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

by · The Markets Daily

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO – Get Free Report) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of 4.130-4.170 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 3.800. The company issued revenue guidance of $61.2 billion-$61.7 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $60.7 billion. Cisco Systems also updated its Q3 2026 guidance to 1.020-1.040 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CSCO. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Cisco Systems from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Argus upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $80.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Citic Securities raised their price target on Cisco Systems from $75.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, November 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.19.

View Our Latest Analysis on CSCO

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Cisco Systems stock traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $74.14. 5,369,546 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,979,775. Cisco Systems has a 1 year low of $52.11 and a 1 year high of $88.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $77.86 and a 200-day moving average of $73.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Cisco Systems will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is 61.65%.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In other news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 116,734 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.30, for a total transaction of $9,023,538.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 704,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,431,026.90. This represents a 14.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael D. Capellas sold 10,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.13, for a total transaction of $836,860.50. Following the sale, the director owned 146,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,289,363.84. This represents a 6.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 507,122 shares of company stock valued at $39,545,816 in the last ninety days. 0.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

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

  • Positive Sentiment: Cisco unveiled the Silicon One G300 switching chip and is targeting a large AI infrastructure opportunity; management also reported $2.1B of AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers, underscoring meaningful demand for Cisco’s data‑center networking products. Read More.
  • Positive Sentiment: Analysts responded by raising price targets and reiterating buy ratings (Citigroup, UBS, Rosenblatt and others), reflecting confidence in Cisco’s AI/ networking positioning and implying upside vs. the current price. Read More.
  • Positive Sentiment: Cisco raised its quarterly dividend (to $0.42) and reiterated full‑year revenue and EPS ranges that were above some prior expectations, supporting the long‑term income and capital‑return story. Read More.
  • Neutral Sentiment: Q2 results: revenue was a record ~$15.35B (≈+9.7% Y/Y) and non‑GAAP EPS beat by a small amount, and Cisco raised FY26 guidance — a positive top/bottom‑line print that nonetheless left room for debate. Read More.
  • Negative Sentiment: Investors focused on margin pressure: management warned that rising global memory prices are squeezing gross margins and operating leverage, and the company’s near‑term margin outlook was cautious. That drove a sharp intra‑day selloff and broader tech weakness. Read More.
  • Negative Sentiment: Market reaction was strong despite the beat — shares fell materially as traders re‑priced margin risk and a mixed/“in‑line” near‑term outlook, triggering sector‑wide volatility and ETF flows away from networking names. Read More.

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSCO. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,102,912 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,625,558,000 after purchasing an additional 2,867,520 shares in the last quarter. Boston Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Boston Family Office LLC now owns 18,249 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 327,881 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,257,000 after acquiring an additional 8,711 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $790,000. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cisco Systems by 61.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 90,316 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $6,957,000 after purchasing an additional 34,498 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cisco Systems

(Get Free Report)

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.

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