New York, Jan 27, 2026, 08:51 EST — Premarket
- Cisco shares rose roughly 0.3% in premarket trading, building on a strong rally from Monday’s close.
- Evercore ISI upgraded Cisco to “Outperform,” boosting its price target to $100 on expectations of strong campus networking and AI-driven demand.
- Investors are zeroing in on Cisco’s upcoming earnings to see if AI-fueled orders actually boost revenue and margins.
Cisco Systems (CSCO.O) shares edged up roughly 0.3% in premarket action Tuesday, trading near $77.30. The stock had closed Monday with a 3.24% gain at $77.01. 1
Timing is crucial. Cisco’s fiscal second quarter wrapped up on Jan. 24, with investors eager for clues on enterprise spending and the speed of AI-driven networking upgrades as the company gears up for its next earnings report. 2
Evercore ISI’s Amit Daryanani bumped Cisco to “Outperform” from “In-Line” Monday, raising his price target to $100 from $80. He pointed to “plenty of tailwinds,” predicting Cisco can maintain “high single-digit sales” and “low teens EPS” growth. (EPS means earnings per share.) 3
Evercore highlighted a campus networking refresh cycle, growing Wi‑Fi 7 adoption, and efforts to phase out older Catalyst gear as key demand drivers. The firm also linked its bullish stance to AI infrastructure rollouts, forecasting Cisco to hit about $3 billion in AI revenue by fiscal 2026, with AI-related orders topping $4 billion. That said, Evercore cautioned that setbacks in security and collaboration could still derail the momentum. 4
Cisco surged Monday, standing out in the Dow along with Apple as the index climbed early in trading. 5
On Monday, Cisco unveiled a revamped partner model designed for the “AI era,” focusing on AI-ready data centers, workplace upgrades, and security improvements. “With our partners… [we can] help our mutual customers connect, protect and thrive,” said Tim Coogan, Cisco’s senior vice president of global partner sales. 6
Cisco released findings from a data and privacy benchmark study, framing governance and privacy as critical infrastructure for widespread AI use. “AI is forcing a fundamental shift… calling for holistic governance of all data,” said Jen Yokoyama, Cisco’s senior vice president for legal innovation and strategy. Chief Privacy Officer Harvey Jang highlighted the push for “harmonized international standards” to ensure data flows smoothly across borders. 7
Cisco’s focus on AI isn’t a fresh story. Back in November, the company bumped up its annual revenue and profit outlook, pointing to strong demand for networking equipment driven by data center investments and AI expansions. It also signaled that AI infrastructure revenue from hyperscalers is expected to pick up in fiscal 2026. 8
The risk is straightforward: if the campus refresh cycle slows down or if security and collaboration don’t see meaningful gains, Tuesday’s premarket rally could evaporate quickly. Investors also need to consider how well AI-driven “orders” actually translate into reported revenue and margins.
Coming up next is Cisco’s quarterly report and earnings call, expected around Feb. 11 according to market calendars. Investors will zero in on any fresh details about AI order trends, insights on enterprise and telecom demand, plus initial feedback from the recently launched partner program. 9
