Group 1 - Morgan Stanley has raised the target price for Cisco (CSCO.US) from $78 to $80 [1]

Core Viewpoint - Cisco reported a net profit of $2.82 billion for Q4 of FY2025, reflecting a 31% year-over-year increase, and AI infrastructure orders exceeded $2 billion, significantly surpassing the initial target of $1 billion [1][2][3] Financial Performance - Adjusted EPS for Q4 was $0.99, slightly above the expected $0.98, with revenue of $14.7 billion, an 8% year-over-year increase, also exceeding the forecast of $14.62 billion [2] - Net profit for Q4 reached $2.82 billion, marking a 31% increase compared to the previous year [2] Business Segment Analysis - The networking business generated $7.63 billion in revenue, a 12% year-over-year increase, outperforming the analyst expectation of $7.34 billion, driven by strong demand for switches and routers due to AI workloads [6] - The security business, however, underperformed with quarterly revenue of $1.95 billion, achieving only a 9% year-over-year growth, falling short of the $2.11 billion market expectation [7] Future Outlook - Cisco's guidance for FY2026 includes revenue expectations of $59 billion to $60 billion and adjusted EPS between $4.00 and $4.06, aligning closely with analyst expectations [8] - The guidance indicates a cautious outlook, suggesting that despite the excitement around AI, there is no strong impetus for a significant upward revision of annual forecasts [9] AI Strategy Insights - The surge in AI infrastructure orders, totaling over $2 billion for FY2025, is highlighted as a key achievement, with $800 million in AI orders recorded in Q4 alone [2][10] - CEO Chuck Robbins emphasized the transformative potential of AI, positioning Cisco as a leader in the necessary architectural changes for the AI era [10] Risks and Challenges - High customer concentration is noted, with current AI orders primarily coming from a few "Webscale" giants, raising concerns about the ability to translate AI demand to broader enterprise customers [11] - Key AI projects are still in the planning phase, with no orders received yet, indicating potential delays in realizing projected revenues [11] - The sustainability of the explosive growth in AI orders is questioned, particularly if capital expenditure cycles among cloud giants slow down [11]

Cisco reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that narrowly topped analysts’ expectations. Its CEO suggested bigger gains could be ahead as the company looks to capitalize on growing AI demand. https://t.co/C008XbSMbP ...

Group 1 - Cisco's Q4 FY2025 performance exceeded market expectations, with revenue growing 8% year-over-year to $14.67 billion and adjusted EPS increasing 14% to $0.99, indicating strong performance amid competitive pressures [1] - The networking business remains a significant revenue driver, with double-digit growth in networking product orders, reflecting robust demand in areas such as network infrastructure, switching equipment, enterprise routing systems, industrial IoT, and servers [1] - Cisco's AI business generated approximately $1 billion in revenue for FY2025, highlighting the rapid growth potential in the AI sector, although competition is intensifying from companies like Broadcom and HPE [1] Group 2 - For FY2026, Cisco's guidance shows cautious optimism, with adjusted EPS expected between $4.00 and $4.06, aligning closely with analyst expectations of $4.03, and projected annual revenue between $59 billion and $60 billion, slightly above the consensus of $59.49 billion [2] - CEO Chuck Robbins emphasized the company's strategy to better meet federal enterprise needs and plans to mitigate risks through acquisitions, such as the $28 billion acquisition of Splunk in 2024 to enhance capabilities in security and monitoring software [2] - Cisco is actively expanding into international markets, partnering with companies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to capitalize on sovereign AI opportunities, with plans to strengthen these collaborations in the second half of FY2026 [3]

Core Viewpoint - Cisco's moderate forecast for the current fiscal year has disappointed investors who were expecting significant growth from artificial intelligence data center projects [1] Financial Performance - Cisco projects fiscal year sales between $59 billion and $60 billion, which is in line with Wall Street's expectation of $59.5 billion but below some analysts' previous expectations of exceeding $61 billion [1] Market Trends - Cisco is attempting to capitalize on the AI spending boom, reporting AI network infrastructure orders exceeding $800 million, up from $600 million in the previous quarter [1] - The demand for Ethernet network upgrades is being driven by cloud companies building new AI-centric data centers [1]

