Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

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Mike Genovese: I guess I just missed that commentary, apologize. I will let somebody ask any question since a lot them already been asked. So, thanks very much.

Gary Smith: Thanks Mike.

Gregg Lampf: Katherine, we are ready to another one.

Operator: Our next question comes from David Vogt with UBS. Your line is open.

David Vogt: Great. Thanks guys for squeezing me in. I know we have danced around sort of the backlog and the strength of the business question, but I want to maybe take a longer term view and maybe pull back a little bit. If I look at your business back from, let’s say, fiscal €˜19 before COVID, and I kind of run it forward through your €˜25 guidance, I think at the high end of your 3-year plan would suggest that your business would have grown at a 6% CAGR, which is kind of consistent with your model. I mean is that the right way to think about it as we go through €˜23, €˜24 and €˜25, backlog normalizes, and we are back to sort of a normalized mid to slightly better growth dynamic for the overall business?

Jim Moylan: I actually think that’s a pretty good way of thinking about it because our market has been roiled very significantly over the past 3 years, and we are going to have outsized growth for the next 3 years. But I would just say this, if you deconstruct the 10% to 12% average annual growth rate that we project for the next 3 years, and you say we are going to do €“ we believe we are going to do 17% in €˜23, which is the midpoint of our guide, then the growth rates for the last 2 years are actually a bit higher than what we have called before. Remember, we have said 6% to 8% was our long-term growth rate for a great number of years now. So, I think the business is strong now, and we have not just the fundamental growth that we have seen, but also the subsidies for broadband that is €“ that are going in the U.S. and other places.

David Vogt: Right. And maybe just a quick follow-up. I know you have talked about backlog being difficult to predict. But can you just share with us sort of what underpins the €˜24, €˜25 from a backlog perspective versus in-period orders and how you are thinking about that?

Jim Moylan: The €˜24, €˜25 is much more dependent upon orders that will come in over next year and the following years. €˜23 is we have got the backlog, frankly, to deliver €˜23. We just have to get the parts. So, it’s €“ we assume that we are going to have good orders as we move through €˜23, €˜24 and €˜25, and that underpins our guide. The thing I didn’t mention when I was talking about the outlook is our TAM is expanding. And that’s something that we are attacking and with early good returns.

David Vogt: Great. Thank you very much. Congrats guys.

Gary Smith: Thank you.

Gregg Lampf: Thank you, David and thank you everyone for joining us today. We appreciate the opportunity to speak with you. We wish you all happy holiday, and happy New Year. We are looking forward to connecting with you all over the next week or two weeks. Thank you. Have a good day.

Operator: This concludes today’s conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

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