Cisco Surpasses AI Infrastructure Sales Targets, Forecasts Strong Growth Amid AI Boom

AI boosted Cisco's sales by a cool billion dollars

Big Tech is spending vastly more on AI infrastructure but Switchzilla thinks its piece of the pie will be fat and juicy Cisco sold twice as much AI kit as it forecast during its 2025 fiscal year and expects the market for binary brainboxes will continue to boost its bank balance in future. The networking giant on Wednesday announced [PDF] its Q4 and full year results, pointing out that "AI Infrastructure orders taken from webscale customers exceeded $800 million, bringing the FY 2025 total to over $2 billion, more than double the original $1 billion target." CEO Chuck Robbins said that result "demonstrates the undeniable capability and relevance of our technology for multiple back-end use cases with some of the most technologically advanced customers." And it probably does. But let's put it into perspective: Microsoft, AWS, and Google plan to spend almost $300 billion on datacenters in the next 12 months. Cisco is currently getting a tiny slice of that spend. Google just spent $14 billion on servers in a single quarter. Meanwhile, Cisco's boasting about $2 billion of revenue from hyperscalers in a year. Nvidia, meanwhile, now sells around $5 billion of networking kit each quarter, plenty of it to hyperscalers. Cisco's Q4 saw $14.7 billion of revenue come through the door, an eight percent year-on-year jump. Net income jumped 31 percent to $2.8 billion. Full-year revenue landed at $56.7 billion, and that extra $1bn of AI sales contributed about a third of the $2.9 billion (five percent) annual revenue growth. Net income grew just one percentage point, to $10.5 billion. Robbins was upbeat about Cisco's prospects, pointing to a pair of billion-dollar deals with web scale customers who signed for a combination of networking, security, collaboration and observability products during the year. The CEO said customers have shown "strong interest" in Cisco's Catalyst 9000 switches, which run its new custom silicon, and their curiosity has already translated into 80 sales of the Hypershield network security product. The CEO also said he expects enterprise adoption of AI will trail hyperscale uptake, and that more organizations will modernize their networks in coming years. AI will therefore continue to boost Cisco's core on-prem networking business, which in Q4 grew orders by double digits - for the fourth quarter in a row. Robbins said he thinks "there's a lot of [AI] pilots going. There's a lot of work going on with customers who are piloting different applications in retail environments etc." "So, we think it will start to ramp and then we think that you'll see AI applications ramp. And then the second half of the year, we think you'll see agentic AI proof of concepts become more pervasive. And that's going to require obviously network connectivity, network capacity, low latency." Cisco plans to cash in. Asked if the USA's new tariffs policy could present a future problem for Cisco, if only because customers rushed to buy kit before the import duties are added to product prices, Robbins said "I haven't heard one instance in the last six months of a single customer who said 'I'm going to order this now before price increases occur'." CFO Mark Patterson weighed in with his observation that other metrics Cisco uses to gauge customers' intentions also suggest the threat of tariffs did not change buyer behavior. Robbins also said spending by the US government remains robust, and Cisco believes it will increase in 2026 despite budget cuts. The company forecast FY 2026 revenue will land between $59 billion to $60 billion, representing growth of between 4.0 percent and 5.8 percent. Investors seem content with Cisco's numbers, as the company's share price dipped by around one percent in after hours trading. ®

Cisco forecasts first-quarter revenue above estimates

Aug 13 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems (CSCO.O), opens new tab forecast first-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, as the artificial intelligence boom boosted demand for its networking equipment from cloud customers. The company expects its revenue to be between $14.65 billion and $14.85 billion for the quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of $14.62 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shreya Biswas Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Cisco projects upbeat quarterly revenue as AI fuels networking equipment demand

