notes 
at a price equal to the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest. 
If the holder elects to convert his or her notes in connection with a speci-
fied fundamental change, in certain circumstances, Ciena will be required 
to increase the applicable conversion rate, depending on the price paid 
per share for Ciena common stock and the effective date of the funda-
mental change transaction.

Ciena used approximately $42.5 million of the net proceeds of this offer-
ing to purchase a call spread option on its common stock that is intended 
to limit exposure to potential dilution from conversion of the notes. See 
Note 14 below for a description of this call spread option.

At October 31, 2007 and 2008, the fair value of the outstanding $500.0 mil-
lion in aggregate principal amount of 0.875% convertible senior notes was 
$675.9 million and $172.3 million, respectively. Fair value is based on the 
quoted market price for the notes on the dates above.

78  Ciena Corporation 10-K

(13)  eaRnIng PeR sHaRe CalCulaTIon
The following table (in thousands except per share amounts) is a reconciliation of the numerator and denominator of the basic net income per common 
share (“Basic EPS”) and the diluted net income per dilutive potential common share (“Diluted EPS”). Basic EPS is computed using the weighted average 
number of common shares outstanding. Diluted EPS is computed using the weighted average number of (i) common shares outstanding, (ii) shares issu-
able upon vesting of restricted stock units, (iii) shares issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options, employee stock purchase plan options and 
warrants using the treasury stock method; and (iv) shares underlying the 0.25% and 0.875% convertible senior notes. Diluted EPS for fiscal 2007 reflects 
only a portion of the shares underlying the 0.875% convertible notes because they were issued on June 11, 2007.

Numerator 
Net income 
Add: Interest expense for 0.25% convertible senior notes  
Add: Interest expense for 0.875% convertible senior notes  
Net income used to calculate diluted EPS 

Denominator 
Basic weighted average shares outstanding 
Add: Shares underlying outstanding stock options,  
  employees stock purchase plan options,  
  warrants and restricted stock units 
Add: Shares underlying 0.25% convertible senior notes 
Add: Shares underlying 0.875% convertible senior notes 
Dilutive weighted average shares outstanding 

EPS 
Basic EPS 
Diluted EPS 

2006 
$595 
— 
— 
$595 

2006 
83,840 

1,171 
— 
— 
85,011 

2006 
$0.01 
$0.01 

Year Ended October 31,
2007 
$82,788 
1,882 
2,261 
$86,931 

Year Ended October 31,
2007 
85,525 

1,352 
7,590 
5,137 
99,604 

Year Ended October 31,
2007 
$0.97 
$0.87 

2008
$38,894 
1,874 
5,510 
$46,278 

2008
89,146 

761 
7,590 
13,108 
110,605 

2008
$0.44 
$0.42 

Explanation of Shares Excluded due to Anti-Dilutive Effect
For fiscal 2006, the weighted average number of certain shares underly-
ing outstanding stock options, employee stock purchase plan options, 
restricted stock units and warrants in the table below are considered 
anti-dilutive because the exercise price of these awards is greater than 
the average closing price per share on the NASDAQ Stock Market during 
this period. In addition, the weighted average number of shares issuable 
upon conversion of Ciena’s 0.25% convertible senior notes and 3.75% 
convertible notes are considered anti-dilutive because the related interest 
expense on a per common share “if converted” basis exceeds Basic EPS 
for the period.

For fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2008, the weighted average number of  
certain shares underlying outstanding stock options, employee stock 
purchase plan options, restricted stock units, and warrants, is consid-
ered anti-dilutive because the exercise price of these equity awards is 
greater than the average closing price per share on the NASDAQ  
Stock Market during these periods. In addition, the weighted average 
number of shares underlying Ciena’s previously outstanding 3.75% con-
vertible notes are considered anti-dilutive because the related interest 
expense on a per common share “if converted” basis exceeds Basic 
EPS for the periods.

79

 
 
 
The following table summarizes the shares excluded from the calculation 
of the denominator for Basic and Diluted EPS due to their anti-dilutive 
effect for the fiscal years indicated (in thousands):

Shares Excluded from EPS  
Denominator Due to Anti-dilutive Effect 
Shares underlying stock options,  

restricted stock units and warrants 

0.25% Convertible senior notes 
3.75% Convertible notes 
Total excluded due to anti-dilutive effect 

2006 

4,178 
4,203 
756 
9,137 

Year Ended October 31, 
2007 

2008

3,041 
— 
742 
3,783 

5,311
—
182 
5,493 

(14)  sToCkHolDeRs’ equITy

Call Spread Option
Ciena holds two call spread options on its common stock relating to the 
shares issuable upon conversion of its two issues of convertible notes. 
These call spread options are designed to mitigate exposure to potential 
dilution from the conversion of the notes. Ciena purchased a call spread 
option relating to the 0.25% Convertible Senior Notes due May 1, 2013 for 
$28.5 million during the second quarter of fiscal 2006. Ciena purchased 
a call spread option relating to the 0.875% Convertible Senior Notes due 
June 15, 2017 for $42.5 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2007. In 
each case, the call spread options were purchased at the time of the notes 
offering from an affiliate of the underwriter. The cost of each call spread 
option was recorded as a reduction in paid-in capital.

Each call spread option is exercisable, upon maturity of the relevant issue 
of convertible notes, for such number of shares of Ciena common stock 
issuable upon conversion of that series of notes in full. Each call spread 
option has a “lower strike price” equal to the conversion price for the 
notes and a “higher strike price” that serves to cap the amount of dilution 
protection provided. At its election, Ciena can exercise the call spread 
options on a net cash basis or a net share basis. The value of the consider-
ation of a net share settlement will be equal to the value upon a net cash 
settlement and can range from $0, if the market price per share of Ciena 
common stock upon exercise is equal to or below the lower strike price, 
to approximately $45.7 million (in the case of the April 2006 call spread 
option) or approximately $76.1 million (in the case of the June 2007 call 

spread), if the market price per share of Ciena common stock upon exer-
cise is at or above the higher strike price. If the market price on the date 
of exercise is between the lower strike price and the higher strike price, 
in lieu of a net settlement, Ciena may elect to receive the full number of 
shares underlying the call spread option by paying the aggregate option 
exercise price, which is equal to the original principal outstanding on that 
series of notes. Should there be an early unwind of the call spread option, 
the amount of cash or shares to be received by Ciena will depend upon 
the existing overall market conditions, and on Ciena’s stock price, the 
volatility of Ciena’s stock and the remaining term of the call spread option. 
The number of shares subject to the call spread options, and the lower 
and higher strike prices, are subject to customary adjustments.

