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

Cisco announced on Wednesday that it had exceeded analysts' expectations for earnings, reporting a net income growth of 30.6% year-over-year. The company’s stock, however, experienced a slight decline in after-hours trading. For the quarter ending July 26, Cisco reported a revenue increase of 7.6%, totaling $14.57 billion. The net income rose to $2.82 billion, translating to earnings of 71 cents per share, compared to $2.16 billion and 54 cents per share from the same period last year. Looking ahead, Cisco projected adjusted earnings per share between 97 to 99 cents for the upcoming fiscal first quarter, alongside revenue estimated between $14.65 billion and $14.85 billion. Analysts had predicted earnings of 97 cents per share with revenues of $14.62 billion. For the entire fiscal year of 2026, Cisco has forecasted adjusted earnings per share in the range of $4.00 to $4.06, with total revenue expected to be between $59 billion and $60 billion, slightly below the consensus forecast of $4.03 per share and $59.53 billion in revenue. The company's networking revenue for the fourth quarter stood at $7.63 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations of $7.34 billion by 12%. In contrast, Cisco's security revenue reached $1.95 billion, a 9% increase, but fell short of the projected $2.11 billion. In a significant move towards artificial intelligence, Cisco announced its commitment to invest in AI infrastructure through a partnership with firms like BlackRock and Microsoft. Additionally, the company is participating in the Stargate data center initiative in the Middle East, alongside OpenAI and SoftBank. Cisco has also unveiled new switches and routers designed to handle AI workloads. "The AI infrastructure orders we received from webscale customers in fiscal 2025 were more than double our original target of $1 billion," stated Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins during the announcement. As of market close on Wednesday, Cisco's shares have risen 19% in 2025, outpacing the S&P 500’s 10% gain. Company executives will further discuss these results in a conference call scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET.