Market Analysis & Investment Strategy - The market has froth, but positive stories overwhelm it, making rational investments viable [2][3] - Insider buying in Eli Lilly (LLY) suggests a positive outlook, leading to a rerating of the stock [5][6] - The market in 2024 is not like the dot-com bubble of 1999-2000, as rational investments still exist [21][24] - Skepticism towards companies buying crypto on margin and consultant companies like Palantir is viewed as irrational; Palantir is considered cheap using the rule of 40 [14][16] Company Performance & Initiatives - Amazon's move to same-day grocery delivery is a disruptive initiative, potentially impacting Instacart, DoorDash, and Uber [3][4] - Charles Schwab experienced a 17% increase in net new assets month over month [7] - Cisco's AI-related orders from webscale customers exceeded $2 billion in fiscal year 2025, more than double the initial target of $1 billion [62] - Universal Technical Institute (UTI) reported weaker than expected new student starts, causing a stock plunge of nearly 19%, but year-to-date starts are up over 14% [27][28][31] Economic Trends & Inflation - Wage deflation, driven by automation and AI, is expected to impact hiring and layoffs in various sectors, including law, accounting, and advertising [109][112] - Companies are hesitant to hire due to the cost of labor and the potential for digitization and automation to replace human workers [103][110] - Amazon's expansion of same-day grocery delivery to 2,300 cities could impact competitors like DoorDash, Instacart, Kroger, and Target [105][106]

Market Overview - The Shanghai Composite Index has surpassed 3700 points, with total market trading volume exceeding 2 trillion yuan, indicating a strong market characteristic and further solidifying the foundation for a slow bull market [1][10] - The market shows clear signs of sector rotation and upward movement, suggesting that holding stocks is advisable in the short to medium term [1][10] Economic Data - The National Bureau of Statistics released the national economic operation data for July [2] - The U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) rose by 3.3% year-on-year in July, with a month-on-month increase of 0.9% [6] U.S. Stock Market Performance - The U.S. stock market showed mixed results, with the S&P 500 index slightly up by 0.03%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.02% [3] - Intel shares surged by 7.4% following reports of potential government investment, while other tech stocks like Amazon and Netflix rose over 2% [3] Chinese Stock Market Performance - The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index fell by 2.13%, with major Chinese stocks like Li Auto and Alibaba experiencing declines of over 4% [4] Company Announcements - JD Group reported a second-quarter revenue of 356.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22.4%, but net profit decreased to 6.2 billion yuan from 12.6 billion yuan in the same period last year [7] - China Shipbuilding Industry Company announced plans to terminate the listing of China Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Company following a merger [9] - Aimeike's subsidiary REGEN is involved in a significant arbitration case, with claims amounting to approximately 1.6 billion yuan [10]

Core Insights - Cisco Systems reported fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results, showing an 8% year-over-year revenue increase to $14.67 billion, slightly above analyst expectations of $14.62 billion [2] - The company attributed revenue growth to a 7% increase in overall product orders across all regions, with artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure products being significant growth drivers, generating over $2 billion in orders in the first half of the calendar year, exceeding the management's target of $1 billion [4] - Non-GAAP net income reached $4 billion, translating to $0.99 per share, which is a 12% increase from the previous year's fourth quarter and slightly above the average projection of $0.98 [5] - Cisco provided guidance for the current first quarter and fiscal 2026, projecting revenue between $59 billion and $60 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $4.00 to $4.06, aligning with consensus expectations of $59.5 billion and $4.03 [6] Financial Performance - Revenue for the fourth quarter was $14.67 billion, an 8% increase year-over-year [2] - Non-GAAP net income was $4 billion, or $0.99 per share, a 12% increase from the previous year [5] Growth Drivers - Overall product orders increased by 7% across all regions [4] - AI infrastructure products contributed significantly, with orders exceeding $2 billion in the first half of the year [4] Future Outlook - Guidance for fiscal 2026 includes revenue expectations of $59 billion to $60 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $4.00 to $4.06 [6]

Group 1 - The article promotes Ian's Insider Corner, which offers access to initiation reports on new stocks, an active chat room, and weekly updates for members [1] - Ian Bezek, a former hedge fund analyst, has extensive experience in Latin American markets and specializes in high-quality compounders and growth stocks at reasonable prices [2] Group 2 - The article includes a disclosure stating that the author has no current stock positions in the companies mentioned and has no plans to initiate any positions in the near future [3] - Seeking Alpha's disclosure emphasizes that past performance does not guarantee future results and that the views expressed may not reflect the opinions of the platform as a whole [4]

