Cisco Systems’ stock (NASDAQ: CSCO) is in the spotlight today, 13 November 2025, after the networking giant delivered stronger‑than‑expected first‑quarter results and boosted its full‑year guidance on the back of surging demand for AI infrastructure and campus networking gear. [1]
Cisco stock today: how CSCO is trading on 13 November 2025
Cisco closed Wednesday, 12 November, at $73.96 per share, up just over 3% on the day, according to historical price data. [2]
Following the earnings release after yesterday’s close, the stock has jumped sharply in pre‑market trading on Thursday, 13 November:
- Pre‑market move: Various reports put the early gain between 6.9% and 7.2%, making Cisco one of the biggest movers in US tech today. [3]
- Based on yesterday’s close of $73.96, a roughly 7% pop implies an indicated price around $79–$80 per share in early trading.
- Cisco shares are now up about 25% year to date, as highlighted in Reuters’ coverage. [4]
MarketBeat notes that Cisco’s 52‑week range currently spans from about $52.11 on the low end to $74.84 on the high end, meaning today’s move pushes the stock toward fresh record territory. [5]
With a market capitalization near $290+ billion and a relatively low beta of around 0.9–1.0, Cisco remains one of the most important – and now, more volatile – mega‑cap tech names in today’s session. [6]
Earnings recap: Q1 FY 2026 beats expectations
Cisco’s latest quarter – Q1 fiscal 2026, for the period ended 25 October 2025 – showed a clean beat on both revenue and earnings versus Wall Street estimates. [7]
Headline numbers (Q1 FY 2026):
- Revenue: $14.9 billion, up 8% year over year and modestly ahead of analyst expectations of about $14.8 billion. [8]
- GAAP EPS: $0.72, up 6% year over year. [9]
- Non‑GAAP EPS: $1.00, up 10% year over year and roughly $0.02 above consensus of around $0.98. [10]
Profitability and margins were a key bright spot:
- Non‑GAAP gross margin: 68.1%
- Non‑GAAP operating margin: 34.4% – both above the high end of Cisco’s own guidance range. [11]
- Non‑GAAP net income: $4.0 billion, up 9% from a year ago. [12]
Cisco did see operating cash flow slip 12% to $3.2 billion, but it still returned $3.6 billion to shareholders in Q1 via $2.0 billion in share repurchases and $1.6 billion in dividends. [13]
On the top line, momentum continues to skew toward the company’s core strengths:
- Product revenue: up 10% year over year
- Service revenue: up 2%
- By segment, Networking grew 15%, Observability 6%, while Security declined 2% and Collaboration slipped 3%. [14]
That mix reinforces the narrative that Cisco is increasingly viewed as a key beneficiary of the AI data‑center build‑out and enterprise network upgrades, even as some legacy collaboration and security lines remain softer. [15]
AI infrastructure boom: $1.3 billion in quarterly AI orders
The single most important theme in today’s Cisco story is artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Cisco reported that:
- AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers totaled about $1.3 billion in Q1, marking a sharp acceleration in growth. [16]
- Over $2 billion in AI‑related orders were booked in fiscal 2025, and management now expects around $3 billion in AI infrastructure revenue in fiscal 2026. [17]
- CEO Chuck Robbins also cited a pipeline exceeding $2 billion for high‑performance networking products across sovereign cloud, “neocloud,” and large enterprise customers. [18]
In parallel with the numbers, Cisco is rolling out new AI‑focused offerings. A key launch highlighted in recent coverage is Cisco Unified Edge, a computing platform designed to run AI workloads closer to where data is generated – in stores, factories, and hospitals – to reduce latency and give customers more control over data. [19]
This AI traction matters for the stock because major hyperscalers – including Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon – have all signaled sharply rising capex budgets for AI data centers and advanced chips. Cisco is positioning itself as a core supplier of the high‑performance networking fabrics underpinning those data centers. [20]
Guidance raised: Cisco signals “strongest year yet”
Investors tend to care more about the future than the past – and that’s where Cisco really impressed.
