New York, Jan 20, 2026, 12:51 ET — Regular session
- CSCO slid with the broader tech selloff as tariff headlines rattled risk appetite
- Cisco announced a multi-year Wi‑Fi 7 rollout deal with Georgetown University
- Morgan Stanley turned more cautious on U.S. IT hardware, warning on demand and costs
Cisco Systems (CSCO.O) shares fell about 1.6% to $74.01 in midday trading on Tuesday, underperforming a wider slide in U.S. stocks. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-tracking ETFs were both down about 1.6%.
The pullback matters because Cisco is leaning on a fresh wave of network upgrades — faster wireless, more switching capacity, tighter security — to keep revenue steady as customers watch budgets. When the tape turns risk-off, hardware names often get hit first.
That broader tone was set by tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump against several European countries in a dispute tied to Greenland, which pushed investors back toward caution, Reuters reported. “We think we’ll settle down and realize this is just a negotiation tool,” said Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist at LPL Financial, while traders also sized up a heavy week of U.S. data — including PMI business surveys and the PCE inflation report — and big tech earnings. 1
Cisco earlier on Tuesday announced a multi-year partnership with Georgetown University to modernize campus connectivity, including a broad rollout of Wi‑Fi 7 — the newest Wi‑Fi standard — across classrooms, dorms and sports venues. “Our community’s academic and research ambitions require a network that is as innovative and forward-looking as they are,” Georgetown CIO Doug Little said, while Cisco’s Gary DePreta called the push an “AI-ready foundation” built for faster speeds and lower delay. 2
The stock also caught a chill from a sector call: Morgan Stanley downgraded its view on U.S. IT hardware to “cautious,” warning of slowing demand as companies rein in spending and face rising component costs. The bank flagged what it called a “perfect storm” and pointed to a survey showing just 1% growth in hardware budgets in 2026. 3
Some peers moved lower too. Arista Networks slipped about 0.7% and Palo Alto Networks fell about 1.1%, reflecting the day’s pressure on networking and security names.
The risk for Cisco is that campus wins don’t translate into a stronger order trend if enterprises keep tightening hardware spend or if tariff moves lift costs across the supply chain. In that scenario, investors tend to refocus quickly on margins and next-quarter guidance.
Cisco’s last quarterly update pointed to a “multi-year, multi-billion-dollar” campus networking refresh cycle and included fiscal 2026 guidance of $60.2 billion to $61.0 billion in revenue and non-GAAP earnings per share of $4.08 to $4.14. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, payable on Jan. 21, 2026. 4
Next on Cisco’s calendar is a partner-channel shift: the company’s new Cisco 360 Partner Program is scheduled to launch on Jan. 25, 2026, replacing the current partner program — a change investors will watch for any read-through on demand and incentives. 5