Aug 13 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems (CSCO.O), opens new tab forecast first-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, as the artificial intelligence boom boosted demand for its networking equipment from cloud customers. Hyperscale cloud investments are healthy and driving IT infrastructure financing, which sets up a good backdrop for Cisco. "Within the enterprise spending environment, there is incremental spending to beef up the infrastructure to accommodate AI, so that could potentially be another growth driver, especially with Cisco having such a big presence in the traditional enterprise market," Edward Jones analyst David Heger said. Big tech firms such as Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab, Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab and Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab are ramping up spending to ease capacity shortages that have limited their ability to meet AI demand, even after several quarters of multi-billion-dollar outlays. Cisco's AI infrastructure orders exceeded $800 million in the fourth quarter, bringing the total for fiscal 2025 to over $2 billion, more than double its original target, CEO Chuck Robbins said on a post-earnings call. The company has not seen any pull-forward in demand for products, but did note a small impact from tariffs in the quarter and during the fiscal year, he added. "We expect the sovereign AI opportunity to build momentum in the second half of fiscal 2026. Cisco will be a core system provider for these significant AI training and inference cluster build outs and integral to their development and eventual hyperscaling." Cisco has partnered with Humain, Saudi Arabia's state-backed AI company, and it will provide digital solutions for Bahrain's government information and telecommunications infrastructure. The company expects revenue to be between $14.65 billion and $14.85 billion for the first quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of $14.62 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Its revenue for the fourth quarter ended July 26 came in at $14.67 billion, compared with estimates of $14.62 billion. Networking product orders grew in the double digits during the quarter, driven by webscale infrastructure, switching, enterprise routing, industrial IoT and servers. Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shreya Biswas Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Cisco sees higher-than-expected quarterly revenue on increased networking gear demand

Aug 13 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems (CSCO.O), opens new tab forecast first-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, as the artificial intelligence boom boosted demand for its networking equipment from cloud customers. Enterprises such as Cisco have been benefiting as more businesses move workloads to cloud environments and modernize campus footprints to prepare for AI technologies. "The AI infrastructure orders we received from webscale customers in fiscal 2025 were more than double our original target, indicating a massive opportunity ahead as we lead the required architectural shift and build the critical infrastructure needed for the AI era," CEO Chuck Robbins said in a statement. Cisco's AI infrastructure orders exceeded $800 million in the fourth quarter, bringing the total for fiscal 2025 to more than $2 billion, Robbins said on a post-earnings call. Cisco has not seen any pull-forward in demand for products, he added. The company expects its revenue to be between $14.65 billion and $14.85 billion for the first quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of $14.62 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Its revenue for the fourth quarter ended July 26 came in at $14.67 billion, compared with estimates of $14.62 billion. Networking product orders grew in the double digits during the quarter, driven by webscale infrastructure, switching, enterprise routing, industrial IoT and servers. Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shreya Biswas Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Cisco forecasts higher-than-expected quarterly revenue on increased demand

Aug 13 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems (CSCO.O), opens new tab forecast first-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, as the artificial intelligence boom boosted demand for its networking equipment from cloud customers. Enterprises such as Cisco have been benefiting as more businesses move workloads to cloud environments and modernize campus footprints to prepare for AI technologies. "The AI infrastructure orders we received from webscale customers in fiscal 2025 were more than double our original target, indicating a massive opportunity ahead as we lead the required architectural shift and build the critical infrastructure needed for the AI era," CEO Chuck Robbins said. The company expects its revenue to be between $14.65 billion and $14.85 billion during the first quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of $14.62 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Its revenue for the fourth quarter ended July 26 came in at $14.67 billion, compared with estimates of $14.62 billion. Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shreya Biswas Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Cisco Systems deserves more respect in AI, and its quarterly results prove it

