Cisco AI infrastructure orders hit $9.3 billion as hyperscalers fuel AI-driven growth
16 Sources
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Cisco forecasts annual revenue above estimates on sustained AI spending
Aug 12 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems (CSCO.O), opens new tab forecast fiscal 2027 revenue above Wall Street expectations on Wednesday, signaling confidence that strong demand for its AI networking gear will continue to power growth. Shares of the San Jose, California-based company rose 3% in extended
[2]
Cisco Q4 2026 earnings beat sends stock lower after hours
Cisco $CSCO reported fourth-quarter revenue of $17.25 billion on Wednesday, beating analyst expectations and posting record annual results, but Cisco stock fell in after-hours trading. The quarter's adjusted earnings per share of $1.22 topped the consensus estimate of $1.17, while revenue of
[3]
AI infrastructure spending boosts Cisco's earnings and revenue, but its stock declines after-hours
Networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. coasted to a solid earnings and revenue beat and issued strong guidance for the current quarter, but a drop in gross margins seems to have spooked investors, for its stock fell in late trading today. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings before certain
[4]
Cisco Says On-Premise AI Infrastructure Will Drive Next Wave of Enterprise AI - Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSC
AI Was Supposed to Push Everything to the Cloud: Cisco Sees the Opposite For much of the AI boom, the assumption has been straightforward: as companies adopt artificial intelligence, more computing workloads will move to the public cloud. Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is now making a different
[5]
Cisco Q4 Earnings: CEO Robbins Says AI, Security Spending Driving Network Refreshes
'Most of our enterprise customers today recognize we are in the midst of probably the fastest-moving technology transition that we've ever seen,' says Cisco Chair and CEO Chuck Robbins. Cisco Systems Chair and CEO Chuck Robbins dismissed concerns that the networking vendor is at the peak of what
[6]
Cisco Stock Is Falling Thursday: What's Going On? - Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO)
Cisco Says AI Boom Is Forcing Companies to Upgrade Networks -- 'It's Just Not Optional' Revenue rose to $17.25 billion, topping the $16.82 billion analyst estimate. Adjusted earnings of $1.22 per share beat the $1.17 consensus estimate. Management described the current environment as the early
[7]
Truist raises Cisco stock price target on AI growth outlook By Investing.com
Investing.com - Truist Securities raised its price target on Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) to $140 from $125 while maintaining a Buy rating on the stock. The firm cited the company's fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results and fiscal 2027 targets as reasons for the increase. Truist said Cisco is
[8]
Rosenblatt raises Cisco stock price target on strong AI demand By Investing.com
Investing.com - Rosenblatt raised its price target on Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) to $165 from $150 while maintaining a Buy rating on the stock. The shares currently trade at $123.88, representing a 33% upside to the new target. The firm cited strong fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results across
[9]
HSBC downgrades its rating on Cisco, sees the stock as fairly valued
Strong momentum driven by networking and AI In a research note, HSBC highlighted the quality of Cisco's fiscal fourth-quarter results, which came in above forecasts, as well as the resilience of its guidance. The investment bank is therefore expecting a marked acceleration in Cisco's networking
[10]
Morgan Stanley raises Cisco stock price target on AI networking demand By Investing.com
Investing.com - Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) to $135 from $130 while maintaining an Overweight rating on the shares. The stock has surged nearly 80% over the past year to $123.88, though InvestingPro data suggests the shares may be overvalued at current
[11]
Cisco Struggles as Hyperscaler Order Intake Disappoints
The US specialist in networking equipment, cybersecurity and data center infrastructure on Wednesday evening, after US markets closed, reported revenue of $17.25bn for Q4, up 18% y-o-y, versus $16.84bn expected. Adjusted EPS came in at $1.22, compared with the $1.17 consensus forecast. Growth
[12]
Cisco shares dip as solid AI-driven outlook faces lofty expectations By Investing.com
Investing.com - Cisco Systems forecast fiscal 2027 revenue and profit above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, betting that surging demand for networking equipment and artificial intelligence infrastructure will sustain growth into the new year. But the company's stock dropped by more than 5% in
[13]
Cisco Reports Higher 4Q Profit as AI Orders Roll In
Cisco Systems reported a higher profit in the fiscal fourth quarter as the company continued to receive billions of dollars in orders from artificial-intelligence hyperscalers. The network-equipment company on Wednesday reported a profit of $3.86 billion, or 97 cents a share, in the quarter ended
[14]
Cisco Q4 FY2026 slides: AI orders surge 4.5x, networking supercycle By Investing.com
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) presented its fiscal fourth quarter 2026 results on August 12, 2026, delivering record quarterly revenue and earnings that exceeded guidance while highlighting explosive growth in AI infrastructure orders. The networking equipment giant reported revenue of $17.3 billion,
[15]
Cisco slips 2% despite results supported by AI and networking
The US specialist in networking equipment, cybersecurity and data center infrastructure posted $17.25bn in revenue in its fiscal fourth quarter, up 18% year on year, versus $16.84bn expected. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.22, compared with the $1.17 anticipated by consensus. The
[16]
Cisco forecasts annual revenue above estimates on sustained AI spending
Aug 12 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems forecast fiscal 2027 revenue above Wall Street expectations on Wednesday, signaling confidence that strong demand for its AI networking gear will continue to power growth. Shares of the San Jose, California-based company rose 3% in extended trading. They have
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Cisco reported Q4 revenue of $17.25 billion, surpassing Wall Street estimates as hyperscalers placed $4 billion in AI infrastructure orders during the quarter. The networking giant forecasts fiscal 2027 revenue between $72.2 billion and $73.4 billion, well above analyst expectations, signaling confidence in sustained AI spending despite stock decline on margin concerns.