Core Viewpoint - Cisco reported a quarterly earnings report that slightly exceeded Wall Street expectations, with a notable surge in AI infrastructure orders, indicating a strong growth opportunity in this sector [1][5][9] Financial Performance - For Q4, adjusted earnings per share were $0.99, slightly above the expected $0.98, while revenue reached $14.7 billion, a year-over-year increase of 8%, surpassing the forecast of $14.62 billion [5] - Net profit for the quarter was $2.82 billion, reflecting a 31% year-over-year growth [5] - The company's guidance for fiscal year 2026 includes revenue projections of $59 billion to $60 billion and adjusted EPS between $4.00 and $4.06, aligning closely with analyst expectations [8] Business Segment Performance - The networking business showed strong performance with revenue of $7.63 billion, a 12% year-over-year increase, exceeding analyst expectations of $7.34 billion [6][5] - Conversely, the security business underperformed, generating $1.95 billion in revenue, which, despite a 9% year-over-year growth, fell short of the $2.11 billion market expectation [7][5] AI Strategy and Outlook - Cisco's AI infrastructure orders exceeded $2 billion for fiscal year 2025, more than double the initial target of $1 billion, with $800 million in AI orders coming from network giants in Q4 alone [5][9] - CEO Chuck Robbins emphasized the significant opportunity presented by AI, asserting that it is not a fleeting trend [1][9] - However, there are concerns regarding the sustainability of this growth, particularly if capital expenditure from cloud giants slows down [11][9] Market Sentiment - Despite the positive earnings report, Cisco's stock fell by 2% in after-hours trading, reflecting investor disappointment over results that were seen as "good but not outstanding" [1] - The stock has risen 19% year-to-date, outperforming the S&P 500's 10% increase, leading to profit-taking pressures [1]

Core Insights - Cisco (CSCO.US) reported a 7.6% revenue growth in its fourth fiscal quarter, reaching $14.7 billion [1] - The adjusted earnings per share (EPS) were $0.99, surpassing market expectations of $0.98 [1] - The adjusted gross margin was 68.4%, slightly above the market forecast of 68.2% [1]

Group 1: Financial Performance - Cisco reported a 7.6% increase in revenue for Q4, reaching $14.7 billion, with adjusted earnings per share of $0.99, slightly above market expectations of $0.98 [1] - The adjusted gross margin was 68.4%, exceeding the market expectation of 68.2% [1] - Network business revenue was $7.34 billion, aligning with expectations, while service revenue was $3.79 billion [1] Group 2: Future Guidance - For the fiscal year ending July 2026, Cisco forecasts revenue between $59 billion and $60 billion, consistent with Wall Street's average expectation of $59.5 billion [3] - The company anticipates adjusted earnings per share for the year to be between $4.00 and $4.06, aligning with the expected $4.03 [3] - For Q1 of fiscal 2026, Cisco expects revenue between $14.65 billion and $14.85 billion, with a midpoint of $14.75 billion, higher than the expected $14.65 billion [3] Group 3: AI and Market Position - Cisco's AI business revenue is projected to reach approximately $1 billion by fiscal 2025, amidst increasing competition from companies like Broadcom and HPE [4] - The company is focusing on government contracts and has made a strategic acquisition of Splunk for $28 billion to enhance its security and monitoring software business [4] - Cisco has secured over $800 million in AI infrastructure orders from large cloud service providers in the last quarter, doubling its initial target for fiscal 2025 [7] Group 4: Strategic Partnerships and Growth Opportunities - Cisco has partnered with AI companies in the Middle East, including Humain in Saudi Arabia, and plans to strengthen these collaborations in the second half of fiscal 2026 [7][8] - The company aims to become a core system supplier for large-scale AI training and inference clusters, anticipating growth in sovereign AI opportunities [8] - Cisco's stock has increased nearly 20% this year, reflecting investor confidence in its performance and future prospects [8]

