CEO of US Network Equipment Company Selling Millions in Stock Amid AI Data Center Growth

Ciena Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN) announced that on May 15 and June 1, 2026, CEO Gary B. Smith sold modest stakes of his shares under a pre-established Rule 10b5-1 plan, generating approximately $1.66 million and $1.67 million in cash from each transaction (roughly KRW 23 billion apiece). Following these sales, Smith still holds around $165 million worth of Ciena stock—including directly owned shares and unvested Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) and Performance Stock Units (PSUs)—as disclosed in regulatory filings.

In its Q2 FY2026 earnings release, Ciena reported quarterly revenue of about $1.57 billion (approximately KRW 2.2 trillion), a 40% increase year-over-year, with cloud and AI data-center clients accounting for 46% of total sales.

Subsequently, on June 11, 2026, Ciena completed a private placement of $2.875 billion in zero-coupon convertible senior notes due 2031 (approximately KRW 4 trillion), bolstering its balance sheet to support future growth investments and enhance capacity for shareholder returns.

Headquartered in Hanover, Maryland, Ciena is a global leader in optical transport and network equipment and software, serving telecommunications carriers and cloud providers in the high-speed optical transport market. Gary B. Smith has served as Ciena’s CEO since 2001 and has positioned the company’s long-term growth strategy around rising AI traffic and expanding data-center infrastructure demand.