(15)  InCome TaXes
The provision for income taxes consists of the following (in thousands):

Provision for income taxes:
Current:

Federal 
State 
Foreign 

Total current 

Deferred:
Federal 
State 
Foreign 

Total deferred 

Provision for income taxes 

2006 

$ 

 — 
23 
1,358 
1,381 

— 
— 
— 
— 
$1,381 

October 31,
2007 

$ 

 — 
309 
2,635 
2,944 

— 
— 
— 
— 
$2,944 

2008

$  (712)
209 
1,508 
1,005 

1,640 
— 
— 
1,640 
$2,645 

Income (loss) before provision for income taxes consists of the following 
(in thousands):

United States 
Foreign 
Total 

2006 
$(2,549) 
4,525 
$1,976 

October 31,
2007 
$77,150 
8,582 
$85,732 

2008
$32,868
8,671
$41,539

80  Ciena Corporation 10-K

 
 
 
 
 
 
The tax provision reconciles to the amount computed by multiplying 
income or loss before income taxes by the U.S. federal statutory rate of 
35% as follows:

Provision at statutory rate 
Federal AMT 
State taxes 
Foreign taxes 
Research and development credit 
Non-deductible compensation and other 
Valuation allowance 
Effective income tax rate 

2006 
35.00% 
0.00% 
1.14% 
14.04% 
(55.94%) 
16.15% 
59.48% 
69.87% 

October 31,
2007 
35.00% 
0.00% 
0.36% 
0.11% 
(2.47%) 
0.99% 
(30.55%) 
3.44% 

2008
35.00%
0.89%
0.50%
(3.67%)
(2.60%)
10.31%
(34.06%)
6.37%

The significant components of deferred tax assets and liabilities were as 
follows (in thousands):

October 31,

2007 

2008

Deferred tax assets:

Reserves and accrued liabilities 
Depreciation and amortization 
NOL and credit carry forward 
Other 
Gross deferred tax assets 
Valuation allowance 

Net deferred tax asset 

$ 

  22,815 
156,918 
959,704 
40,686 
1,180,123 
(1,180,123) 
  — 

$ 

$ 

  27,795
130,617
960,632
45,340
1,164,384
(1,164,384)
  —

$ 

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax 
benefits, excluding interest and penalties, is as follows (in thousands):

Unrecognized tax benefits at November 1, 2007 
Increase (decrease) related to positions taken in prior period 
Increase (decrease) related to positions taken in current period 
Reductions related to expiration of statute of limitations 
Unrecognized tax benefits at October 31, 2008 

$4,924
(724)
734
(498)
$4,436

As of October 31, 2008, Ciena had accrued $1.1 million of interest and 
some minor penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits within other 
long-term liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets, of which $0.1 mil-
lion interest was recorded to the provision for income taxes during fiscal 
2008. If recognized, the entire balance of unrecognized tax benefits would 
impact the effective tax rate. Over the next 12 months, Ciena estimates no 
material changes in the unrecognized income tax benefits.

During fiscal 2002, Ciena established a valuation allowance against 
its deferred tax assets. Based on Ciena’s recent historical results and 
forecast, prior to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, Ciena’s management 
believed it was reasonably likely that there would be sufficient positive 
evidence to support the reversal of all or some portion of its valuation 
allowance at the end of fiscal 2008. Due to Ciena’s most recent quarterly 
loss, the uncertain macroeconomic environment, and limited visibility 
into its future results, Ciena’s management does not believe such suf-
ficient positive evidence exists as of October 31, 2008 and determined 
to maintain a full valuation allowance. Ciena will release this valuation 
allowance when its management determines that it is more likely than 
not that its deferred tax assets will be realized. Any release of valuation 
allowance may be recorded as a tax benefit increasing net income, an 
adjustment to acquisition intangibles, or an adjustment to paid-in capi-
tal, based on tax ordering requirements. The following table summarizes 
the activity in Ciena’s valuation allowance against its gross deferred tax 
assets (in thousands):

Year ended  
October 31, 
2006 
2007 
2008 

Balance at 
beginning 
of period 
$1,173,266 
$1,189,522 
$1,180,123 

Additions 
$16,256 
   — 
$ 
   — 
$ 

Deductions 

$ 
   — 
$  9,399 
$15,739 

Balance 
at end of 
period
$1,189,522 
$1,180,123 
$1,164,384

As of October 31, 2008, Ciena had a $2.4 billion net operating loss carry 
forward and an $83.7 million income tax credit carry forward which begin 
to expire in fiscal year 2018 and 2012, respectively. Ciena’s ability to use 
net operating losses and credit carry forwards is subject to limitations 
pursuant to the ownership change rules of the Internal Revenue Code 
Section 382.

The income tax provision does not reflect the tax savings resulting from 
deductions associated with Ciena’s equity compensation and convertible 
debt. The cumulative tax benefit through October 31, 2008 of approxi-
mately $80.6 million will be credited to additional paid-in capital when 
realized. For deductions associated with Ciena’s equity compensation, 
credits to paid-in capital will be recorded when those tax benefits are 
used to reduce taxes payable.

Approximately $50.2 million of the valuation allowance as of October 31, 
2008 was attributable to deferred tax assets associated with the acquisi-
tions of ONI, WaveSmith, Akara, Catena, IPI and WWP.

81

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(16)  sHaRe-baseD ComPensaTIon eXPense
Ciena has outstanding equity awards issued under its legacy equity 
plans and equity plans assumed as a result of previous acquisitions. 
In connection with its acquisition of World Wide Packets during the 
second quarter of fiscal 2008, Ciena also assumed the World Wide 
Packets, Inc. 2000 Stock Incentive Plan and exchanged these out-
standing options at closing for options to acquire approximately 
0.9 million shares of Ciena common stock. While Ciena maintains a 
number of legacy and acquired equity incentive plans, which have 
awards outstanding, upon stockholder approval of the 2008 Omnibus 
Incentive Plan, Ciena’s Board of Directors committed to make future 
equity awards exclusively from that plan and the 2003 Employee Stock 
Purchase Plan, each as described below.

