Cisco Systems, Inc. designs and sells a broad range of technologies that power the Internet, integrating product portfolios across networking, security, collaboration, applications, and the cloud to create secure, intelligent platforms for digital businesses . The company operates globally, primarily managed through three geographic segments: the Americas, EMEA, and APJC . Cisco's business activities focus on providing comprehensive solutions that integrate networking and security with advanced technologies like AI to support digital transformation for their customers .
- Networking - Offers routers, switches, and other infrastructure essential for building and managing networks.
- Security - Provides cybersecurity solutions, enhanced by the acquisition of Splunk, to protect digital environments.
- Observability - Delivers tools and services for monitoring and analyzing IT infrastructure and applications, bolstered by Splunk's capabilities.
- Collaboration - Develops communication and collaboration tools to enhance productivity and connectivity.
- Services - Offers a range of support and consulting services to optimize the use of Cisco's products and solutions.
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| Name | Position | External Roles | Short Bio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Charles H. Robbins ExecutiveBoard | Chair and Chief Executive Officer | Board Member at BlackRock, Inc. | CEO since July 2015, Chair since December 2017. Over 25 years at Cisco, previously led global sales and partner teams. | View Report → |
Deborah L. Stahlkopf Executive | EVP and Chief Legal Officer | Board Member at NextEra Energy, Inc. | Joined Cisco in August 2021. Previously held leadership roles at Microsoft, including Corporate VP and General Counsel. | |
R. Scott Herren Executive | Executive Vice President and CFO | Board Member at Rubrik, Inc. | Joined Cisco in December 2020. Previously CFO at Autodesk and held leadership roles at Citrix, FedEx, and IBM. | |
Thimaya Subaiya Executive | EVP of Operations | None | Joined Cisco in July 2018. Previously held leadership roles at Salesforce and Oracle. | |
Daniel H. Schulman Board | Independent Director | Board Member at Verizon, Lazard | Director since October 2023. Former CEO of PayPal. Extensive expertise in technology and business transformation. | |
Dr. Kristina M. Johnson Board | Independent Director | Board Member at DuPont, Minerals Technologies | Director since 2012. Former President of The Ohio State University and Chancellor of SUNY. Renowned engineer and entrepreneur. | |
John D. Harris II Board | Independent Director | Board Member at Exxon Mobil, Flex Ltd., Kyndryl Holdings | Director since 2021. Former VP of Business Development at Raytheon. Extensive experience in government relations and supply chain management. | |
Marianna Tessel Board | Independent Director | EVP and GM at Intuit Inc. | Director since 2021. EVP and GM at Intuit. Former engineering leader at Docker and VMware. | |
Mark Garrett Board | Independent Director | Board Member at GoDaddy Inc., Snowflake Inc. | Director since 2018. Former CFO of Adobe and EMC. Senior Advisor at Permira. | |
Michael D. Capellas Board | Lead Independent Director | Board Member at The Beauty Health Company | Director since 2006. Former CEO of MCI, Compaq, and First Data. Extensive experience in technology and governance. | |
Sarah Rae Murphy Board | Independent Director | None | Director since 2022. Former Chief Procurement Officer at United Airlines. Extensive experience in finance and operations. | |
Wesley G. Bush Board | Independent Director | Board Member at Dow Inc., GM Corporation | Director since 2019. Former CEO and Chair of Northrop Grumman. Extensive experience in aerospace and defense. |
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Given that networking revenue declined by 23% this quarter compared to the same period last year, and acknowledging the previous backlog shipments' impact, what specific strategies are you implementing to drive sequential growth in your networking segment for the rest of fiscal 2025?
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With customers preparing for AI but only 13% of organizations reporting that their infrastructure is ready, how confident are you that the expected increase in front-end capacity demand will occur in the near term, and what factors could potentially delay this anticipated growth?
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Security orders, excluding the U.S. Federal impact, grew in the mid- to high teens driven by new products like XDR and Secure Access, but given that Hypershield is not yet a major contributor to orders, how sustainable is this growth rate without significant adoption of your newer offerings?