Cisco Systems on Wednesday evening beat Street estimates on both the top and bottom line with its fiscal 2025 fourth quarter results. The company also issued slightly better than expected guidance, driven by strong growth for its networking products. Revenue in the quarter ended July 26 increased 8% year over year to $14.67 billion, exceeding the LSEG-complied analyst consensus estimate of $14.62 billion. Non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) increased 14% on an annual basis to 99 cents, beating expectations of 98 cents, LSEG data showed. GAAP stands for generally accepted accounting principles. CSCO 1Y mountain Cisco Systems 1 year Cisco stock, which is also one of the 30 names that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average , dipped slightly in what was a choppy after-hours trading session. Shares closed at a 52-week high of $71.79 each last Friday and traded a couple of dollars below that level Wednesday night. Bottom line Overall, it was a pretty solid quarter for Cisco. The computer networking equipment and security company reported another quarter of huge order growth thanks to artificial intelligence infrastructure spending and an enterprise networking refresh cycle. When we review Cisco, we always focus on orders because that's the best leading indicator of where revenue is headed. It's always been an order story, and we liked what we saw in the fiscal fourth quarter. However, it wasn't all clean. Sure, the security segment had positive order growth as well, but it reported a big revenue miss that will raise some flags. Still, what matters to us is that Cisco has turned into a misunderstood AI play. The company is taking in billions of dollars of orders from webscale, also known as hyperscaler, customers, and big opportunities are ahead from big corporations and sovereign AI -- countries expanding their capabilities and infrastructure. Hyperscalers are the household big tech names like Amazon , Meta Platforms , and Microsoft . In a market that rewards AI-exposed companies with lofty valuations, Cisco trades at a very reasonable high teens price-to-earnings multiple. That valuation is too cheap to us. Why we own it Cisco Systems is an enterprise networking equipment provider that has made big strides to appeal to webscale customers and bring in over $1 billion in AI infrastructure orders. The company has also increased its presence in the security market through its acquisition of Splunk. In addition, Cisco's long-term transition toward subscription software sales, which are sticky and come with higher margins, should help improve the stock's undemanding price-to-earnings multiple. Competitors : Arista Networks , Hewlett Packard Enterprise , Juniper Networks Most recent buy : July 28, 2025 Initiated : July 17, 2025 Some analysts believe Cisco won't get full credit for its AI business until the company breaks out when these orders will turn into revenue. During the earnings call, management explained it recognized roughly $1 billion of AI revenue from webscale customers during fiscal year 2025. We'll see if that added information helps the stock earn more credit in the weeks ahead. We are reiterating our buy-equivalent 1 rating and keeping our $78 price target for now. We initiated Cisco on July 17 and made two subsequent buys over the next two weeks. Commentary Total Product orders increased 7% in fiscal Q4 year over year with growth across all geographies, with segment revenue up 10% to $10.89 billion. Starting off with Networking , product orders increased by a double-digit rate, representing the fourth consecutive quarter of such growth. A big reason behind this order surge is Cisco's fast growing AI infrastructure business and its ability to capture share from webscale customers. The momentum in this business continued in the fiscal fourth quarter with orders exceeding $800 million, bringing the fiscal year 2025 total to over $2 billion. That's double