Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 19.22% and a return on equity of 28.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Cisco Systems’ conference call:

• Cisco reported a beat and momentum in Q2 with record revenue of $15.3B (+10% YoY) and non-GAAP EPS of $1.04 (+11%), raised dividend and continued $3B of capital returns reinforce management’s commitment to shareholder returns and its FY26 guidance.
• AI infrastructure is a major growth driver — Cisco took $2.1B of hyperscaler AI orders in Q2, now expects AI orders in excess of $5B and to recognize >$3B of hyperscaler AI revenue in FY26, and highlighted product momentum (1M Silicon One chips shipped, new G300 102.4Tb chip and optics).
• Non-GAAP gross margin declined ~120 bps (product gross margin down 130 bps) driven primarily by higher memory costs and unfavorable mix; management is raising prices and revising partner terms but flagged near-term margin pressure.
• Security revenue was down 4% as Splunk shifts from on‑prem to cloud (short-term revenue drag), yet new/refreshed security offerings are gaining traction with ~1,000 new customers in Q2 and 2.5M Secure Access users booked.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $75.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Cisco Systems has a 1-year low of $52.11 and a 1-year high of $88.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $296.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.00.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 61.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 428 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.33, for a total transaction of $34,381.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 32,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,584,698.08. The trade was a 1.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,745 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total value of $138,657.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 176,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,010,307.74. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 507,122 shares of company stock worth $39,545,816. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $4,392,000 after buying an additional 24,562 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,156 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,178 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $706,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 3.9% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 13,974 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $969,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 118.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 90,650 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $6,289,000 after acquiring an additional 590,650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on CSCO. Argus raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $80.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays increased their price target on Cisco Systems from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.48.

Key Headlines Impacting Cisco Systems

Here are the key news stories impacting Cisco Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat and management raised FY26 outlook — record revenue of ~$15.3B, non‑GAAP EPS outperformed consensus and Cisco said AI infrastructure orders totaled $2.1B, signaling strong hyperscaler demand. This is the core fundamental positive underpinning the shares. PRNewswire: Cisco Reports Second Quarter Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Product innovation for AI: Cisco unveiled the Silicon One G300 switching silicon aimed at large AI clusters — a strategic product that supports long‑term AI infrastructure revenue upside. InsiderMonkey: Silicon One G300 Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets and reiterated buy ratings after the quarter (Citigroup, UBS, BNP Paribas, Rosenblatt among others), which supports medium‑term upside expectations despite the move lower today. MarketScreener: Citigroup Raises Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend bump: Cisco raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 (small near‑term cash return benefit; not the driver of today’s volatility).
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data in feeds appears erroneous (reported zeros/NaN); no clear signal from short‑interest figures in these reports.
• Negative Sentiment: Margin/memory cost concern: management warned that rising memory prices and a global memory shortage are pressuring gross margins. That guidance/margin cue was the main catalyst for the selloff as investors re‑priced near‑term profitability. CNBC: Memory Prices Pressure Margins
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and sector impact: Cisco’s cautious/mixed near‑term tone sparked a broad tech selloff and a spike in volatility — amplifying the stock decline beyond Cisco‑specific fundamentals. Benzinga: Cisco Triggers Tech Selloff
• Negative Sentiment: Investor disappointment: Several outlets note that, despite beats and AI momentum, investors focused on the “mediocre”/mixed outlook and gross‑margin miss — driving heavy intraday selling. MarketWatch: Why Cisco’s Stock Is Falling

Cisco Systems Company Profile

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that designs, manufactures and sells networking hardware, software and telecommunications equipment. Its core business focuses on enabling enterprise and service-provider networks through products such as routers, switches, network security appliances and wireless systems. Over time Cisco has broadened its portfolio to emphasize software-defined networking, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure and edge computing solutions that help organizations build and manage modern IT environments.

In addition to hardware, Cisco offers a growing range of software platforms and subscription services for network management, security, analytics and collaboration.