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As you continue integrating Splunk, can you elaborate on the challenges you may face in realizing the expected synergies, and how this integration will drive sustained growth in your security business amidst fierce competition?
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Considering the recent fluctuations in product orders due to inventory digestion and normalizing demand, what specific factors give you confidence in achieving your long-term target of 4% to 6% growth, and are there any near-term headwinds that could jeopardize this goal?
Research analysts who have asked questions during CISCO SYSTEMS earnings calls.
Aaron Rakers
Wells Fargo
6 questions for CSCO
Amit Daryanani
Evercore
6 questions for CSCO
James Fish
Piper Sandler Companies
6 questions for CSCO
Karl Ackerman
BNP Paribas
6 questions for CSCO
Meta Marshall
Morgan Stanley
6 questions for CSCO
Simon Leopold
Raymond James
6 questions for CSCO
Tal Liani
Bank of America
6 questions for CSCO
David Vogt
UBS Group AG
5 questions for CSCO
Samik Chatterjee
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
5 questions for CSCO
Michael Ng
Goldman Sachs
4 questions for CSCO
Adrienne Colby
Citigroup
3 questions for CSCO
Ben Reitzes
Melius Research LLC
3 questions for CSCO
Matthew Niknam
Deutsche Bank
3 questions for CSCO
Antoine Chkaiban
New Street Research
2 questions for CSCO
Ben Bollin
Cleveland Research
2 questions for CSCO
Joseph Cardoso
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
2 questions for CSCO
Mike Ng
Goldman Sachs
2 questions for CSCO
Sebastien Naji
William Blair
2 questions for CSCO
Benjamin Reitzes
Melius Research
1 question for CSCO
George Notter
Jefferies
1 question for CSCO
Sebastien Cyrus Naji
William Blair & Company, L.L.C.
1 question for CSCO
Competitors mentioned in the company's latest 10K filing.
| Company | Description |
|---|---|
Amazon Web Services LLC | Competes with the company in certain product or service areas, particularly in networking and communications equipment markets. |
Competes with the company in specific product categories within networking and communications. | |
Competes with the company in certain product or service areas, particularly in networking and communications equipment markets. | |
Competes with the company in specific product categories within networking and communications. | |
Competes with the company in certain product or service areas, particularly in cybersecurity. | |
Competes with the company in specific product categories, particularly in observability technologies. | |
Competes with the company in certain product or service areas, particularly in networking and communications equipment markets. | |
Competes with the company in specific product categories, particularly in observability technologies. | |
Competes with the company in certain product or service areas, particularly in cybersecurity. | |
Competes with the company in certain product or service areas, particularly in networking and communications equipment markets. | |
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | Competes with the company in specific product categories within networking and communications, with a focus on price competition, especially in Asia. |
Competes with the company in certain product or service areas, particularly in networking and communications equipment markets. | |
Competes with the company in specific product categories, particularly in cloud and networking technologies. | |
New Relic, Inc. | Competes with the company in specific product categories, particularly in observability technologies. |
Competes with the company in certain product or service areas, particularly in networking and communications equipment markets. | |
Competes with the company in specific product categories, particularly in areas involving advanced computing technologies. | |
Competes with the company in certain product or service areas, particularly in cybersecurity. | |
Competes with the company in specific product categories, particularly in collaboration technologies. | |
Competes with the company in specific product categories, particularly in collaboration technologies. | |
Competes with the company in certain product or service areas, particularly in cybersecurity. |
Notable M&A activity and strategic investments in the past 3 years.
| Company | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
Threatology, Inc. | 2025 | Cisco completed the acquisition on January 31, 2025, having signed the Agreement and Plan of Merger on December 15, 2024. The deal involved the assumption of 214,644 RSUs (registered at a proposed maximum price of $60.41 per unit, for a total of $12,966,645) and contributed $168 million in increased goodwill, supporting its long‐term equity incentive strategy. |
Splunk Inc. | 2024 | Completed on March 18, 2024, Cisco paid $157 per share in cash, with a total consideration of approximately $27.09 billion. The deal generated significant intangible assets and goodwill (amounting to $19.3 billion and $10.6 billion respectively), involved the assumption of convertible notes, and incurred transaction costs of $85 million to bolster its cybersecurity and observability capabilities. |
Robust Intelligence, Inc. | 2024 | Acquired on September 23, 2024, this acquisition was executed through a merger agreement on August 26, 2024, and involved converting 687,617 RSUs at a proposed price of $52.17 per share (totaling $35,872,979). It strategically enhanced Cisco’s AI security offerings and was part of a broader initiative alongside the DeepFactor, Inc. acquisition. |
DeepFactor, Inc. | 2024 | Acquired on September 19, 2024, DeepFactor, Inc. is a cloud-native application security company brought in to strengthen Cisco’s security portfolio as part of its first quarter fiscal 2025 strategic initiatives. |
Isovalent, Inc. | 2024 | Completed on April 12, 2024, Cisco acquired Isovalent, Inc.—a leader in open-source cloud-native networking and security—to integrate its eBPF, Cilium, and Tetragon technologies into Cisco’s AI-driven Security Cloud platform and enhance its multicloud security capabilities. |
Recent press releases and 8-K filings for CSCO.
- Cisco’s fiscal Q1 2026 revenue rose 8% year-over-year to $14.9 billion, with non-GAAP EPS of $1.00, beating guidance.
- Networking product revenue increased 15%, global product orders were up 13%, and AI infrastructure orders from hyperscaler customers reached $1.3 billion.
- GAAP gross margin was 65.5%, and operating margins exceeded guidance.
- The company reaffirmed its FY 2026 revenue outlook of $60.2–$61.0 billion and non-GAAP EPS guidance of $4.08–$4.14.
- Cisco declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, reinforcing its income appeal.
- Cisco delivered $14.9 billion in Q1 revenue, up 8% YoY, and non-GAAP EPS of $1.00, up 10% YoY.
- Product revenue rose 10% to $11.1 billion, with networking up 15% (AI infrastructure and routing strength), while security declined 2% on prior-generation product declines and a shift in Splunk to cloud subscriptions.
- Returned $3.6 billion to shareholders via $1.6 billion in dividends and $2.0 billion in share repurchases, representing 125% of free cash flow.
- Q2 guidance: revenue $15.0–15.2 billion, non-GAAP EPS $1.01–1.03; FY26 guidance: revenue $60.2–61.0 billion, non-GAAP EPS $4.08–4.14.
- Cisco delivered $14.9 B in revenue (up 8% y/y) with Non-GAAP EPS of $1.00 (up 10% y/y), exceeding guidance.
- AI momentum accelerated with $1.3 B of hyperscaler AI orders and $200 M+ of AI orders from neocloud, sovereign and enterprise customers in Q1.
- Cisco is raising FY 2026 guidance on a robust outlook.
- Returned $3.6 B to shareholders (125% of free cash flow), including $2.0 B of share repurchases in the quarter.
- Revenue of $14.9 billion, up 8% year-over-year; non-GAAP EPS of $1.00, up 10%.
- Product orders grew 13%, with service provider & cloud orders +45%; strong networking demand is driving a multi-year campus refresh opportunity.
- Recurring metrics: total RPO of $42.9 billion (+7%) and ARR of $31.4 billion (+5%) at quarter end; subscriptions represented 54% of revenue.
- Returned $3.6 billion to shareholders (dividends of $1.6 billion; share repurchases of $2.0 billion), with $12.2 billion remaining under the buyback program.