management's original target for the year. During the earnings call, CEO Chuck Robbins pointed out that orders from four out of the top six webscale customers, each grew orders in the triple digits. Even better, two of those customers each placed total orders of over $1 billion across Cisco's four business segments in the fiscal year. One reason why Cisco has made huge strides in its AI efforts is due to a major partnership with Nvidia . The two companies have teamed up to integrate Cisco's Nexus switches with Nvidia's Spectrum-X architecture to provide what the company describes as low latency, high speed networking for AI clusters. Cisco has also integrated a security solution for AI factories. Beyond Nvidia, Robbins said Cisco has a close relationship Advanced Micro Devices and is working with AMD on some sovereign AI deals, including the one with Humain, a newly launched Saudi Arabian AI company. Cisco is also receiving orders from neocloud providers. CoreWeave , which rents out Nvidia chips to customers for AI workloads, is an example of a neocloud. Robbins said there were several large deals in the quarter from these neoclouds that were not mentioned in the disclosed webscale AI infrastructure order figure. In addition to the webscale networking order growth story, there's a strong refresh cycle happening from enterprise customers adopting the company's Catalyst 9000 switches as well as routers, wireless access points, and industrial internet-of-things, or IoT, devices. While it's still early, Robbins pointed out that enterprise AI orders are starting to ramp up and the company is growing a customer pipeline "in the hundreds of millions." By division, Networking revenue increased 12% to $7.63 billion, by far Cisco's biggest, and management called out growth across most of its portfolio. They saw double-digit growth in internet infrastructure and enterprise routing and good growth in switching. Server revenue, however, declined. The Security division, product orders increased by mid-single digits. Still, we were disappointed by the significant revenue miss, even with 9% year-over-year increase. Cisco boosted its solutions in this industry last year when it paid $28 billion to acquire Splunk, so we would have preferred to see more strength. However, Robbins is very upbeat about the future. He explained on the earnings call how orders for the newer, refreshed products within Security increased by above 20%. The weakness mostly came from its U.S. federal government business, which has been hurt by budget cuts. When backing out the federal business, the rest of world security order growth increased by double digits in the fourth quarter. Cisco has about two-thirds of its security portfolio growing above 20%, which gives management confidence in its ability to hit its long-term target of 15% to 17% growth from its Security and Observability business. Observabilit y and Collaboration grew slightly in fiscal Q4 but missed estimates. Services revenue was flat at $3.79 billion, which missed estimates. Lastly, we always appreciate Cisco's consistent approach to returning cash to shareholders. The company bought back $1.3 billion worth of stock in the quarter at an average price of $64.65. It has $14.2 billion remaining under its authorization. Guidance Cisco expects fiscal 2026 first quarter revenue of $14.65 billion to $14.85 billion. The midpoint of $14.75 billion is a beat against the consensus of $14.62 billion. It also sees non-GAAP EPS of 97 to 99 cents. The midpoint of 98 cents is a penny higher than the consensus. For the full-year 2026, Cisco expects revenue of $59 billion to $60 billion. The midpoint of $59.5 billion is a slight beat against the consensus of $59.4 billion. It sees non-GAAP EPS of $4 to $4.06. The midpoint of $4.03 is a penny higher than estimates. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long CSCO, AMZN, META, MSFT. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

