Cisco Systems (CSCO) Earnings Date & Reports

Key Takeaways

• Fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue rose 18% year over year to $17.252 billion, beating consensus estimates.
• Non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) reached $1.22, up 23% year over year and above analyst expectations.
• Hyperscaler AI infrastructure orders hit $4 billion in the quarter, lifting full-year orders to $9.3 billion.
• Networking revenue surged 28% to $9.791 billion, with product orders up 40% for an eighth straight quarter of double-digit growth.
• Management guided fiscal 2027 revenue to $72.2 billion–$73.4 billion and non-GAAP EPS to $5.05–$5.11.

Earnings Context and Why It Matters

Cisco Systems (CSCO) closed its fiscal 2026 with results that position the networking giant squarely at the center of the artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure buildout. After years of relatively modest top-line growth, the company has pivoted toward selling the high-speed switching, silicon, and optics that hyperscale data centers need to train and run AI workloads. This report matters because it shows whether that AI-driven demand is durable and profitable, and whether Cisco can convert surging orders into revenue without eroding margins. For investors, the quarter offered a critical read on the health of enterprise networking spending, security momentum, and the sustainability of a broader networking refresh cycle.

Reported Results

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, ended July 25, 2026, Cisco reported revenue of $17.252 billion, an 18% increase from $14.673 billion a year earlier and above the consensus estimate of roughly $16.85 billion. Non-GAAP EPS came in at $1.22, up 23% year over year and ahead of the approximately $1.17 analysts expected. On a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis, net income was $3.859 billion, or $0.97 per diluted share.

Product revenue rose 24%, while product orders climbed 35% year over year (up 25% excluding hyperscalers). Networking was the standout, with revenue up 28% to $9.791 billion and product orders up 40%. Security revenue increased 14% to $2.226 billion, collaboration rose 12% to $1.167 billion, and observability grew 6% to $275 million. Services revenue was essentially flat at $3.793 billion. Annualized recurring revenue (ARR) reached $32.1 billion, up 3%, and remaining performance obligations (RPO) totaled $46.7 billion, up 7%.

For the full fiscal year, revenue reached a record $63.325 billion, up 12%, with non-GAAP EPS of $4.33, up 14%. Non-GAAP gross margin in the quarter declined 210 basis points (bps) year over year to 66.3%, reflecting a higher hardware mix and memory costs, though non-GAAP operating margin expanded to 35.9% from 34.3% a year earlier.

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Market Reaction and Investor Sentiment

Despite the headline beat, Cisco shares drifted lower in the weeks following the report, with the stock down roughly 5% in the month after earnings. The mixed reaction reflected a tension between strong reported results and a more cautious read on the outlook. While full-year fiscal 2027 revenue guidance of $72.2 billion–$73.4 billion implied roughly 15% growth at the midpoint and sat above consensus, the company's first explicit full-year AI infrastructure revenue target of $7.5 billion was described by at least one analyst as conservative. Investors also weighed the prospect of continued gross-margin pressure from a hardware-heavy mix, even as management emphasized that operating margin, not gross margin, is the better gauge of profitability. The result was a market that rewarded the strength of the quarter while remaining cautious about how much of the AI-driven demand will translate into durable, high-margin revenue growth.

Forward Outlook and Key Factors to Monitor

Looking ahead, Cisco's guidance frames fiscal 2027 as a year of accelerating growth. For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, management expects revenue of $18.0 billion to $18.2 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $1.32 to $1.34. For the full year, it projects revenue of $72.2 billion to $73.4 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $5.05 to $5.11, implying roughly 17% bottom-line growth at the midpoint.

Several factors will shape how investors assess those targets. First, the trajectory of hyperscaler AI infrastructure revenue is central, with management guiding to about $7.5 billion for the year, up from roughly $4 billion in fiscal 2026. Second, the durability of the campus networking refresh cycle will be closely watched, since management has described an unusually broad simultaneous refresh across switching, routing, and wireless.

Third, gross-margin dynamics matter: a rising share of lower-margin hardware could keep gross margin under pressure even as operating margin benefits from leverage. Finally, the security business, including the Splunk franchise, is expected to accelerate from low single-digit to high single-digit growth, making it a key swing factor for the year. Investors will likely focus on whether order momentum holds, whether AI revenue guidance proves conservative, and whether profitability trends support the company's growth narrative.

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