Core Insights - Cisco Systems (CSCO) reported $14.67 billion in revenue for the quarter ended July 2025, marking a year-over-year increase of 7.6% and an EPS of $0.99 compared to $0.87 a year ago, exceeding Zacks Consensus Estimates for both revenue and EPS [1] Revenue Breakdown - Revenue from Networking products was $7.63 billion, surpassing the average estimate of $7.19 billion, with a year-over-year change of +12.2% [4] - Revenue from Observability products was $259 million, below the estimated $288.55 million, reflecting a +4.4% change year-over-year [4] - Revenue from Services was $3.79 billion, slightly below the average estimate of $3.88 billion, with a year-over-year change of +0.1% [4] - Revenue from Security products was $1.95 billion, below the estimated $2.2 billion, showing a +9.2% change year-over-year [4] - Total Product revenue was $10.89 billion, exceeding the average estimate of $10.72 billion, with a year-over-year change of +10.4% [4] - Revenue from Collaboration products was $1.04 billion, matching the average estimate, with a +2.3% change year-over-year [4] Gross Margin Insights - Non-GAAP Gross Margin for Services was $2.68 billion, slightly below the average estimate of $2.75 billion [4] - Non-GAAP Gross Margin for Products was $7.35 billion, exceeding the average estimate of $7.18 billion [4] Stock Performance - Cisco shares have returned +6.3% over the past month, outperforming the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +3.1% change, with a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy) indicating potential for further outperformance [3]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company reported total revenue of $14.7 billion for Q4, an increase of 8% year over year [22] - Non-GAAP net income was $4 billion, up 12%, with non-GAAP earnings per share at $0.99, reflecting a 14% increase [22][23] - For the full fiscal year, total revenue reached $56.7 billion, up 5%, with non-GAAP earnings per share at $3.81, a 2% increase [29][31] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Total product revenue was $10.9 billion, up 10%, while services revenue remained flat at $3.8 billion [23][24] - Networking revenue grew by 12%, driven by double-digit growth in internet infrastructure and enterprise routing [24] - Security revenue increased by 9%, primarily due to growth from Splunk and SASE offerings [24] - Collaboration revenue rose by 2%, supported by solid growth in devices [24] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Product orders in Q4 grew by 7% year over year, with the Americas up 5%, EMEA up 10%, and APJC up 7% [26] - Service provider and cloud orders surged by 49%, while enterprise orders increased by 5% and public sector orders declined by 6% [26][9] - AI infrastructure orders from web scale customers exceeded $800 million in Q4, totaling over $2 billion for the fiscal year [8][12] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on AI infrastructure, with a strong emphasis on networking and security solutions to support the AI era [7][12] - Cisco aims to leverage its refreshed product portfolio, including Silicon One and AI-native security solutions, to meet increasing network demands [7][12] - The company is positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for AI solutions, particularly in the enterprise and web scale markets [12][14] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the ongoing demand for AI infrastructure and the company's ability to deliver critical solutions [7][12] - The company anticipates a strong fiscal year 2026, driven by continued growth in AI-related orders and a robust pipeline [7][34] - Management acknowledged the complexities of the current operating environment but remains optimistic about future growth opportunities [32][34] Other Important Information - The company returned $2.9 billion to shareholders in Q4, totaling $12.4 billion for the fiscal year, representing 94% of free cash flow [7][30] - The non-GAAP gross margin for Q4 was 68.4%, up 50 basis points year over year, indicating strong profitability [26][27] Q&A Session Summary Question: Regarding guidance and AI opportunity - Management clarified that the anticipated deceleration in growth is related to year-over-year comparisons and not a change in demand [38][39] Question: Outlook for security business growth - Management expressed optimism about security growth, citing strong order growth for new products and double-digit growth outside the U.S. federal sector [44][46] Question: Concerns about order pull forwards - Management stated that there is no significant evidence of order pull forwards affecting the business, based on customer feedback and order metrics [57][60] Question: Sustainability of networking growth - Management indicated confidence in maintaining growth rates, driven by AI demand and upcoming campus upgrades [68][70] Question: AI orders translating into revenue - Management confirmed that approximately $1 billion in revenue was recognized from AI infrastructure orders during FY 2025 [76]