Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Releases Q4 2026 Earnings Guidance

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) updated its fourth quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 1.160-1.180 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 1.040. The company issued revenue guidance of $16.7 billion-$16.9 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $15.8 billion. Cisco Systems also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 4.270-4.290 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CSCO. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their price target on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.00.

Cisco Systems Price Performance

Cisco Systems stock opened at $115.53 on Friday. Cisco Systems has a 12-month low of $62.30 and a 12-month high of $119.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $456.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.92.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 28.70% and a net margin of 20.14%.The firm had revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Cisco Systems has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.160-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.270-4.290 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 54.55%.

Insider Transactions at Cisco Systems

In other Cisco Systems news, SVP Maria Victoria Wong sold 551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.54, for a total value of $42,724.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 27,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,167,785.78. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 3,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.74, for a total value of $249,745.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 188,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,040,000.62. This represents a 1.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,587 shares of company stock worth $1,230,765. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts lifted their price targets on Cisco after the earnings beat, including Evercore, Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas Exane, Piper Sandler, KeyCorp, Morgan Stanley, Citi, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, and Bank of America, reinforcing a broadly bullish outlook for CSCO. BNP Paribas Exane Issues Positive Forecast for Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco reported fiscal Q3 revenue of $15.84 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.06, both ahead of estimates, while also raising FY2026 guidance; the update suggests stronger demand trends and better near-term earnings power. CISCO REPORTS THIRD QUARTER EARNINGS
• Positive Sentiment: Management said AI infrastructure orders are accelerating, including roughly $9 billion in hyperscaler AI infrastructure orders for FY2026, fueling investor optimism that Cisco is becoming a key beneficiary of the AI buildout. Cisco CEO says tech is entering a ‘networking supercycle’ as stock pops 14% on strong AI demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco also announced a quarterly dividend, which supports the stock’s income appeal but is not the main driver behind today’s move. Cisco Systems Stock Performance
• Negative Sentiment: The restructuring includes nearly 4,000 job cuts and up to $1 billion in related charges, which introduces execution risk and near-term cost pressure even as the market focuses on the AI growth opportunity. Cisco to Cut Jobs in Shift to Capture More AI Demand

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSCO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 29,289,151 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,256,144,000 after purchasing an additional 14,874,407 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,102,912 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,625,558,000 after buying an additional 2,867,520 shares in the last quarter. Credit Agricole S A purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems during the third quarter worth about $138,802,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 3.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 48,498,612 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $3,318,275,000 after buying an additional 1,631,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cisco Systems by 301.6% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,081,451 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $160,334,000 after buying an additional 1,563,117 shares in the last quarter. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.