AI infrastructure deals fuel strong earnings for Cisco - SiliconANGLE

Strong artificial intelligence infrastructure orders carried Cisco Systems Inc. to fiscal fourth quarter revenues and earnings that beat analysts' estimates and marked a strong finish to the fiscal year. Quarterly revenue of $14.7 billion was up 8% from $13.64 billion last year and ahead of analyst estimates of $14.62 billion. Net income of $4 billion, or 99 cents per share, narrowly beat expectations of 98 cents. "AI infrastructure orders we received from webscale customers in fiscal 2025 were more than double our original target, indicating a massive opportunity ahead," said Chief Executive Officer Chuck Robbins (pictured). Cisco said AI infrastructure orders totaled more than $800 million in the quarter, up from $600 million the previous quarter, and totaled $2 billion for fiscal 2025. Despite the strong results, Cisco stock drifted about a half percent lower in after-hours trading. On a product line basis, networking revenues grew 12%, security products 9%, observability 4% and collaboration 2%. The single-digit growth in security overall masked the strong performance of new product lines and Splunk, which Cisco acquired last year. Splunk revenues grew 14% in the quarter but overall performance was dragged down by legacy products, Robbins said. Zeus Kerravala, principal analyst at ZK Research, agreed that the security business is fundamentally strong. "While the percentage growth in security seemed low on the surface, it is growing where it needs to," he said. "New product growth was over 20%. If one pulls out U.S. Federal, which is very slow, the rest of the business saw double-digit growth." Total gross margin of 68.4% was up from 67.9%, and year ago, indicating that Cisco is expanding into new markets without sacrificing profits. The company returned $2.9 billion in capital to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends in the quarter, bringing total lreturns in fiscal 2025 to $12.4 billion and surpassing the $12.1 billion returned a year ago. Operating expenses were $5.0 billion, up 4%, comprising 34.1% of revenue. Cisco issued guidance in line with analysts' estimates. For the first quarter of fiscal 2026, it estimates revenue of between $14.65 billion and $14.85 billion, slightly ahead of consensus estimates of $14.62 billion. Earnings-per-share of between $0.97 and $0.99 were in line with expectations. The company foresees full-year earnings per share of between $4 and 4.06 compared to a consensus estimate of $4.02. For the year, Cisco expects revenue to come in at between $59 billion and $60 billion dollars versus a consensus estimate of $59.39 billion. Robbins said AI is providing a tailwind that is benefiting the company across the board. "As we move into the next phase of AI, with agents autonomously conducting tasks alongside humans, the capacity requirements of the network will be compounded to accommodate both unprecedented levels of network traffic and an increasing threat landscape," he said. He said Cisco internal research found that 97% of IT networking executives believe they'll need to upgrade their networks to successfully deploy AI. The cloud business continues to show healthy growth, up 49% year-over-year, with "triple-digit order growth in webscale for the fourth consecutive quarter," Robbins said. He said interest is particularly strong in the new family of Catalyst 9000 switches and refreshed lineup of secure routers, wireless access points, and industrial devices, which are built for the AI inference. "High-performance networking is an area where Cisco has struggled historically, but with the maturity of Silicon One and its partnership with Nvidia, Cisco has turned this business around," Kerravala said. Silicon One is the proprietary chip architecture Cisco introduced six years ago and which is now used throughout its product lines. The company also has a long-term partnership with Nvidia Corp. to build AI-ready data center networks. "As a trusted partner for enterprises, hyperscalers, neocloud and sovereign cloud providers alike, Cisco has the opportunity to lead this generational transition in networking and security" brought about by AI, Robbins said. Executives said the impact of tariffs on the business has been minimal and even provided a sales boost. "We see solid demand signals continuing into FY26 as countries around the world are committing to U.S. domestic investments as part of their trade agreements," Robbins said. "While Cisco did guide up, there is still uncertainty around the tariffs," Kerravala said. "New [Chief Financial Officer] Mark Patterson explained the complexities of not really knowing what lies ahead and the assumptions used."

Cisco's CEO Sees 'Massive Opportunity' as AI Infrastructure Orders Grow

Kara Greenberg is a senior news editor for Investopedia, where she does work writing, editing, and assigning daily markets and investing news. Prior to joining Investopedia, Kara was a researcher and editor at The Wire. Earlier in her career, she worked in financial compliance and due diligence at Loomis, Sayles & Company, and The Bank of New York Mellon. Cisco (CSCO) reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that narrowly topped analysts' expectations. Its CEO suggested bigger gains could be ahead as the company looks to capitalize on growing AI demand. The networking giant posted adjusted earnings per share of 99 cents on revenue that jumped 8% year-over-year to $14.7 billion, just slightly above analysts' estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Sales from Cisco's security and observability segments missed projections. However, strong growth in AI infrastructure orders helped push Cisco's annual total over $2 billion, more than double the company's $1 billion target. CEO Chuck Robbins said the results underlined a "massive opportunity ahead as we lead the required architectural shift and build the critical infrastructure needed for the AI era." Cisco projected first-quarter revenue of $14.65 billion to $14.85 billion and adjusted earnings per share of 97 cents to 99 cents. Analysts were looking for $14.63 billion and EPS of 97 cents, respectively. Shares of Cisco fell 2% in after-hours trading following the results. The stock has added nearly a fifth of its value in 2025 through Wednesday's close.

