Is Cisco Systems Stock a Buy as its Q4 Results Approach?

Core Viewpoint - Cisco Systems is set to report its fiscal fourth quarter earnings, with expectations of strong performance driven by its AI initiatives and partnerships, particularly with Nvidia [1][6][16] Group 1: Earnings Expectations - Cisco's Q4 sales are projected to increase by 7% to $14.6 billion compared to $13.64 billion in the same quarter last year [6] - Q4 earnings per share (EPS) are expected to rise by 11% to $0.97, up from $0.87 in the prior period [6] - For fiscal 2025, total sales are anticipated to grow by 5% to $56.59 billion, with annual EPS expected to increase over 1% to $3.79 [7] Group 2: AI Initiatives - Cisco's unified silicon architecture, "Silicon One," is designed to support high-performance networking for AI and machine learning workloads [2] - The company offers a range of AI solutions, including AI infrastructure, AgenticOps for IT automation, and AI-enhanced Webex collaboration tools [9][10][11] - Cisco's partnership with Nvidia includes being the only third-party silicon vendor in Nvidia's Spectrum-X Ethernet platform, the first Ethernet networking platform for AI [2] Group 3: Stock Performance and Valuation - Cisco's stock has increased nearly 60% over the past year, reaching a 52-week high of $72 per share [3] - The stock trades at 17.9 times forward earnings, which is a 26% discount compared to the S&P 500's 24.4 times forward earnings multiple [13] - Cisco has exceeded earnings expectations for 31 consecutive quarters, with an average earnings surprise of 3.94% over the last four quarters [7][8]