Ciena has announced it expects a fourth quarter revenue to fall below previous predictions due to a slowdown in Tier 1 operators' spending. The company's CEO added that he expects the spending freeze to be short-lived and that Ciena hadn't experienced any cancelled orders.
This didn't stop its shares plummeting: as Light Reading Europe reported, by late morning yesterday, the share price was down US$4.29, or nearly 25%, to US$13.14.
The report adds that Ciena's fourth quarter revenues are set to be about 20% below expectations because large carriers, especially in North America, are 'scrutinizing their expenditures,' Smith said during yesterday's earnings call, so 'orders, deployments and revenue recognition' are getting pushed out.
In its third quarter, which ended 31 July, the vendor's three largest customers generated 48% of all revenues - roughly US$122 million of a total US$253.2 million. Two of those three customers are North American.