Cisco reports narrow earnings beat, issues inline forecast for the year
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Cisco reports narrow earnings beat, issues inline forecast for the year

Why This Matters

Cisco posted Q4 revenue up 7.6% to $14.67 billion and its 2026 forecast on track with strong AI infrastructure orders.

August 14, 2025
01:09 AM
3 min read
AI Enhanced

In this articleCSCO your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTCisco CEO Chuck Robbins speaks at the Roundtable CEO Workforce Forum in Washington on June 17, 2025.Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesCisco reported results on Wednesday that narrowly exceeded analysts' expectations and issued quarterly guidance that was also better than expected.Here's how the company did in comparison with LSEG consensus:Earnings per : 99 cents adjusted vs.

98 cents expectedRevenue: $14.67 billion vs. $14.62 billion expectedRevenue increased 7.6% year over year in the quarter, which on July 26, according to a statement.

Net income rose to $2.82 billion, or 71 cents per , from $2.16 billion, or 54 cents per , in the same quarter a year ago.Management called for 97 cents to 99 cents in fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings per on $14.65 billion to $14.85 billion in revenue.

Analysts surveyed by LSEG were expecting 97 cents per on $14.62 billion in revenue.For the full 2026 fiscal year, Cisco forecast $4 to $4.06 in adjusted earnings per and $59 billion to $60 billion in revenue.

The LSEG consensus was for earnings of $4.03 a and $59.53 billion in revenue."While we have some clarity on tariffs, we are still operating in a complex environment," Mark Patterson, Cisco's finance chief, said on a conference call with analysts.In the fiscal fourth quarter, Cisco generated $7.63 billion in networking revenue, up 12%.

Analysts polled by StreetAccount were looking for $7.34 billion.Cisco's security revenue for the quarter totaled $1.95 billion, up 9% and trailing the StreetAccount estimate of $2.11 billion.During the quarter, Cisco said it would collaborate with a partnership to invest in artificial intelligence infrastructure, alongside BlackRock, Microsoft and other companies.

It joined a Stargate data center initiative for the Middle East that involves OpenAI and SoftBank.

And the company introduced switches and routers that can take on AI workloads.Cisco is in the planning phase on sovereign infrastructure jects, CEO Chuck Robbins said on the call."We have not taken any orders from them yet," he said.

"We've been in the planning phases with them.

They're obviously working through getting the licenses for the GPUs."AI infrastructure orders from web companies in the quarter reached $800 million, Robbins said.

The total for the 2025 fiscal year was over $2 billion, more than double the company's goal, he said.

$1 billion of those orders for the fiscal year were earmarked for back-end networks that connect graphics cessing units, Robbins said.Cisco's AI infrastructure sales pipeline from enterprises is in the hundreds of millions of dollars, he said."I don't feel AI's a fleeting trend," Robbins said.At market close on Wednesday, Cisco s are up 19% in 2025, while the S&P 500 has gained 10%.WATCH: Tal Liani: We are in an infrastructure cycle boom driven by AI and data growthwatch now2:3602:36Tal Liani: We are in an infrastructure cycle boom driven by AI and data growthWorldwide Exchange

FinancialBooklet Analysis

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Key Insights

  • Earnings performance can signal broader sector health and future investment opportunities
  • cisco's actions could set precedents for similar companies in the sector
  • Financial sector news can impact lending conditions and capital availability for businesses

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  • Could this earnings performance indicate broader sector trends or company-specific factors?
  • Will cisco's actions influence how similar companies approach their business strategies?
  • Could this financial sector news affect lending conditions and capital availability?

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