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

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $15.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 18.38% and a return on equity of 27.29%. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $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 Price Performance

Cisco Systems stock opened at $85.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $337.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.99. Cisco Systems has a 1 year low of $52.11 and a 1 year high of $88.18.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.65%.

Insider Activity

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,745 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was 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 directly owned 176,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,010,307.74. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles Robbins sold 116,734 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.30, for a total value of $9,023,538.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 704,153 shares in the company, valued at $54,431,026.90. The trade was a 14.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,044,865 shares of company stock valued at $81,397,635. Insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSCO. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Cisco Systems by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 48,498,612 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,318,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631,703 shares during the period. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 11.9% during the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 8,518,018 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $582,803,000 after purchasing an additional 903,030 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in Cisco Systems by 5.9% during the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 7,094,878 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $480,569,000 after buying an additional 398,144 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Cisco Systems by 12.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,637,731 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $385,564,000 after buying an additional 627,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in Cisco Systems by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 3,332,793 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $256,725,000 after buying an additional 171,792 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CSCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Cisco Systems from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $70.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.45.

More Cisco Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record Q2 revenue, EPS beats on the headline metrics and Cisco raised its FY26 outlook — evidence of strong demand (particularly from AI hyperscalers). This supports longer?term revenue growth expectations. CISCO REPORTS SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS
• Positive Sentiment: New Silicon One G300 AI switching silicon positions Cisco to compete for large AI?data?center spend (big TAM). That product news underpins the company’s AI infrastructure narrative and potential market share gains vs. competitors. Silicon One G300 Announcement Drives Sentiment
• Positive Sentiment: Board approved a 2% quarterly dividend increase to $0.42 — a shareholder?friendly move that signals management confidence and supports income investors. CISCO REPORTS SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and price targets remain broadly positive with several upgrades and above?consensus targets — this supports upside but may already be priced into the stock. Quiver Quant Q2 Earnings Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate: some outlets question whether recent multi?year gains have priced in the AI upside, so investor patience may be required for further upside. Is Cisco Fairly Priced?
• Negative Sentiment: Near?term guidance was essentially in line with expectations rather than a clear beat; investors punished the stock after the quarter even though results were strong — market focus shifted to guidance cadence. CNBC: Stock Drops on Mediocre Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Gross margin came in below some estimates and management noted higher memory/component costs are pressuring margins; that near?term margin risk is a key reason traders sold shares. MSN: Higher Memory Costs Pressure Margins
• Negative Sentiment: Operating cash flow softened year?over?year and capex rose; combined with notable insider selling reported by third parties, these items add execution and governance noise for short?term traders. Quiver Quant: Financials & Insider Activity

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.