Core Insights - Cisco Systems (CSCO) reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 non-GAAP earnings of 99 cents per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.06% and reflecting a year-over-year increase of 13.8% [1] - Revenues reached $14.67 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.47% and showing a year-over-year growth of 7.6% [1] - Total Annual Recurring Revenues (ARR) were $31.1 billion, up 5%, with product ARR growth of 8% [1] Financial Performance - Fourth-quarter revenues from Networking were $7.63 billion, up 12% year over year; Security revenues were $1.95 billion, up 9%; Collaboration revenues were $1.04 billion, up 2%; and Observability revenues were $259 million, up 4% [4] - Total Product revenues in Q4 were $10.89 billion, accounting for 74.2% of total revenues, with a year-over-year increase of 10%; Service Revenues were $3.79 billion, flat year over year [5] - Operating expenses totaled $5 billion, up 3.6% year over year, but as a percentage of revenues, they declined by 130 basis points; non-GAAP operating income was $5.03 billion, up 13.3% year over year, with an operating margin of 34.3% [10] Regional Performance - Americas' revenues increased 9% year over year to $8.82 billion; EMEA revenues climbed 4% to $3.65 billion; APJC revenues rose 7% to $2.21 billion [6] AI Infrastructure and Partnerships - AI Infrastructure orders from webscale customers exceeded $800 million, contributing to total revenues of $2 billion in fiscal 2025, which is double the original expectation [6][9] - Cisco's partnership with NVIDIA is enhancing its offerings, particularly in AI infrastructure, with the integration of Cisco Nexus switches and NVIDIA's Spectrum-X architecture [7] Balance Sheet and Shareholder Returns - As of July 26, 2025, cash and cash equivalents and investments totaled $16.1 billion, up from $15.6 billion; total debt decreased to $28.1 billion from $29.2 billion [11] - Remaining performance obligations (RPO) were $43.5 billion, up 6%, with 50% expected to be recognized as revenues in the next 12 months; Cisco returned $2.9 billion to stockholders through share buybacks and dividends [12] Guidance - For Q1 fiscal 2026, Cisco expects non-GAAP earnings between 97 cents and 99 cents per share, with revenues projected between $14.65 billion and $14.85 billion [13] - For fiscal 2026, non-GAAP earnings are expected to be between $4 and $4.06 per share, with revenues anticipated between $59 billion and $60 billion [14]

Business Strategy & Product Development - Cisco is focusing on becoming a platform offering, integrating security into its solutions, particularly relevant with the rise of AI and the need for low latency, in-network security [1][4][5] - The company highlights a product refresh cycle spanning several years, with initial order capabilities recently enabled [3][4] - Cisco emphasizes its unique position with both networking and security technologies, enabling a fused platform approach [5] - M&A is considered to accelerate product and solution strategies in areas like air infrastructure, security, and observability [23][24] - Cisco is collaborating with NVIDIA on architectures for new cloud architectures and joint go-to-market strategies, focusing on enterprise AI adoption [24][25] Market Dynamics & Opportunities - Cisco sees significant opportunities in cloud providers, neo cloud segments, and sovereign clouds, particularly in UAE, Saudi Arabia, and other regions with on-prem sovereign application demands [13][14][15] - Telco and cable orders increased by over 20%, driven by preparation for AI [26] Financial Performance & Outlook - Cisco reported good order growth in Q4 and strong performance in air infrastructure orders [2] - Approximately $1 billion of revenue has been recognized from air infrastructure orders [3][7] - Cisco does not foresee a general slowdown in IT spending, with product order growth at 7%, or 10% excluding US federal [10][11] - Security orders grew double digits excluding US federal [12] Supply Chain & Manufacturing - Cisco has mitigated roughly 80% of the China tariffs imposed in 2018 [18] - The company maintains a US manufacturing footprint and is monitoring developments regarding potential expansion [18] Competitive Landscape - Cisco differentiates itself in air infrastructure with networking systems and optics, being one of only three companies capable of delivering the required networking silicon [7][8]

Technology & Network - Aentic is the desired destination for customers, driven by real-time, low-latency communication between agents [1] - Low latency communication drives demand for network capacity and necessitates integrated network security [1][2] - Traditional firewall appliances introduce unacceptable latency, requiring security to be fused into the network [2] Labor & Hiring - The company anticipates hiring fewer people through technology adoption [3] - The company is evaluating existing open positions to determine if they can be filled with technology instead of new hires [3] - The company aims to slow the pace of hiring over time, focusing on increasing the productivity and innovation of existing engineers [4] - The company prioritizes enhancing the productivity of current engineers to gain a competitive advantage, rather than reducing headcount [4]

