Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins speaks at the Business Roundtable CEO Workforce Forum in Washington on June 17, 2025.
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Cisco 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 share: 99 cents adjusted vs. 98 cents expected
- Revenue: $14.67 billion vs. $14.62 billion expected
Revenue increased 7.6% year over year in the quarter, which ended on July 26, according to a statement. Net income rose to $2.82 billion, or 71 cents per share, from $2.16 billion, or 54 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.
Management called for 97 cents to 99 cents in fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings per share on $14.65 billion to $14.85 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were expecting 97 cents per share on $14.62 billion in revenue.
For the full 2026 fiscal year, Cisco forecast $4 to $4.06 in adjusted earnings per share and $59 billion to $60 billion in revenue. The LSEG consensus was for earnings of $4.03 a share 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 projects, 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. About $1 billion of those orders for the fiscal year were earmarked for back-end networks that connect graphics processing 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 like AI’s a fleeting trend,” Robbins said.
At market close on Wednesday, Cisco shares are up 19% in 2025, while the S&P 500 has gained about 10%.
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