Madison Investments, an investment advisor, released its “Madison Small Cap Fund” third-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The third quarter was difficult for the Small Cap Fund.  The small-cap index’s performance was broad-based. The Madison Small Cap Fund (class Y) was down 1.3% in the quarter, significantly underperforming the benchmarks. The underperformance was driven by stock selection and exacerbated by a very speculative market. In addition, please check the f ...

Core Insights - U.S. small/mid-cap equities showed solid performance in Q3 2025, with the Aristotle Capital Small/Mid Cap Equity Strategy returning 2.57% net of fees, underperforming the Russell 2500 Index's 9.00% total return [1] Company Performance - Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) reported a one-month return of 24.77% and a remarkable 195.39% increase in share value over the past 52 weeks, closing at $188.96 per share with a market capitalization of $26.708 billion on October 30, 2025 [2] - Ciena's Q3 2025 revenue reached $1.22 billion, exceeding guidance expectations, marking an 8% sequential increase and nearly 30% year-over-year growth [4] Strategic Positioning - Ciena Corporation is positioned to benefit from strong demand for bandwidth due to its differentiated product portfolio and history of technological innovation, driven by AI-related demand and optimistic forward guidance [3]

Group 1 - Ciena Corporation is identified as a strong investment opportunity for the next decade, with a recent price target increase from BofA to $200 from $155, maintaining a Buy rating [1] - The networking and cybersecurity sectors are experiencing strong momentum and healthy fundamentals, driven by increasing enterprise security budgets and ongoing technological advancements [1] - BNP Paribas Exane also upgraded Ciena to Outperform from Neutral, raising its price target to $185 from $120, highlighting the company's favorable position to benefit from rising investments in data centers [2] Group 2 - Ciena provides hardware, software, and services for network operators across various regions, including the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Japan, and India [2] - The company's recent multiple expansion is seen as justified, with expectations of further earnings upside due to increasing exposure to data centers [2]

Core Insights - Nokia Corporation is a significant player in the B2B technology sector, focusing on innovative solutions in mobile, fixed, and cloud networks [1] - UBS has maintained a Neutral rating for Nokia, with a current stock price of $6.36 and an increased price target from EUR 4.10 to EUR 5.40, indicating a positive outlook [2][5] - The company's market capitalization is approximately $34.2 billion, with a trading volume of 41.16 million shares, reflecting active investor interest [4] Stock Performance - Nokia's stock has shown a slight increase of 0.95%, with a change of $0.06, and has fluctuated between a low of $6.33 and a high of $6.44 on the trading day [3] - Over the past year, the stock has experienced volatility, with a high of $6.44 and a low of $3.91 [3] Insider Activity - Senior manager Tommi Uitto acquired 125 shares at a unit price of 5.36 EUR, indicating insider confidence in the company's future [2][5]

Core Viewpoint - F5 Inc reported strong fourth-quarter earnings but provided a weak outlook for the current quarter, leading to a decline in share price [1][3]. Financial Performance - The company posted quarterly earnings of $4.39 per share, exceeding the analyst consensus estimate of $3.97 per share [1]. - Quarterly sales reached $810.090 million, surpassing the analyst consensus estimate of $793.431 million, reflecting an 8% year-over-year growth [1][3]. - Product revenue grew by 16%, with systems revenue increasing by 42% [3]. - For the full year, F5 achieved a 10% revenue growth and an 18% growth in non-GAAP earnings [3]. Future Outlook - F5 expects first-quarter adjusted EPS to be between $3.35 and $3.85, below the analyst estimate of $4.03 [2]. - The company anticipates sales in the range of $730 million to $780 million, compared to the analyst estimate of $791.412 million [2]. Analyst Ratings and Price Targets - Morgan Stanley maintained an Equal-Weight rating and lowered the price target from $352 to $336 [5]. - Piper Sandler kept a Neutral rating and reduced the price target from $355 to $277 [5]. - B of A Securities maintained an Underperform rating and cut the price target from $260 to $250 [5]. - RBC Capital maintained a Sector Perform rating and lowered the price target from $350 to $315 [5]. - Barclays maintained an Equal-Weight rating and reduced the price target from $321 to $267 [5].

Core Viewpoint - The Ninth Future Network Development Conference held in Nanjing focused on discussing future network technologies and development strategies, with significant participation from Unisplendour Corporation's H3C Group, showcasing advancements in intelligent computing networks [1][8]. Group 1: AI and Network Integration - H3C Group's Vice President Qiao Yan emphasized the need for networks to transition from passive carriers to active collaborators in the era of AI, driven by the increasing scale of AI models [3][4]. - The core concept of "computing power × connectivity" was highlighted, showcasing H3C's innovative practices in solving intelligent computing challenges through end-to-end collaboration and the DDC (Diversified Dynamic-Connectivity) architecture [3][4]. Group 2: End-to-End Collaboration - H3C's approach to end-to-end collaboration aims to optimize network performance, potentially enhancing overall computing capabilities by over 20% to 30% [4]. - The company is committed to an open ecosystem, allowing different brands and technologies to achieve optimal performance without creating a closed ecosystem [4][5]. Group 3: DDC Architecture Innovation - The DDC architecture introduced by H3C aims to decouple computing power from the network, enhancing efficiency and flexibility in accessing diverse computing resources [6][7]. - Testing by Tolly Institute showed that the DDC architecture could improve effective bandwidth by up to 107% compared to traditional protocols, demonstrating significant performance advantages [6]. Group 4: Product Launch and Future Strategy - H3C launched the new generation 800G AI computing switch H3C S9828-128EP, featuring advanced performance specifications and energy efficiency improvements of over 20% [7]. - The company aims to lead in digital solutions for the AIGC era, focusing on intelligent connectivity to empower various industries in their digital transformation [8].

