Longer buying cycles hurt Ciena

Network equipment vendor Ciena Corp reported fiscal third quarter earnings that included a 59 percent profit plunge to $11.7 million. The company said that while its projects with carriers are not in jeopardy overall, it is seeing longer buying cycles and ordering delays from those carriers due to the overall economic uncertainty of recent months. That observation seems in line with what other vendors have said in recent months, including projections of fewer capital expenditures in the second half of this year.

In difficult times, such unexpected buying delays are wreaking havoc with companies' earnings expectations for now, but vendors hope stretched out purchasing cycles mean that carriers won't panic and completely kill projects.

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