Cisco Q4 Earnings Beat Expectations on Strong AI Infrastructure Demand
Cisco delivered Q4 revenue of $17.25 billion, exceeding analyst estimates of $16.82 billion and marking an 18% increase from $14.7 billion in the same period last year
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. Adjusted earnings per share reached $1.22, topping the consensus estimate of $1.172
. For the full fiscal year 2026, revenue climbed to $63.3 billion, up 12%, with GAAP net income jumping 51% to $3.9 billion in Q4 alone2
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. Despite the strong performance, Cisco stock fell more than 4% in after-hours trading, likely due to gross margins dropping to 66.3% from 68.4% a year earlier, attributed to rising component costs for networking hardware such as memory chips3
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Source: Market Screener
Hyperscalers Drive $9.3 Billion in AI Spending
A standout of Cisco's fiscal 2026 was AI-related demand from hyperscalers—the major cloud and internet platforms fueling AI data centers. These customers placed $4 billion in orders during Q4 alone, pushing their fiscal year 2026 total to $9.3 billion
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. Hyperscalers generated approximately $4 billion in revenue for Cisco in fiscal 2026, a figure projected to climb to $7.5 billion by fiscal 20272
. Total product orders rose 35% year over year in the quarter, with networking product orders up 40%, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in that category2
. Chuck Robbins, chair and CEO of Cisco, emphasized the company's competitive differentiation in secure networking, stating that Cisco is well positioned to support customers however or wherever they decide to deploy AI2
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Source: CRN
On-Premise AI Infrastructure Emerges as Strategic Enterprise Choice
Cisco is making a contrarian bet that the next phase of enterprise AI adoption will not be defined solely by cloud migration but by companies bringing more AI infrastructure into their own data centers
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. Robbins stated that on-premise AI infrastructure will become an important option for enterprise customers looking to optimize both the business value and cost of AI deployments4
. Enterprises need GPU clusters on premise and at the edge with low-latency, high-bandwidth networking and built-in security, observability and automation, all of which Cisco can provide in a co-designed, vertically integrated stack4
. For businesses handling sensitive information or applications requiring fast response times, keeping AI workloads on premises can reduce delays, improve control over data and potentially lower operating costs4
.Related Stories
Security Spending and Network Refreshes Driven by Anthropic Mythos
Robbins dismissed concerns that Cisco is at the peak of a growth super cycle, citing enduring long-term opportunities from AI networking infrastructure, security updates spurred by Anthropic's Mythos model, and the pending quantum computing era
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. Customers are reprioritizing spending within existing budgets and increasingly viewing readiness spending around AI, Mythos and quantum-related vulnerabilities as not optional, creating a shift of dollars to IT5
. Although Cisco hasn't seen a massive impact from Mythos yet, a Mythos-influenced pipeline is growing as customers engage in early conversations around infrastructure assessments, last-day-of-support deadlines, and getting rid of equipment past those deadlines5
. A July KeyBanc report indicated that one-fifth of surveyed CIOs and one-third of VARs reported increased security spending due to Mythos concerns5
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Source: Market Screener
Cisco Issues Bullish Fiscal 2027 Guidance
Cisco forecasts fiscal 2027 revenue between $72.2 billion and $73.4 billion, significantly above analysts' average estimate of $68.69 billion
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. For the fiscal first quarter of 2027, Cisco put its revenue target at $18 billion to $18.2 billion, well ahead of the $16.8 billion analysts had penciled in, with adjusted EPS of $1.32 to $1.34 surpassing the $1.16 consensus2
. Full-year fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS is expected to land between $5.05 and $5.112
. Cisco also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, payable October 21, 2026, and returned $3.2 billion to stockholders through share buybacks and dividends during the quarter2
. Cash flow from operations was $5.4 billion for the quarter, up 27% year over year, with the company ending the period with $15.9 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and investments2
. Despite the stock decline, Cisco shares have climbed over 56% so far this year, reflecting sustained investor confidence in AI-driven growth1
.References
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