Ciena Corporation ($CIEN) reported its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings for 2024, with revenue of $1.12 billion, slightly above the estimated $1.1 billion, but flat year-over-year. Despite the revenue beat, the company's non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) of $0.54 missed expectations by $0.11, falling short of the $0.65 estimate. The gross margin decreased to 40.9%, down 2.2% from the previous year. Segment performance was mixed, with Optical Networking revenue increasing by 4.2% to $779.6 million, while Routing & Switching saw a significant decline of 38.41% year-over-year. Following the earnings release, Ciena's stock experienced a pre-market drop of 4.5% to $69.92 but later recovered, gaining nearly 20% as the company provided optimistic guidance for the future. Ciena raised its long-term financial targets, forecasting an average annual revenue growth of 8-11% for FY25-27, up from the previous 6-8% guidance for FY25-26, and adjusted its operating margin target to 15-16% by FY27. For the first quarter of 2025, Ciena expects revenue between $1.01 billion and $1.09 billion, with a gross margin in the low 40% range. The company also reported a strong start to orders in Q1 and expressed confidence in its future, despite the mixed quarterly results.