- Cisco delivered record Q1 revenue, up 8% y/y, with product revenue of $11.1 B (+10%) and service revenue of $3.8 B (+2%), driving 10% non-GAAP EPS growth and returning $3.6 B to shareholders (125% of FCF)
- Hyperscaler AI infrastructure orders reached $1.3 B in Q1, and Cisco expects to recognize ~$3 B in AI infrastructure revenue from hyperscalers in FY 2026, supported by a 45% y/y increase in service provider and cloud orders
- Overall product orders rose 13% y/y, with Americas +16%, EMEA +8%, APJC +13%; service provider & cloud +45%, public sector +12%, enterprise +4%; recurring metrics included ARR of $31.4 B (+5%) and RPO of $42.9 B (+7%)
- Q2 FY 2026 guidance: revenue $15.0 B–15.2 B, non-GAAP EPS $1.01–1.03; full-year FY 2026 guidance: revenue $60.2 B–61.0 B, non-GAAP EPS $4.08–4.14**
- Next-gen campus switches, enterprise routers and Wi-Fi 7 products are ramping faster than prior launches, underpinning a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar network refresh opportunity; partnerships expanded with G42 for sovereign AI clusters and NVIDIA for Spectrum X-based N9100 switch
- Cisco reported fiscal Q1 2026 revenue of $14.88 billion (+8% YoY) and adjusted EPS of $1.00, both exceeding Wall Street expectations.
- Full-year 2026 revenue guidance was raised to $60.2–61.0 billion, and Q2 revenue is projected at $15.0–15.2 billion.
- Q1 product revenue rose 10% to $11.08 billion, service revenue increased 2% to $3.81 billion; operating margin stood at 22.07% and net margin at 17.97%.
- The company maintains conservative leverage (debt/equity 0.6) and solid liquidity (current ratio 1.0; quick ratio 0.91), though there were 11 insider selling transactions in the past three months.
- Cisco delivered revenue of $14.9 billion, up 8% year over year; GAAP EPS of $0.72 (+6%) and non-GAAP EPS of $1.00 (+10%)
- Product orders rose 13% YoY, including $1.3 billion in AI Infrastructure orders from hyperscaler customers
- Q2 FY 2026 guidance: $15.0 billion to $15.2 billion revenue; GAAP EPS of $0.69–$0.74; non-GAAP EPS of $1.01–$1.03
- Declared a $0.41 per-share quarterly dividend (record Jan 2, payment Jan 21, 2026) and returned $3.6 billion to shareholders via dividends and buybacks in Q1
- Revenue of $14.9 billion, up 8% year-over-year; GAAP EPS of $0.72 (+6%) and Non-GAAP EPS of $1.00 (+10%) for the quarter ended October 25, 2025.
- Provided Q2 FY2026 guidance of $15.0–15.2 billion in revenue, GAAP EPS of $0.69–$0.74 and Non-GAAP EPS of $1.01–$1.03.
- Declared a $0.41 per share quarterly dividend, payable January 21, 2026, and repurchased 29 million shares (~$2 billion) in the quarter.
- Generated $3.2 billion in operating cash flow and returned $3.6 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks in Q1.
- Cisco introduced Cisco IQ, a unified AI-powered interface that integrates real-time insights, on-demand assessments, automated troubleshooting, personalized learning and support across services into a single platform.
- The platform’s agentic-AI foundation continually adapts to each customer’s environment, delivering contextual recommendations to reduce complexity, boost resiliency and accelerate time-to-value.
- Cisco IQ supports flexible deployment modes—SaaS, on-prem tethered or air-gapped—and offers secure API integration to fit into existing workflows.
- General availability is expected in H2 FY2026, marking Cisco’s expansion into AI-led customer experience and enhanced partner enablement.
- Cisco Systems launched the Unified Edge platform, an integrated system combining compute, networking, storage, and security to extend AI processing to network edges and simplify workload management.
- The platform supports third-party vendors like Nutanix, VMware, and Microsoft, ensuring compatibility with customers’ existing environments.
- It aims to alleviate capacity constraints in enterprise AI pilot programs—particularly in manufacturing and healthcare—by providing data center-level redundancy at edge locations such as retail stores and factory floors.
- Early adoption by Verizon and a projected market release by year-end drove Cisco’s stock up by 1% and attracted a UBS Buy rating.
- Integrated observability and security tools via Splunk and ThousandEyes enhance monitoring and protection for edge AI deployments.