Ciena Corporation 2008 Omnibus Incentive Plan
The 2008 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2008 Plan”) was approved by 
Ciena’s Board of Directors on December 12, 2007 and became effec-
tive upon the approval of Ciena’s stockholders on March 26, 2008. The 
2008 Plan has a ten-year term. The 2008 Plan reserves eight million 
shares of common stock for issuance, subject to increase from time 
to time by the number of shares: (i) subject to outstanding awards 
granted under Ciena’s prior equity compensation plans that terminate 
without delivery of any stock (to the extent such shares would have 
been available for issuance under such prior plan), and (ii) subject to 
awards assumed or substituted in connection with the acquisition of 
another company.

The 2008 Plan authorizes the issuance of awards including stock options, 
restricted stock units (RSUs), restricted stock, unrestricted stock, stock 
appreciation rights (SARs) and other equity and/or cash performance 
incentive awards to employees, directors, and consultants of Ciena. 
Subject to certain restrictions, the Compensation Committee of the 
Board of Directors has broad discretion to establish the terms and 
conditions for awards under the 2008 Plan, including the number of 
shares, vesting conditions and the required service or performance cri-
teria. Options and SARs have a maximum term of ten years, and their 

exercise price may not be less than 100% of fair market value on the 
date of grant. Repricing of stock options and SARs is prohibited without 
stockholder approval. Each share subject to an award other than stock 
options or SARs will reduce the number of shares available for issuance 
under the 2008 Plan by 1.6 shares. Certain change in control transac-
tions may cause awards granted under the 2008 Plan to vest, unless the 
awards are continued or substituted for in connection with the transac-
tion. As of October 31, 2008, there were 7.8 million shares authorized 
and available for issuance under the 2008 Plan.

Stock Options
Outstanding stock option awards to employees are generally subject to 
service-based vesting restrictions and vest incrementally over a four-year 
period. The following table is a summary of Ciena’s stock option activity 
for the periods indicated (shares in thousands):

Balance as of October 31, 2005 
Granted 
Exercised 
Canceled 
Balance as of October 31, 2006 
Granted 
Exercised 
Canceled 
Balance as of October 31, 2007 
Granted 
Granted in exchange for WWP options 
Exercised 
Canceled 
Balance as of October 31, 2008 

Shares Underlying 
Options Outstanding 
8,650 
579 
(1,304) 
(815) 
7,110 
695 
(1,507) 
(427) 
5,871 
760 
934 
(658) 
(508) 
6,399 

Weighted Average 
Exercise Price
$44.80
21.95
16.71
41.18
48.52
32.47
23.04
41.52
53.67
28.92
7.50
7.12
52.79
$48.84

The total intrinsic value of options exercised during fiscal 2006, fiscal 2007 
and fiscal 2008, was $18.2 million, $21.6 million and $14.7 million, respec-
tively. The weighted average fair values of each stock option granted by 
Ciena during fiscal 2006, fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2008 were $13.19, $18.68 and 
$14.52, respectively.

82  Ciena Corporation 10-K

 
 
The following table summarizes information with respect to stock options outstanding at October 31, 2008, based on Ciena’s closing stock price of $9.61 
per share on the last trading day of Ciena’s fiscal 2008 (shares and intrinsic value in thousands):

Options Outstanding at October 31, 2008 

Vested Options at October 31, 2008

Number of 
Underlying 
Shares 
853 
618 
538 
1,677 
1,077 
697 
939 
6,399 

Weighted 
Average 
Remaining 
Contractual 
Life (Years) 
7.10 
6.96 
6.46 
6.17 
7.25 
3.41 
2.26 
5.70 

Weighted 
Average 
Exercise 
Price 
$  10.08 
17.21 
21.75 
29.43 
39.31 
60.39 
157.35 
$  48.84 

Aggregate 
Intrinsic 
Value 
$2,569 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
$2,569 

Number of 
Underlying 
Shares 
523 
438 
432 
1,187 
604 
697 
939 
4,820 

Weighted 
Average 
Remaining 
Contractual 
Life (Years) 
6.64 
6.45 
5.77 
5.14 
5.81 
3.41 
2.26 
4.75 

Weighted 
Average 
Exercise 
Price 
$  10.85 
17.15 
21.96 
29.96 
40.57 
60.39 
157.35 
$  56.57 

Aggregate 
Intrinsic 
Value
$1,417
—
—
—
—
—
—
$1,417

Range of 
Exercise Price 
 16.52 
 $  0.01 – $ 
 17.43 
 $16.53 – $ 
 22.96 
 $17.44 – $ 
 31.71 
 $22.97 – $ 
 46.97 
 $31.72 – $ 
 $46.98 – $ 
 83.13 
 $83.14 – $1,046.50 
 $  0.01 – $1,046.50 

Assumptions for Option-Based Awards
Ciena recognizes the fair value of service-based options as share-based 
compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service 
period. Ciena estimates the fair value of each option award on the date 
of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, with the following 
weighted average assumptions:

Expected volatility 
Risk–free interest rate 
Expected term (years) 
Expected dividend yield 

2006 

61.5% 
4.3%–5.1% 
5.5–6.1 

0.0% 

Year Ended October 31,
2007 

55.8% 
4.2%–5.1% 
6.0–6.4 

0.0% 

2008

53.0%
2.7%–3.6%
5.1–5.3

0.0%

Consistent with SFAS 123(R) and SAB 107, Ciena considered the implied vol-
atility and historical volatility of its stock price in determining its expected 
volatility, and, finding both to be equally reliable, determined that a combi-
nation of both would result in the best estimate of expected volatility.

The risk-free interest rate assumption is based upon observed interest rates 
appropriate for the expected term of Ciena’s employee stock options.

The expected life of employee stock options represents the weighted-
average period the stock options are expected to remain outstanding. 

Because Ciena considered its options to be “plain vanilla,” it calculated 
the expected term using the simplified method as prescribed in SAB 107 
for fiscal 2006 and fiscal 2007. Under SAB 107, options are considered 
to be “plain vanilla” if they have the following basic characteristics: they 
are granted “at-the-money”; exercisability is conditioned upon service 
through the vesting date; termination of service prior to vesting results in 
forfeiture; there is a limited exercise period following termination of ser-
vice; and the options are non-transferable and non-hedgeable. Beginning 
in fiscal 2008, as prescribed by SAB 107, Ciena gathered more detailed 
historical information about specific exercise behavior of its grantees, 
which it used to determine the expected term.

The dividend yield assumption is based on Ciena’s history and expecta-
tion of dividend payouts.