Financial Performance - Cisco achieved 5% growth for the year and strong EPS growth [2] - Q4 showed meaningful growth of 8% and double-digit EPS growth [2] - Cisco recognized roughly $1 billion of AI infrastructure orders during the quarter [4] AI & Webscale Business - Cisco more than doubled its initial target of $1 billion in AI orders from webscale customers [3] - Large cloud providers (the six of them) grew triple digits (greater than 100%) for Cisco during the year, marking four consecutive quarters of growth exceeding 100% [11] Security Business - Excluding US Federal, overall bookings were up 10% [7] - Excluding US Federal, security orders were up double digits [7] - New and refreshed security products, comprising 2/3 of the organic Cisco security portfolio, grew in excess of 20% during the quarter [9] Innovation & Technology - Cisco is delivering innovation at a faster pace than seen in a long time [8] - Cisco's products consume less energy, driving strong demand from webscale customers [10][11] - Cisco is fusing security into the network to avoid latency issues [15] Agentics & Labor - Customers are aiming for "Agentics," which involves machines performing tasks typically done by people [14] - Cisco is evaluating whether new hires are necessary, exploring technology-based alternatives [16]

Investment Rating - The report assigns an "Outperform" rating for Cisco, indicating an expected total return over the next 12-18 months that exceeds the relevant market benchmark [21]. Core Insights - Cisco's Q4 FY25 results showed revenue of $14.7 billion, a year-over-year increase of 8%, surpassing expectations of $14.62 billion. Non-GAAP net income reached $4.0 billion, up 12% year-over-year, with non-GAAP EPS at $0.99, a 14% increase [1][8]. - The growth was primarily driven by strong demand for AI infrastructure and network upgrades, alongside several AI-oriented product launches. Cisco's competitive position in networking and AI has been further strengthened through strategic partnerships and continuous innovation [1][8]. - For the full fiscal year 2025, Cisco reported total revenue of $56.7 billion, reflecting a 5% year-over-year growth [1][8]. Summary by Sections AI Infrastructure - AI infrastructure has emerged as a significant growth driver, with web-scale customer orders exceeding $800 million in Q4, leading to cumulative orders of over $2 billion for FY25, far surpassing the initial target of $1 billion. Approximately $1 billion of revenue related to these AI orders was recognized in FY25, indicating effective order-to-revenue conversion [2][9]. - Orders from service providers and cloud customers surged by 49% year-over-year, with web-scale customers achieving triple-digit order growth for four consecutive quarters, highlighting persistent demand [2][9]. Networking Segment - The networking segment experienced a 12% year-over-year revenue growth in Q4, with double-digit order growth recorded for four consecutive quarters. Newly launched products, such as the Catalyst 9K smart switches, are positioned to create AI-ready networks [3][10]. - The adoption of Wi-Fi 7 products has accelerated significantly, showing triple-digit year-over-year growth. Additionally, ruggedized Catalyst devices for industrial IoT have maintained double-digit order growth for five consecutive quarters, benefiting from local investments in manufacturing and critical infrastructure [3][10]. Security and Software - The security segment saw a 9% year-over-year revenue increase in Q4, driven by new and upgraded security products. The integration with Splunk has begun to yield synergies, with new customer acquisitions growing by approximately 14% year-over-year [4][11]. - The shift towards software and subscription services continues, with rising RPO and ARR, enhancing revenue visibility for FY26. Services revenue remained stable, with expectations for gradual recovery in FY26 [4][11]. FY26 Outlook - Management projects mid-single-digit revenue growth and a solid non-GAAP EPS range for FY26, supported by three core drivers: the AI strategy encompassing web-scale training back-end, enterprise inference/cloud, and network connectivity [5][12]. - The campus network refresh cycle and integrated security solutions are expected to support a recovery in enterprise IT spending. The ongoing transition to subscription and software models, along with Splunk synergies, will further enhance revenue predictability and profit structure [5][12][13].

Core Insights - INE has expanded its course offerings to align with Cisco's enhanced automation certification track, reflecting the increasing importance of network automation and security in enterprise environments [1][6] - Cisco's strategic repositioning includes full-stack automation solutions, controller-based automation, and the integration of artificial intelligence in automation workflows [2][4] - The transition from the DevNet certification program to a more traditional hierarchy under CCNA, CCNP, and CCIE Automation signifies a shift in the industry's perception of network automation and security [3][8] Company Overview - INE is a leading provider of IT training and network certification preparation, trusted by Fortune 500 companies and IT professionals globally [10] - The company emphasizes practical, lab-driven learning that equips students with job-ready skills, enhancing their career advancement opportunities [7][8] - INE's training portfolio already aligns closely with the new certification requirements, preparing students to leverage AI for predictive network management and threat detection [4][6] Course Development - INE is developing a dedicated ENAUTO v2.0 course tailored to the updated exam blueprint, featuring hands-on laboratories and real-world scenarios [5][8] - The new course will cover essential technologies such as YANG, NETCONF, RESTCONF, and telemetry, which are crucial for secure network automation [5][6] - Current DevNet Associate and Professional Core learning paths remain relevant and provide excellent preparation for the enhanced automation certification track [8][9]