Cisco projects upbeat quarterly revenue as AI fuels networking equipment demand - The Economic Times

Big tech firms such as Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet are ramping up spending to ease capacity shortages that have limited their ability to meet AI demand, even after several quarters of multi-billion-dollar outlays.Cisco Systems forecast first-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, as the artificial intelligence boom boosted demand for its networking equipment from cloud customers. Hyperscale cloud investments are healthy and driving IT infrastructure financing, which sets up a good backdrop for Cisco. "Within the enterprise spending environment, there is incremental spending to beef up the infrastructure to accommodate AI, so that could potentially be another growth driver, especially with Cisco having such a big presence in the traditional enterprise market," Edward Jones analyst David Heger said. Big tech firms such as Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet are ramping up spending to ease capacity shortages that have limited their ability to meet AI demand, even after several quarters of multi-billion-dollar outlays. Cisco's AI infrastructure orders exceeded $800 million in the fourth quarter, bringing the total for fiscal 2025 to over $2 billion, more than double its original target, CEO Chuck Robbins said on a post-earnings call. The company has not seen any pull-forward in demand for products, but did note a small impact from tariffs in the quarter and during the fiscal year, he added. "We expect the sovereign AI opportunity to build momentum in the second half of fiscal 2026. Cisco will be a core system provider for these significant AI training and inference cluster build outs and integral to their development and eventual hyperscaling." Cisco has partnered with Humain, Saudi Arabia's state-backed AI company, and it will provide digital solutions for Bahrain's government information and telecommunications infrastructure. The company expects revenue to be between $14.65 billion and $14.85 billion for the first quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of $14.62 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Its revenue for the fourth quarter ended July 26 came in at $14.67 billion, compared with estimates of $14.62 billion. Networking product orders grew in the double digits during the quarter, driven by webscale infrastructure, switching, enterprise routing, industrial IoT and servers.