From its Q1 release and follow‑up commentary, Cisco raised its full‑year fiscal 2026 outlook: [21]
- Previous FY 2026 revenue guidance: $59.0–$60.0 billion
- New FY 2026 revenue guidance:$60.2–$61.0 billion
- Previous non‑GAAP EPS range: $4.00–$4.06
- New non‑GAAP EPS range:$4.08–$4.14
For the current quarter (Q2 FY 2026), Cisco now expects: [22]
- Revenue: $15.0–$15.2 billion
- Non‑GAAP EPS: $1.01–$1.03
- Non‑GAAP gross margin: 67.5–68.5%
- Non‑GAAP operating margin: 33.5–34.5%
Crucially, Cisco notes that its guidance already bakes in the impact of current trade tariffs, suggesting that management is confident about delivering growth even with a somewhat choppy macro and trade backdrop. [23]
CEO Chuck Robbins said the company is on track for its “strongest year yet,” pointing to widespread demand across secure networking and AI as customers race to modernize their infrastructure. [24]
Dividend, cash returns, and balance sheet
For income‑oriented investors, Cisco continues to look like a classic cash‑machine tech blue‑chip:
- The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, payable on 21 January 2026 to shareholders of record as of 2 January 2026. [25]
- At today’s pre‑market price range, that works out to a forward dividend yield in the low‑2% area. [26]
- Cisco ended the quarter with $15.7 billion in cash and investments and $42.9 billion in remaining performance obligations (RPO), up 7% year over year. [27]
- The company has $12.2 billion still authorized for share repurchases, with no set expiration date. [28]
Together, the dividend and ongoing buybacks provide a meaningful shareholder return cushion, which often helps limit downside volatility during weaker periods for tech stocks. [29]
Wall Street reaction: bullish notes and higher price targets
It didn’t take long for analysts to respond to Cisco’s numbers and updated guidance:
- Melius Research lifted its Cisco price target from $84 to $100, citing underlying networking strength and AI‑driven demand. [30]
- Goldman Sachs maintained a positive rating on the stock, highlighting strong AI momentum as a key pillar of its thesis. [31]
- A Morgan Stanley note on 13 November shows the bank maintaining an Overweight rating while raising its price target from $77 to $82. [32]
On the fund‑flow side, institutional investors continue to accumulate Cisco:
- A MarketBeat review of regulatory filings notes that Cherokee Insurance Co opened a new Cisco position worth about $631,000 in Q2, buying roughly 9,100 shares. [33]
- Other large investors, including Kingstone Capital Partners, Goldman Sachs, Nuveen, and Pacer Advisors, have also significantly increased holdings, contributing to institutional ownership of roughly 73% of Cisco’s float. [34]
Financial media and research outlets largely frame today’s move as a classic earnings‑beat plus guidance‑raise reaction, with Cisco now firmly positioned as an AI networking leader rather than simply a legacy router vendor. [35]
Valuation check: is Cisco stock getting expensive?
With Cisco stock surging toward the high‑$70s today, investors naturally ask whether the rally has gone too far. Based on recent data:
- Cisco trades at a price‑to‑earnings ratio around the high‑20s on trailing earnings, according to MarketBeat and GuruFocus. [36]
- That’s below high‑growth peers like Arista Networks but above more value‑oriented hardware names such as Dell, suggesting Cisco sits in the “quality compounder with AI upside” bucket rather than a deep value play. [37]
- A PEG ratio (price‑to‑earnings vs. growth) near 3.0 points to a premium for stability and cash flow rather than hyper‑growth. [38]
From a chart‑free, fundamentals‑only perspective, today’s price action pushes Cisco toward the upper end of its recent valuation range, but not into obviously stretched territory for a mega‑cap delivering mid‑single‑digit to high‑single‑digit revenue growth and double‑digit EPS growth, plus a solid dividend. [39]
How ETFs and the wider market are reacting
Cisco’s move also ripples through a range of technology and communications ETFs where the stock is a significant holding. Coverage from Zacks, for example, highlights AI‑tilted funds such as IYZ (iShares U.S. Telecommunications ETF), CIBR (First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF), and HACK (ETFMG Prime Cyber Security ETF) as vehicles through which investors indirectly gain exposure to Cisco’s earnings story. [40]
More broadly, today’s upbeat tone around Cisco comes against the backdrop of a recently resolved US government shutdown, a development that has helped stabilize sentiment across US equity indices even as investors continue to debate the interest‑rate path. [41]
