By Juby Babu Feb 11 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems (CSCO) posted quarterly adjusted gross margin below market estimates on Wednesday, as the networking equipment provider grapples with the ‌fallout of a global memory price increase, sending its shares down 7% in ‌premarket trading on Thursday. The rapid build-out of artificial intelligence infrastructure by U.S. tech firms such as OpenAI, Alphabet and Microsoft has ​absorbed much of the world's memory chip supply, which has lifted prices as manufacturers prio ...

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Cisco reported Q1 revenue of $14.9 billion, an 8% increase year-over-year, with non-GAAP net income of $4 billion, up 9% [18][19] - Non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) was $1, reflecting a 10% growth, indicating that earnings are growing faster than revenue [5][18] - Total annualized recurring revenue (ARR) reached $31.4 billion, a 5% increase, with product ARR growing by 7% [21] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Total product revenue was $11.1 billion, up 10%, while service revenue was $3.8 billion, up 2% year-over-year [19] - Networking product orders grew by 15%, driven by strong demand in service provider routing and AI infrastructure [19][22] - Security revenue declined by 2%, attributed to shifts towards cloud subscriptions and declines in prior-generation products [19][22] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Product orders increased by 13% year-over-year, with service provider and cloud orders up 45%, public sector orders up 12%, and enterprise orders up 4% [21] - Orders from the Americas grew by 16%, EMEA by 8%, and APJC by 13% [21] - AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers totaled $1.3 billion in Q1, with expectations of $3 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2026 [9][24] Company Strategy and Development Direction - Cisco aims to capitalize on the growing demand for AI infrastructure, positioning itself as a key provider for secure networking solutions [6][11] - The company is focusing on multi-year refresh opportunities in its product lines, particularly in enterprise routing and campus networking [40][41] - Strategic partnerships, such as with G42 and NVIDIA, are being expanded to enhance AI capabilities and infrastructure [11][12] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in achieving a strong fiscal year 2026, driven by robust order growth and innovation [5][17] - The company anticipates challenges in the second half of the year due to tougher year-over-year comparisons [37] - Management highlighted the importance of modernizing network infrastructure to support AI workloads as a significant growth opportunity [15][41] Other Important Information - Cisco returned $3.6 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, representing 125% of free cash flow in Q1 [5][22] - The company expects non-GAAP gross margin for Q2 to be in the range of 67.5%-68.5% and for fiscal year 2026 to be between $60.2 billion-$61 billion in revenue [24] Q&A Session Summary Question: Insights on AI orders and their evolution - Management clarified that the $3 billion revenue expectation from Hyperscale AI infrastructure is based on new orders totaling $1.3 billion in Q1, with expectations for at least double the orders from fiscal year 2025 [27][28] Question: Strength in AI orders and DRAM pricing impact - Management noted that the scale-across opportunity is emerging, with significant growth in pluggable optics and a shift towards cloud subscriptions impacting security revenue [32][33] Question: Growth in the rest of the business - Management indicated that excluding Hyperscaler growth, the rest of the business saw a 9% increase in orders, addressing concerns about overall growth rates [37] Question: Multi-year cycles and confidence in growth - Management highlighted the ongoing refresh opportunities in enterprise routing and campus switches, indicating a strong interest from customers [40][41] Question: Silicon One penetration and security revenue shifts - Management expects Silicon One to be fully rolled out by the end of fiscal 2029, with a focus on performance and programmability driving traction among Hyperscalers [46][47]