Cisco Q4 Revenue Jumps on AI Demand | The Motley Fool

Cisco(CSCO -1.51%) reported fourth quarter fiscal 2025 results on Aug. 13, 2025, posting total revenue of $14.7 billion (up 8% YoY) and non-GAAP EPS of $0.99 (up 14% YoY), with product orders rising 7% year over year and full-year operating cash flow up 30% to $14.2 billion. Major AI infrastructure orders surpassed $2 billion, far exceeding initial targets, and management issued guidance projecting revenue of $59 billion to $60 billion for fiscal year ending July 26, 2026, and non-GAAP EPS of $4.00 to $4.06. Key analyst questions focused on AI order conversion, security growth trajectory, service revenue trends, and the company's strategic partnerships in the AI and silicon ecosystem. AI infrastructure orders from web scale customers reached a record $800 million in the fourth quarter and over $2 billion for the year, double the original $1 billion target. The AI opportunity encompasses web scale, enterprise, sovereign, and neo-cloud providers, with Cisco positioned through Silicon One, targeted security offerings, and the expanded NVIDIA partnership. "These orders exceeded $800 million in the quarter, bringing the total for fiscal year 2025 to over $2 billion, more than double our original $1 billion target stated in Q4. This demonstrates the undeniable capability and relevance of our technology for multiple back-end use cases with some of the most technologically advanced customers. Overall, total product orders in Q4 grew 7% year over year, with solid growth across all geographies despite a complex environment, demonstrating the valuable outcomes we continue to deliver for customers worldwide." -- Chuck Robbins, Chair and CEO Surpassing the AI orders target validates Cisco's competitive positioning in the evolving infrastructure market. Security product orders benefited from the Splunk acquisition and new SASE (Secure Access Service Edge), XDR (Extended Detection and Response), HyperShield, and AI Defense products, with over 750 new customers added in the fourth quarter. Excluding the U.S. federal segment, security orders achieved double-digit growth in the fourth quarter, and cross-sell synergies delivered over 300 new Splunk customers for two consecutive quarters (Q3 and Q4). "If you take out U.S. Federal, which had a tough year as we all know, rest of world security order growth in the fourth quarter was up double digits. So we're really seeing this ramp, and I think I said on the last call, it's happening slower than I had anticipated. A lot of it's because this stuff is ratable. But I feel good about where we are. We have 80 new HyperShield customers, you know, largely connected to this new smart switch, so that strategy is working. And I would say that we had 480 plus new SSE customers during the quarter. So that's, you know, our secure services edge is really getting good traction. What I would say is based on how we see this stuff evolving, I would see the growth rate continuing to improve as we get through the fiscal year this year." -- Chuck Robbins, Chair and CEO The accelerating demand for new and refreshed security offerings, combined with successful Splunk cross-sell, counters legacy product headwinds and lays groundwork for reaching long-term CAGR targets in security and observability. Operating cash flow grew 30% to $14.2 billion, with $12.4 billion (94% of free cash flow) returned to shareholders via dividends and buybacks. The quarterly dividend was raised for the fourteenth consecutive year, and $14.2 billion remains authorized under the share repurchase program. "In Q4, we returned $2.9 billion in capital to our shareholders through share repurchases and dividends, bringing the total return in fiscal 2025 to $12.4 billion in value or 94% of free cash flow, surpassing the $12.1 billion Cisco returned to shareholders in fiscal 2024. Overall, our fiscal 2025 performance has established a solid foundation as we turn our focus to delivering Cisco's strongest year yet in fiscal year 2026, as indicated in our guidance." -- Chuck Robbins, Chair and CEO The company's disciplined capital allocation strategy, consistent dividend increases, and robust buybacks reinforce both short-term shareholder value and long-term investor confidence amid ongoing transformation toward software and recurring revenue. For the first quarter of fiscal year ending July 26, 2026, Cisco expects revenue of $14.65 billion to $14.85 billion, non-GAAP gross margin of 67.5%-68.5%, non-GAAP operating margin of 33%-34%, and non-GAAP EPS of $0.97 to $0.99. For the full fiscal year ending July 26, 2026, management guides to revenue of $59 billion to $60 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $4.00 to $4.06. Management anticipates sustained AI infrastructure demand, initial sovereign AI order flows ramping by mid to late fiscal 2026, and improving security order growth as the refreshed portfolio increases in mix; federal public sector spend is projected to return to growth in fiscal year ending July 26, 2026, after a decline in fiscal year ending July 27, 2025.