Because share-based compensation expense is recognized only for those 
awards that are ultimately expected to vest, the amount of share-based com-
pensation expense recognized reflects a reduction for estimated forfeitures. 
Ciena estimates forfeitures at the time of grant and revises those estimates 
in subsequent periods based upon new or changed information. Ciena relies 
upon historical experience in establishing forfeiture rates. If actual forfeitures 
differ from current estimates, total unrecognized share-based compensation 
expense will be adjusted for future changes in estimated forfeitures.

83

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Restricted Stock Units
A restricted stock unit is a stock award that entitles the holder to receive 
shares of Ciena common stock as the unit vests. Ciena’s outstanding 
restricted stock unit awards are subject to service-based vesting condi-
tions and/or performance-based vesting conditions. Awards subject to 
service-based conditions typically vest in increments over a three- to four-
year period. Awards with performance-based vesting conditions require 
the achievement of certain operational, financial or other performance 
criteria or targets as a condition of vesting, or acceleration of vesting, of 
such awards.

Ciena’s outstanding restricted stock units include “performance-acceler-
ated” restricted stock units (PARS), which vest in full four years after the 
date of grant (assuming that the executive is still employed by Ciena at 
that time). At the beginning of each of the first three fiscal years following 
the date of grant, the Compensation Committee establishes one-year 
performance targets which, if satisfied, provide for the acceleration of 
vesting of one-third of the award. As a result, the recipient has the oppor-
tunity, subject to satisfaction of performance conditions, to vest as to the 
entire award in three years. Ciena recognizes the estimated fair value of 
performance-based awards, net of estimated forfeitures, as share-based 
expense over the performance period, using graded vesting, which 
considers each performance period or tranche separately, based upon 
Ciena’s determination of whether it is probable that the performance 
targets will be achieved. At each reporting period, Ciena reassess the 
probability of achieving the performance targets and the performance 
period required to meet those targets.

The aggregate intrinsic value of Ciena’s restricted stock units is based on 
Ciena’s closing stock price on the last trading day of each period as indi-
cated. The following table is a summary of Ciena’s restricted stock unit 
activity for the periods indicated, with the aggregate intrinsic value of the 
balance outstanding at the end of each period, based on Ciena’s clos-
ing stock price on the last trading day of the relevant period (shares and 
aggregate intrinsic value in thousands):

Balance as of October 31, 2005 
Granted 
Vested 
Canceled or forfeited 
Balance as of October 31, 2006 
Granted 
Vested 
Canceled or forfeited 
Balance as of October 31, 2007 
Granted 
Vested 
Canceled or forfeited 
Balance as of October 31, 2008 

Restricted 
Stock Units 
Outstanding 
18 
261
(64)
(53)
162 
1,216
(176)
(67)
1,135 
1,411
(513)
(184)
1,849 

Weighted 
Average 
Grant Date 
Fair Value 
Per Share 
$47.32 

Aggregate 
Intrinsic 
Value
 301

$ 

$22.99 

$  3,829

$27.94 

$53,236

$30.85 

$17,773

The total fair value of restricted stock units that vested and were converted 
into common stock during fiscal 2006, fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2008 was  
$2.6 million, $6.5 million and $14.6 million, respectively. The weighted aver-
age fair value of each restricted stock unit granted by Ciena during fiscal 
2006, fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2008 was $19.47, $28.36 and $32.38, respectively.

Assumptions for Restricted Stock Unit Awards
The fair value of each restricted stock unit award is estimated using the 
intrinsic value method, which is based on the closing price on the date of 
grant. Share-based expense for service-based restricted stock unit awards 
is recognized, net of estimated forfeitures, ratably over the vesting period 
on a straight-line basis.

Share-based expense for performance-based restricted stock unit awards, 
net of estimated forfeitures, is recognized ratably over the performance 
period based upon Ciena’s determination of whether it is probable that 
the performance targets will be achieved. At each reporting period, Ciena 

84  Ciena Corporation 10-K

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
reassesses the probability of achieving the performance targets and the 
performance period required to meet those targets. The estimation of 
whether the performance targets will be achieved involves judgment, and 
the estimate of expense is revised periodically based on the probability of 
achieving the performance targets. Revisions are reflected in the period in 
which the estimate is changed. If any performance goals are not met, no 
compensation cost is ultimately recognized against that goal and, to the 
extent previously recognized, compensation cost is reversed.

On May 30, 2006, the Compensation Committee amended the ESPP, 
effective September 15, 2006, to shorten the offer period under the 
ESPP to six months. As a result of this change, the offer period and any 
purchase period will be the same six-month period. Under the amended 
ESPP, the applicable purchase price equals 95% of the fair market value of 
Ciena common stock on the last day of each purchase period. The follow-
ing table is a summary of ESPP activity for the periods indicated (shares 
and intrinsic value in thousands):

2003 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
In March 2003, Ciena stockholders approved the 2003 Employee Stock 
Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”), which has a ten-year term. At the 2005 annual 
meeting, Ciena stockholders approved an amendment increasing the 
number of shares available to 3.6 million and adopting an “evergreen” 
provision. On December 31 of each year, the number of shares available 
under the ESPP will increase by up to 0.6 million shares, provided that 
the total number of shares available shall not exceed 3.6 million. Pursuant 
to the evergreen provision, the maximum number of shares that may be 
added to the ESPP during the remainder of its ten-year term is 2.9 million.

Under the ESPP, eligible employees may enroll in an offer period during 
certain open enrollment periods. New offer periods begin March 16 and 
September 16 of each year.

Prior to the offer period commencing September 15, 2006, (i) each 
offer period consisted of four six-month purchase periods during which 
employee payroll deductions were accumulated and used to purchase 
shares of common stock; and (ii) the purchase price of the shares was 15% 
less than the fair market value on either the first day of an offer period or 
the last day of a purchase period, whichever was lower. In addition, if the 
fair market value on the purchase date was less than the fair market value 
on the first day of an offer period, then participants automatically com-
menced a new offer period.