Core Insights - The 9th Future Network Development Conference concluded in Nanjing, showcasing 11 leading innovative technological achievements in future networks [1] - The conference focused on hot topics such as artificial intelligence, large models, and computing networks, featuring various forums and innovation showcases [2] Group 1: Innovative Technologies - Key technological achievements included research on dynamic twin key technologies for IP networks, AI scheduling-oriented intelligent interconnection network architecture, quantum secure communication, and autonomous controllable intelligent computing communication systems [1] - Milestone innovations announced during the conference included an integrated computing network scheduling platform, a wide-area network model, and an AI automatic design toolchain for baseband circuits [2] Group 2: Strategic Collaborations - Several strategic cooperation agreements were signed, including a partnership between the data bureaus of Nanjing and Lhasa, and the second batch of member units for the "East Data West Computing" collaborative scheduling alliance [2] - The conference also featured the signing of projects related to the "Spark Plan" and cross-border data flow initiatives based on CENI [2] Group 3: Innovation Competitions - The conference included a technology innovation competition where 15 teams from over 60 universities competed, with notable projects receiving awards, such as low-cost in-band telemetry and deep learning inference frameworks [1]

Group 1 - The "2025 Future Light - Future Network Technology Innovation Competition" finals were held in Nanjing, showcasing new technologies and achievements in the future network technology field [1] - The competition focused on themes such as computing-network integration, high-performance intelligent computing networks, and wide-area lossless transmission, aiming to stimulate innovation and talent development among university students [1] - A number of innovative results with both technological foresight and industrial applicability emerged from the competition, providing new ideas and solutions for the innovative development of future networks [1] Group 2 - The Tsinghua University team "OK Team" developed a general solution for network artificial intelligence, featuring a data plane deep learning inference framework that can identify malicious traffic packets [1] - The team has been researching this technology for three to four years and has created a scalable AI engine for data planes, enabling real-time network perception and intelligent decision-making [1] - The "Sakura Avenue Professional Racing Driver" team from Wuhan University focused on intelligent driving, developing a malicious attack defense system for vehicles that addresses potential security issues in autonomous driving [2] Group 3 - The competition attracted over 800 participants from more than 60 universities across China, including prestigious institutions such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Wuhan University [3] - The judges noted the strong relevance of the students' research directions to current cutting-edge fields, emphasizing the importance of such competitions in fostering innovation among young talents [2]

Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the challenges faced by factories in ensuring equipment safety during extreme weather conditions and highlights the shift towards digital solutions like remote operation and inspection to enhance safety and efficiency [1][3]. Group 1: Challenges in Remote Operations - Traditional manual inspection methods pose risks during high-temperature operations and are often untimely, affecting equipment safety and operational efficiency [1]. - Factories face network challenges in implementing remote operations due to network isolation for safety, remote locations, and complex environments that hinder wired connections [3]. - Existing VPN solutions are complicated and lack fine-grained access control, making them unsuitable for industries with strict compliance requirements [3]. Group 2: Solution Offered by Beirui Pugongying - Beirui Pugongying has introduced a self-developed SD-WAN technology that allows for remote networking without the need for public IPs or extensive network restructuring [5]. - The R300 series routers are designed for industrial scenarios and have achieved the highest market share in online sales for 2024 [5]. - The solution supports various industrial devices and allows for quick networking and configuration through a cloud platform, ensuring operational continuity even in extreme weather [5][7]. Group 3: Features and Benefits - The R300 series routers provide multiple link redundancy and a dual-machine hot backup mechanism to ensure continuous network operation [9]. - Beirui Pugongying's technology allows for a true local area network experience, supporting various industrial protocols and simplifying remote debugging [10]. - The visual operation and maintenance platform enhances management efficiency by providing real-time monitoring and remote batch management capabilities [12]. Group 4: Security and Compliance - The solution includes multiple security mechanisms, such as data encryption and fine-grained access control, to meet industry compliance requirements [14]. - It supports private deployment to ensure data is stored within the enterprise's internal systems, addressing the compliance needs of sectors like energy and chemicals [14].

Core Viewpoint - Ciena (CIEN) is currently rated as a Zacks Rank 5 (Strong Sell) due to a recent earnings report that missed expectations [1]. Company Overview - Ciena Corp. is a network technology company that provides hardware, software, and services to network operators, enhancing network capacity, service delivery, and automation [2]. - The company operates through several segments: Networking Platforms, Platform Software and Services, Blue Planet Automation Software and Services, and Global Services [2]. - Founded in 1992, Ciena is headquartered in Hanover, MD [2]. Earnings History - Ciena has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the last four quarters, but this alone does not determine its Zacks Rank [4]. - The Zacks Rank is influenced more by the movement of earnings estimates than by earnings history [4]. Earnings Estimates - Recent trends show that Ciena's annual earnings estimates have moved lower, with the current fiscal year consensus dropping from $2.46 to $2.28 over the last 60 days [5]. - The next year's estimate has also decreased from $3.36 to $3.30 in the same period [5]. - The negative movement in earnings estimates is a key reason for Ciena's Zacks Rank of 5 (Strong Sell) [5]. Market Context - Many stocks within the Zacks universe are experiencing negative earnings estimate revisions, contributing to a broader trend of stocks falling to a Zacks Rank 5 (Strong Sell) [6].