Cisco Posts 8 Percent Gain in Fiscal Q4

Cisco (CSCO -1.37%), a global leader in networking hardware and software, reported its earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter ended July 26, 2025, on August 13, 2025. The company posted revenue of $14.7 billion, up 8% from the prior year period, surpassing consensus non-GAAP revenue estimates of $14.6 billion. Non-GAAP earnings per share reached $0.99, slightly above the non-GAAP expectation of $0.98. These results reflected continued demand for advanced network and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The quarter showed resilient margins (GAAP and non-GAAP) and robust order growth, but also highlighted concerns over flat services revenue and the ongoing impact of tariffs on future profitability. Source: Analyst estimates provided by FactSet. Management expectations based on management's guidance, as provided in the fiscal third quarter 2025 earnings report. Company business overview and strategic focus Cisco designs and sells networking equipment, security software, collaboration tools, and observability products. Its business centers on providing network connectivity, cyber protection, and data insights, delivered as hardware, software, or by subscription. The company serves telecommunications providers, large enterprises, and the public sector worldwide. Recently, Cisco has focused on five areas: integrating artificial intelligence across all product lines, maintaining a strong global presence, enhancing cybersecurity, deploying data and AI infrastructure, and providing customer-focused advisory services. Success depends on continual innovation, adapting to regional market needs, advancing security solutions, enabling AI data processing, and strengthening customer engagement through flexible models and technical support. Quarter highlights and financial drivers GAAP revenue climbed 8% compared to the same period last year, and non-GAAP EPS beat expectations. Product revenue led growth, up 10%, while services revenue remained flat. Product orders rose 7% year over year, with especially strong demand from webscale customers -- large technology firms building out AI infrastructure -- pushing AI-specific orders above $800 million. AI orders topped $2 billion, doubling the original $1 billion target set at the start of the year. Networking products, which include routers and switches that move data through large networks, delivered $7.6 billion in revenue, up 12% year over year (non-GAAP). Security products -- software and systems that defend against cyber threats -- increased 9% to $1.95 billion. Observability products, which help monitor and analyze complex IT environments, grew 4%, while collaboration product revenue was up 2%. The company cited 9% growth in the Americas, while Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) saw moderate growth, with revenue up 4%. Profitability rose, with non-GAAP gross margin at 68.4%, up from 67.9% in the prior-year quarter. Non-GAAP operating income increased 13% to $5.0 billion, and non-GAAP net income grew 12% to $4.0 billion. Operating cash flow reached $4.2 billion -- a 14% jump from the prior year -- supporting continued capital returns. Cisco returned $2.9 billion to shareholders through a mix of dividends and share buybacks. The quarterly dividend was raised 2.5% from the prior-year quarter, to $0.41 per share. The company indicated strength in its innovation pipeline, notably in releasing the WiFi 7 wireless networking platform and introducing the Silicon One chip, a processor designed for high-speed, efficient AI workloads. Integration of the Splunk acquisition helped expand security and observability offerings. Over 370 customers adopted newly launched security products during the quarter, and Cisco landed a record deal for Splunk's security and monitoring platform in financial services. Forward outlook and areas to watch Cisco projects revenue between $14.65 billion and $14.85 billion for the fiscal first quarter of 2026 and expects non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.97 to $0.99. The non-GAAP gross margin is forecast at 67.5% to 68.5%, reflecting the impact of recently enacted tariffs, which the company warns could weigh on profitability in coming quarters. Revenue guidance is set at $59.0 billion to $60.0 billion for fiscal 2026, up about 4% to 6% from fiscal 2025, with non-GAAP EPS expected between $4.00 and $4.06. Management notes that margin pressure from tariffs and the uneven pacing of AI order conversion to revenue are key watchpoints. Looking ahead, investors should watch order momentum in AI infrastructure and the pace at which large AI deals flow into actual revenue. Continued strength in networking and security products is essential. Cisco's focus on innovation, new AI partnerships in the Middle East, and evolving security solutions position it for opportunity, but execution risks and tariff headwinds remain in play. Revenue and net income presented using U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) unless otherwise noted.

Cisco Posts Higher 4Q Earnings, Revenue on AI Infrastructure Demand

Cisco reported higher fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations, fueled by growing demand for its AI products. The tech company reported net income of $2.8 billion, or 71 cents a share, up from $2.2 billion, or 54 cents, in the year prior. Adjusted earnings were 99 cents a share. Analysts expected 98 cents, according to FactSet. Revenue was $14.7 billion, up from $13.64 billion the previous year. Wall Street predicted $14.62 billion. AI infrastructure orders exceeded $800 million, bringing the fiscal year 2025 total to $2 billion. "The AI infrastructure orders we received from webscale customers in fiscal 2025 were more than double our original target, indicating a massive opportunity ahead as we lead the required architectural shift and build the critical infrastructure needed for the AI era," said CEO Chuck Robbins. Cisco guided for fiscal year 2026 first-quarter revenue between $14.65 billion and $14.85 billion, and adjusted earnings between 97 cents and 99 cents a share. Wall Street sees revenue of $14.62 billion and adjusted earnings of 97 cents a share, according to FactSet. The company forecast 2026 full-year revenue between $59 billion and $60 billion, and adjusted per-share earnings of $4 to $4.06 a share. Analysts forecast 2026 full-year revenue of $59.39 billion and adjusted earnings of $4.02 a share. Write to Nicholas G. Miller at [email protected].