Balance as of October 31, 2005 
Evergreen provision 
Issued March 15, 2006 
Issued September 15, 2006 
Balance as of October 31, 2006 
Evergreen provision 
Issued March 15, 2007 
Issued September 14, 2007 
Balance as of October 31, 2007 
Evergreen provision 
Issued March 15, 2008 
Issued September 15, 2008 
Balance as of October 31, 2008 

ESPP shares available  
for issuance 
3,264
307
(335) 
(260) 

2,976
571
(119) 
(45) 

3,383
188
(38) 
(45) 

3,488

Intrinsic value at 
stock issuance date

$8,662
4,610

1,137
581

99
 26

$ 

The amendments to the ESPP for offer periods on or after September 15, 
2006 were intended to enable the ESPP to be considered a non-compensatory 
plan under FAS 123(R) for future offering periods. For offer periods that 
commenced prior to September 15, 2006, however, fair value is determined 
as of the grant date, using the graded vesting approach. Under the graded 
vesting approach, the 24-month ESPP offer period, which consists of four 
six-month purchase periods, is treated for valuation purpose as four sepa-
rate option tranches with individual lives of six, 12, 18 and 24 months, each 
commencing on the initial grant date. Each tranche is expensed straight-
line over its individual life. The final offer period reflecting the ESPP terms 
prior to the amendment described above was completed during the sec-
ond quarter of fiscal 2008. Any future issuances under the as-amended 
ESPP will not result in share-based compensation expense.

85

 
 
Share-Based Compensation Expense for Periods Reported
The following table summarizes share-based compensation expense for 
the periods indicated (in thousands):

Product costs 
Service costs 
Share-based compensation expense 

included in cost of sales 
Research and development 
Sales and marketing 
General and administrative 
Share-based compensation expense  
included in operating expense 
Share-based compensation expense  
  capitalized in inventory, net 
Total share-based compensation 

Year Ended October 31,
2007 
$  1,257 
920 

2008
$  2,953
1,412

2006 
$  1,075 
810 

1,885 
5,058 
3,415 
3,385 

2,177 
3,649 
6,724 
6,440 

4,365
7,264
10,928
8,644

11,858 

16,813 

26,836

299 
$14,042 

582 
$19,572 

227
$31,428

As of October 31, 2008, total unrecognized compensation expense was: 
(i) $22.0 million, which relates to unvested stock options and is expected 
to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.3 years; and (ii) 
$43.7 million, which relates to unvested restricted stock units and is 
expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.7 years.

(17)  oTHeR emPloyee benefIT Plans

Employee 401(k) Plan
Ciena has a 401(k) defined contribution profit sharing plan. The plan cov-
ers all U.S. based employees who are not part of an excluded group. 
Participants may contribute up to 60% of pre-tax compensation, subject 
to certain limitations. Effective January 1, 2007, the plan includes an 
employer matching contribution equal to 50% of the first 6% an employee 
contributes each pay period. For fiscal 2006 the employer matching con-
tribution was equal to 50% of the first 3% an employee contributed each 
pay period. Ciena may also make discretionary annual profit sharing con-
tributions up to the IRS regulated limit. Ciena has made no profit sharing 
contributions to date. During fiscal 2006, fiscal 2007, and fiscal 2008, Ciena 
made matching contributions of approximately $1.2 million, $2.3 million 
and $3.0 million, respectively.

86  Ciena Corporation 10-K

(18)  CommITmenTs anD ConTIngenCIes

Foreign Tax Contingencies
Ciena has received assessment notices from the Mexican tax authori-
ties asserting deficiencies in payments between 2001 and 2005 related 
primarily to income taxes and import taxes and duties. Ciena has filed 
judicial petitions appealing these assessments. As of October 31, 2008 
and October 31, 2007, Ciena had accrued liabilities of $1.0 million and 
$0.9 million, respectively, related to these contingencies, which are 
reported as a component of other current accrued liabilities. As of 
October 31, 2008, Ciena estimates that it could be exposed to possible 
losses of up to $5.8 million, for which it has not accrued liabilities. Ciena 
has not accrued the additional income tax liabilities because it does not 
believe that such losses are more likely than not to be incurred. Ciena has 
not accrued the additional import taxes and duties because it does not 
believe the incurrence of such losses are probable. Ciena continues to 
evaluate the likelihood of probable and reasonably possible losses, if any, 
related to these assessments. As a result, future increases or decreases 
to accrued liabilities may be necessary and will be recorded in the period 
when such amounts are estimable and more likely than not (for income 
taxes) or probable (for non-income taxes).

Operating Lease Commitments
Ciena has certain minimum obligations under non-cancelable operating 
leases expiring on various dates through 2019 for equipment and facilities. 
Future annual minimum rental commitments under non-cancelable oper-
ating leases at October 31, 2008 are as follows (in thousands):

Year ended October 31,
2009 
2010 
2011 
2012 
2013 
Thereafter 
Total 

$14,346
12,487
11,270
8,787
7,330
13,111
$67,331

Rental expense for fiscal 2006, fiscal 2007, and fiscal 2008 was approxi-
mately $9.2 million, $10.6 million and $12.4 million, respectively. In addition, 
Ciena paid approximately $45.3 million, $29.9 million and $1.3 million dur-
ing fiscal 2006, fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2008, respectively, related to rent 
costs for restructured facilities and unfavorable lease commitments, which 

 
 
 
 
were offset against Ciena’s restructuring liabilities and unfavorable lease 
obligations. The amount for operating lease commitments above does 
not include insurance, taxes, maintenance and other costs required by the 
applicable operating lease. These costs are variable and are not expected 
to have a material impact.

a specified Ciena supplier. This obligation is specific to this litigation and, 
while there is no maximum amount payable, Ciena’s obligation is limited 
to plaintiff’s inability to collect that portion of any compensatory damages 
award that relates to the supplier’s sale of infringing products to Ciena. 
Ciena has determined the fair value of this guarantee to be insignificant.

Purchase Commitments with Contract Manufacturers and Suppliers
As of October 31, 2008, Ciena has purchase commitments of $76.0 mil-
lion. Purchase commitments relate to purchase order obligations to our 
contract manufacturers and component suppliers for inventory. In certain 
instances, Ciena is permitted to cancel, reschedule or adjust these orders. 
Consequently, only a portion of the amount reported as purchase com-
mitments relates to firm, non-cancelable and unconditional obligations.

Litigation
On November 7, 2008, JDS Uniphase Corp. filed a complaint with the 
United States International Trade Commission (ITC) against Ciena and sev-
eral other respondents, alleging infringement of two patents (U.S. Patent 
Nos. 6,658,035 and 6,687,278) relating to tunable laser chip technology. The 
complaint, which names Ciena as a company whose products incorporate 
the accused technology manufactured by certain other respondents and 
are imported into the United States, seeks a determination and relief under 
Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. Specifically, the complaint seeks 
an order from the ITC blocking the importation of the accused technol-
ogy, and products incorporating the accused technology, into the United 
States. Ciena believes it has valid defenses to the complaint.