While Cisco’s surge is very much a company‑specific reaction, the fact that it coincides with improving macro headlines only reinforces its visibility on trader and algorithmic “most‑active” lists today. [42]
Key risks to the Cisco bull case
Even on a strong day like today, investors should keep an eye on the downside scenarios:
- AI spending cyclicality
- Cisco’s new guidance leans heavily on robust AI‑driven network build‑outs by hyperscalers and large enterprises. If these customers slow capex – because of economic uncertainty, political pressure, or prior over‑ordering – Cisco’s order book could soften quickly. [43]
- Competitive pressure in high‑speed networking
- Rivals such as Arista Networks and chipmakers building their own network fabrics are aggressively targeting AI data‑center switches and interconnects. Cisco needs to execute flawlessly on performance, power efficiency, and total cost of ownership to defend and grow share. [44]
- Slower segments within the portfolio
- Security and collaboration both declined modestly year over year this quarter. If those businesses fail to stabilize, they could offset some of the strength in networking and AI‑related lines. [45]
- Macro and policy risk (including tariffs)
- Cisco explicitly notes that its guidance includes the estimated impact of current tariffs. A further escalation in trade tensions or new restrictions on advanced technologies could pressure margins and complicate supply chains. [46]
- Valuation compression
- A P/E in the high‑20s is not extreme for high‑quality tech, but it leaves room for multiple compression if growth slows or if the market rotates away from megacap tech toward other sectors. [47]
What today’s move means for CSCO investors
For existing Cisco shareholders, today’s reaction essentially validates the AI‑and‑campus‑refresh narrative that management has been pitching for several quarters:
- Revenue growth has re‑accelerated to the high single digits.
- AI and high‑performance networking orders are ramping faster than many on Wall Street expected.
- Cisco is combining that growth with disciplined cost control, strong margins, a growing dividend, and ongoing buybacks. [48]
For potential investors watching from the sidelines, the trade‑off is clearer now:
- Pros: exposure to AI infrastructure without betting on a single GPU vendor; robust balance sheet; consistent shareholder returns; and elevated – but not bubble‑like – valuation multiples. [49]
- Cons: sensitivity to capex cycles; growing competition; pockets of weakness in security and collaboration; and the risk that much of the “AI re‑rating” might already be priced into the stock after today’s spike. [50]
As always, whether CSCO fits in a given portfolio depends on individual goals, risk tolerance, time horizon, and overall diversification. Investors should consider speaking with a qualified financial adviser and reviewing Cisco’s full earnings materials, including slides and the conference‑call transcript, before making any decisions. [51]
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation to buy or sell any security, or a solicitation of any kind. Always perform your own research or consult a licensed financial professional before making investment decisions.
References
1. newsroom.cisco.com, 2. www.investing.com, 3. www.gurufocus.com, 4. www.reuters.com, 5. www.marketbeat.com, 6. www.marketbeat.com, 7. newsroom.cisco.com, 8. newsroom.cisco.com, 9. newsroom.cisco.com, 10. newsroom.cisco.com, 11. newsroom.cisco.com, 12. newsroom.cisco.com, 13. newsroom.cisco.com, 14. newsroom.cisco.com, 15. www.techzine.eu, 16. newsroom.cisco.com, 17. www.reuters.com, 18. www.techzine.eu, 19. www.reuters.com, 20. www.reuters.com, 21. newsroom.cisco.com, 22. newsroom.cisco.com, 23. newsroom.cisco.com, 24. newsroom.cisco.com, 25. newsroom.cisco.com, 26. www.marketbeat.com, 27. newsroom.cisco.com, 28. newsroom.cisco.com, 29. www.marketbeat.com, 30. www.investing.com, 31. www.investing.com, 32. finance.yahoo.com, 33. www.marketbeat.com, 34. www.marketbeat.com, 35. www.reuters.com, 36. www.marketbeat.com, 37. www.reuters.com, 38. www.marketbeat.com, 39. newsroom.cisco.com, 40. www.zacks.com, 41. www.investopedia.com, 42. seekingalpha.com, 43. www.reuters.com, 44. www.reuters.com, 45. newsroom.cisco.com, 46. newsroom.cisco.com, 47. www.marketbeat.com, 48. newsroom.cisco.com, 49. newsroom.cisco.com, 50. newsroom.cisco.com, 51. s2.q4cdn.com