On May 29, 2008, Graywire, LLC filed a complaint in the United States 
District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against Ciena and four 
other defendants, alleging, among other things, that certain of the parties’ 
products infringe U.S. Patent 6,542,673 relating to an identifier system and 
components for optical assemblies. The complaint, which has not yet been 
served upon Ciena, seeks injunctive relief and damages. Ciena believes 
that it has valid defenses to the lawsuit and intends to defend it vigorously.

On January 31, 2008, Ciena Corporation and Northrop Grumman Guidance 
and Electronics Company (previously named Litton Systems, Inc.) entered 
into an agreement to settle patent litigation between the parties pend-
ing in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. 
Pursuant to the settlement agreement, Ciena made a $7.7 million payment 
and agreed to indemnify the plaintiff, should it be unable to collect com-
pensatory damages awarded, if any, in a final judgment in its favor against 

As a result of its June 2002 merger with ONI Systems Corp., Ciena 
became a defendant in a securities class action lawsuit filed in the United 
States District Court for the Southern District of New York in August 
2001. The complaint named ONI, certain former ONI officers, and cer-
tain underwriters of ONI’s initial public offering (IPO) as defendants, and 
alleges, among other things, that the underwriter defendants violated the 
securities laws by failing to disclose alleged compensation arrangements 
(such as undisclosed commissions or stock stabilization practices) in ONI’s 
registration statement and by engaging in manipulative practices to arti-
ficially inflate ONI’s stock price after the IPO. The complaint also alleges 
that ONI and the named former officers violated the securities laws by 
failing to disclose the underwriters’ alleged compensation arrangements 
and manipulative practices. No specific amount of damages has been 
claimed. Similar complaints have been filed against more than 300 other 
issuers that have had initial public offerings since 1998, and all of these 
actions have been included in a single coordinated proceeding. The for-
mer ONI officers have been dismissed from the action without prejudice. 
In July 2004, following mediated settlement negotiations, the plaintiffs, 
the issuer defendants (including Ciena), and their insurers entered into a 
settlement agreement, whereby the plaintiffs’ cases against the issuers 
would be dismissed, the insurers would agree to guarantee a recovery by 
the plaintiffs from the underwriter defendants of at least $1 billion, and 
the issuer defendants would agree to assign or surrender to the plain-
tiffs certain claims the issuers may have against the underwriters. The 
settlement agreement did not require Ciena to pay any amount toward 
the settlement or to make any other payments. In October 2004, the dis-
trict court certified a class with respect to the Section 10(b) claims in six 
“focus cases” selected out of all of the consolidated cases, which cases 
did not include Ciena, and which decision was appealed by the under-
writer defendants to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. 
On February 15, 2005, the district court granted the motion filed by the 
plaintiffs and issuer defendants for preliminary approval of the settle-
ment agreement, subject to certain modifications to the proposed bar 
order, and on August 31, 2005, the district court issued a preliminary order 
approving the revised stipulated settlement agreement. On December 5,  

87

2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated the dis-
trict court’s grant of class certification in the six focus cases. On April 6, 
2007, the Second Circuit denied plaintiffs’ petition for rehearing. In light 
of the Second Circuit’s decision, the parties agreed that the settlement 
could not be approved. On June 25, 2007, the district court approved a 
stipulation filed by the plaintiffs and the issuer defendants terminating 
the proposed settlement. On August 14, 2007, the plaintiffs filed sec-
ond amended complaints against the defendants in the six focus cases, 
as well as a set of amended master allegations against the other issuer 
defendants, including changes to the definition of the purported class 
of investors. On September 27, 2007, the plaintiffs filed a motion for class 
certification based on their amended complaints and allegations. On 
March 26, 2008, the district court denied motions to dismiss the second 
amended complaints filed by the defendants in the six focus cases, except 
as to Section 11 claims raised by those plaintiffs who sold their securities 
for a price in excess of the initial offering price and those who purchased 
outside the previously certified class period. Briefing on the plaintiffs’ 
motion for class certification in the focus cases was completed in May 
2008. That motion was withdrawn without prejudice on October 10, 2008. 
Due to the inherent uncertainties of litigation, the ultimate outcome of  
the matter is uncertain.

In addition to the matters described above, Ciena is a subject to various 
legal proceedings, claims and litigation arising in the ordinary course of its 
business. Ciena does not expect that the ultimate costs to resolve these 
matters will have a material effect on its results of operations, financial 
position or cash flows.

(19)  enTITy WIDe DIsClosuRes
The following table reflects Ciena’s geographic distribution of revenue 
based on the location of the purchaser. Revenue attributable to geographic 
regions outside of the United States is reflected as “International” revenue, 
with any country accounting for greater than 10% of total revenue in the 
period specifically identified. For the periods below, Ciena’s geographic dis-
tribution of revenue was as follows (in thousands, except percentage data):

United States 
United Kingdom 
International 
Total 

2006 
$423,687 
n/a 
140,369 
$564,056 

%* 
75.1 
— 
24.9 
100.0 

*  Denotes % of total revenue
n/a Denotes less than 10% for period

Fiscal Year

2007 
$553,582 
100,681 
125,506 
$779,769 

%* 
71.0 
12.9 
16.1 
100.0 

2008 
$590,868 
149,426 
162,154 
$902,448 

%*
65.5
16.5
18.0
100.0

The following table reflects Ciena’s geographic distribution of equipment, 
furniture and fixtures. Equipment, furniture and fixtures attributable to geo-
graphic regions outside of the United States are reflected as “International,” 
with any country attributable for greater than 10% of total equipment, 
furniture and fixtures specifically identified. For the periods below, Ciena’s 
geographic distribution of equipment, furniture and fixtures was as follows 
(in thousands, except percentage data):

United States 
International 
Total 

Fiscal Year

2007 
$38,391 
8,280 
$46,671 

%* 
82.3 
17.7 
100.0 

2008 
$49,351 
10,616 
$59,967 

%*
82.3 
17.7 
100.0 

*  Denotes % of total equipment, furniture and fixtures 

For the periods below, Ciena’s distribution of revenue was as follows (in 
thousands, except percentage data):

Fiscal Year

2006 
$420,567 

%* 
74.6 

2007 
$645,159 

%* 
82.8 

2008 
$731,260 

%*
81.0

81,860 
61,629 
$564,056 

14.5 
10.9 
100.0 

50,129 
84,481 
$779,769 

6.4 
10.8 
100.0 

60,155 
111,033 
$902,448 

6.7
12.3
100.0

Optical service delivery 
Carrier Ethernet  
  service delivery 
Global network services 
Total 

*  Denotes % of total revenue

88  Ciena Corporation 10-K

 
 
 
 
 
 
For the periods below, customers accounting for at least 10% of Ciena’s 
revenue were as follows (in thousands, except percentage data):

AT&T 
BT 
Sprint 
Verizon 
Total 

Fiscal Year

2006 
$  66,926 
n/a 
89,793 
70,225 
$226,944 

%* 
11.9 
— 
15.9 
12.4 
40.2 

2007 
$196,924 
n/a 
100,122 
n/a 
$297,046 

%* 
25.3 
— 
12.8 
—  
38.1 

2008 
$227,737 
113,981 
n/a 
n/a 
$341,718 

%*
25.2
12.6
— 
— 
37.8

n/a Denotes revenue representing less than 10% of total revenue for the period
*  Denotes % of total revenue

ITem 9.   CHanges In anD DIsagReemenTs  

WITH aCCounTanTs on aCCounTIng 
anD fInanCIal DIsClosuRe

None.

ITem 9a.   ConTRols anD PRoCeDuRes

Disclosure Controls and Procedures
As of the end of the period covered by this report, Ciena carried out an 
evaluation under the supervision and with the participation of Ciena’s 
management, including Ciena’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial 
Officer, of Ciena’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 
13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as 
amended). Based upon this evaluation, Ciena’s Chief Executive Officer and 
Chief Financial Officer concluded that Ciena’s disclosure controls and pro-
cedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report.

Changes in Internal Control over financial Reporting
We completed our acquisition of World Wide Packets on March 3, 2008. We 
have incorporated the operations of World Wide Packets within our existing 
control environment and have expanded the scope of a number of our inter-
nal processes and controls to include these operations. We have included 
the operations of World Wide Packets within the scope of our assessment of 
internal control over financial reporting as of October 31, 2008.

There was no change in Ciena’s internal control over financial reporting 
(as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934, as amended) during the most recently completed fiscal quar-
ter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, 
Ciena’s internal control over financial reporting.

89

 
 
Report of management on Internal Control over financial Reporting

The management of Ciena Corporation is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in 
Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934).

The internal control over financial reporting at Ciena Corporation was designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial 
reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United 
States of America. Internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:

•	 pertain	to	the	maintenance	of	records	that,	in	reasonable	detail,	accurately	and	fairly	reflect	the	transactions	and	dispositions	of	the	assets	of	Ciena	

Corporation;

•	 provide	reasonable	assurance	that	transactions	are	recorded	as	necessary	to	permit	preparation	of	financial	statements	in	accordance	with	

accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America;

•	 provide	reasonable	assurance	that	receipts	and	expenditures	of	Ciena	Corporation	are	being	made	only	in	accordance	with	authorization	of	man-

agement and directors of Ciena Corporation; and

•	 provide	reasonable	assurance	regarding	prevention	or	timely	detection	of	unauthorized	acquisition,	use	or	disposition	of	assets	that	could	have	a	

material effect on the consolidated financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements.

Management of Ciena Corporation assessed the effectiveness of the company’s internal control over financial reporting as of October 31, 2008. 
Management based this assessment on criteria for effective internal control over financial reporting described in “Internal Control—Integrated 
Framework” issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this assessment, management determined 
that, as of October 31, 2008, Ciena Corporation maintained effective internal control over financial reporting. Management reviewed the results of its 
assessment with the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, who audited and reported on the consolidated financial statements of 
Ciena Corporation included in this annual report, has also audited the effectiveness of Ciena Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting as of 
October 31, 2008, as stated in its report appearing under Item 8 of part II of this annual report.

/s/ James E. Moylan, Jr.
James E. Moylan, Jr.
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
December 23, 2008

/s/ Gary B. Smith
Gary B. Smith
President and Chief Executive Officer
December 23, 2008

ITem 9b.  oTHeR InfoRmaTIon
None.

90  Ciena Corporation 10-K

PaRT III

ITem 10.   DIReCToRs, eXeCuTIVe offICeRs anD 

CoRPoRaTe goVeRnanCe

Pursuant to General Instruction G(3) of Form 10-K, information relating to 
Ciena’s directors and executive officers is set forth in Part I of this annual report 
under the caption Item 1. “Business—Directors and Executive Officers.”

Additional information concerning our Audit Committee and regarding 
compliance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act responsive to this item is 
incorporated herein by reference to Ciena’s definitive proxy statement with 
respect to our 2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC 
within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Form 10-K.

As part of our system of corporate governance, our board of directors has 
adopted a code of ethics that is specifically applicable to our chief execu-
tive officer and senior financial officers. This Code of Ethics for Senior 
Financial Officers, as well as our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, 
applicable to all directors, officers and employees, are available on the 
corporate governance page of our web site at http://www.ciena.com. We 
intend to satisfy any disclosure requirement under Item 5.05 of Form 8-K 
regarding an amendment to, or waiver from, a provision of the Code of 
Ethics for Senior Financial Officers, by posting such information on our 
web site at the address above. 

ITem 11.   eXeCuTIVe ComPensaTIon
Information responsive to this item is incorporated herein by reference 
to Ciena’s definitive proxy statement with respect to our 2009 Annual 
Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the 
end of the fiscal year covered by this Form 10-K.

ITem 12.   seCuRITy oWneRsHIP of CeRTaIn 

benefICIal oWneRs anD managemenT 
anD RelaTeD sToCkHolDeR maTTeRs
Information responsive to this item is incorporated herein by reference 
to Ciena’s definitive proxy statement with respect to our 2009 Annual 
Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after  
the end of the fiscal year covered by this Form 10-K.

ITem 13.   CeRTaIn RelaTIonsHIPs anD  
RelaTeD TRansaCTIons, anD  
DIReCToR InDePenDenCe

Information responsive to this item is incorporated herein by reference 
to Ciena’s definitive proxy statement with respect to our 2009 Annual 
Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after  
the end of the fiscal year covered by this Form 10-K.

ITem 14.   PRInCIPal aCCounTanT fees  

anD seRVICes 

Information responsive to this item is incorporated herein by reference 
to Ciena’s definitive proxy statement with respect to our 2009 Annual 
Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after  
the end of the fiscal year covered by this Form 10-K.

91

PaRT IV

ITem 15.   eXHIbITs anD fInanCIal  

sTaTemenT sCHeDules

(a) 

1. 

 The information required by this item is included in Item 8 of 
Part II of this annual report.

2.  The information required by this item is included in Item 8 of 

Part II of this annual report.

3.  Exhibits: See Index to Exhibits, which is incorporated by refer-

ence in this Item. The Exhibits listed in the accompanying Index 
to Exhibits are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this 
annual report. 

(b)  Exhibits. See Index to Exhibits, which is incorporated by reference in 

this Item. The Exhibits listed in the accompanying Index to Exhibits 
are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this annual report.

(c)  Not applicable.

sIgnaTuRes
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be 
signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the 
City of Linthicum, County of Anne Arundel, State of Maryland, on the 23rd 
day of December 2008.

Ciena Corporation
By: /s/ Gary B. Smith
Gary B. Smith
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this 
report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the 
Registrant and in the capacities and on the date indicated.

Signatures 
/s/ Patrick H. Nettles, Ph.D. 
Patrick H. Nettles, Ph.D. 

Title 
Executive Chairman of 
the Board of Directors

Date
December 23, 2008

/s/ Gary B. Smith 
Gary B. Smith 
(Principal Executive Officer)

/s/ James E. Moylan, Jr. 
James E. Moylan, Jr. 
(Principal Financial Officer)

/s/ Andrew C. Petrik 
Andrew C. Petrik
(Principal Accounting Officer)

/s/ Stephen P. Bradley, Ph.D. 
Stephen P. Bradley, Ph.D.

/s/ Harvey B. Cash 
Harvey B. Cash

/s/ Bruce L. Claflin 
Bruce L. Claflin

/s/ Lawton W. Fitt 
Lawton W. Fitt

/s/ Judith M. O’Brien 
Judith M. O’Brien

/s/ Michael J. Rowny 
Michael J. Rowny

/s/ Gerald H. Taylor 
Gerald H. Taylor

President, Chief Executive 
Officer and Director

December 23, 2008

Sr. Vice President, Finance 
and Chief Financial Officer

December 23, 2008

Vice President, Controller 

December 23, 2008

Director 

Director 

Director 

Director 

Director 

Director 

Director 

December 23, 2008

December 23, 2008

December 23, 2008

December 23, 2008

December 23, 2008

December 23, 2008

December 23, 2008

92  Ciena Corporation 10-K

Fellow Shareholders,

As we enter 2009 amidst global 

From an industry standpoint, the 

economic uncertainty and financial 

fundamental demand drivers of 

turmoil, we do so with the knowl-

network traffic—higher bandwidth 

edge that the opportunities and 

and new services and applica-

challenges ahead of us are unlike 

tions—remain intact. The industry 

those we have faced before. And 

is at the beginning of what is 

yet, we believe that both the 

forecast to be a new spending 

telecommunications industry in 

cycle focused on the transition 

general, and Ciena specifically, are 

toward Ethernet-based multi-

in a significantly better position 

service networks. As a result of 

than during the last industry 

the continued and successful 

downturn, when the “tech bubble” 

execution of our “network special-

burst in 2001.

ist” strategy, our differentiation

vision

The opportunity before us is real and it is substantial. Whereas even a few years 
ago it was unclear what the next “wave” in network technology spending would 
be, it’s become apparent that Ethernet-related investment will be a key strate-
gic focus for our customers. But several years ago, Ciena needed to make a 
calculated bet on what would come next. Our heritage of innovation showed 
itself, and the “all-in” commitment we made to develop Ethernet-centered 
network solutions has positioned us to capitalize on what is forecast to be a 
total network infrastructure investment cycle of $70–$90 billion that is expected 
to last for the next decade at least. We have a clear vision of the opportunity 
and are focused on building our leadership position by providing service-driven 
networks to help our customers change the way they compete.

Gary B. Smith 
President and  
Chief Executive Officer

corporate information

corporate headquarters
Ciena Corporation
1201 Winterson Road
Linthicum, MD 21090-2205
Telephone: (800) 921-1144
or (410) 865-8500
www.Ciena.com

annual meeting
Ciena’s annual meeting of shareholders 
will be held at 3:00 PM (Eastern) on 
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at The 
Westin Baltimore Washington Airport—
BWI, 1110 Old Elkridge Landing Road, 
Baltimore, MD.

independent registered  
public accounting firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
McLean, VA

outside counsel
Hogan & Hartson LLP
Baltimore, MD

transfer agent
Computershare Trust Company, N.A.
P.O. Box 43078
Providence, RI 02940-3078
Shareholder Inquiries: (781) 575-2879
www.Computershare.com

common stock market data
Since its initial public offering on  
February 7, 1997, Ciena’s Common  
Stock has traded on the Nasdaq Stock 
Market under the symbol CIEN.

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investor relations
For additional copies of this report or 
copies of our SEC filings, contact: 
Investor Relations
Ciena Corporation
1201 Winterson Road
Linthicum, MD 21090-2205
Telephone: (888) 243-6223
or (410) 694-5700

Additional information is available on 
Ciena’s website at www.Ciena.com.

operating  
executive officers

Patrick H. Nettles, Ph.D.  
Executive Chairman of the  
Board of Directors

outside board members

Stephen P. Bradley, Ph.D.  
William Ziegler Professor of  
Business Administration Emeritus
Harvard Business School

Gary B. Smith
President, Chief Executive Officer  
and Director 

Harvey B. Cash
General Partner
InterWest Partners

Stephen B. Alexander
Senior Vice President,  
Products and Technology, 
Chief Technology Officer

James E. Moylan, Jr.
Senior Vice President, Finance,  
Chief Financial Officer 

Arthur D. Smith, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President,  
Chief Operating Officer 

Michael G. Aquino
Senior Vice President,  
Global Field Operations 

David M. Rothenstein
Senior Vice President,  
General Counsel and Secretary 

Andrew C. Petrik
Vice President and Controller 

Bruce L. Claflin   
Retired, President and CEO
3Com Corporation   

Lawton W. Fitt 
Retired Partner 
Goldman Sachs

Judith M. O’Brien
Executive Vice President,  
General Counsel 
Obopay, Inc.

Michael J. Rowny
Chairman
Rowny Capital

Gerald H. Taylor
Managing Member
mortonsgroup, LLC

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2008 Annual Report

vision

strength 

execution

innovation

002CS17767

1201 Winterson Road, Linthicum, Maryland 21090-2205  
(410) 865-8500   (800) 921-1144   www.Ciena.com