New York, Feb 1, 2026, 12:01 PM EST — Market closed.
- Cisco shares ended Friday at $78.32, slipping 0.14% amid broader U.S. stock declines driven by concerns over interest rates and policy shifts.
- Investors are assessing inflation signals and the Fed chair succession battle as Monday’s open approaches.
- The next U.S. jobs report and Cisco’s Feb. 3 AI Summit stand out as key catalysts in this rate-sensitive market.
Cisco Systems, Inc. shares slipped 0.14% to $78.32 on Friday, following a late-week drop in U.S. stocks as investors pulled back from rate-sensitive tech ahead of the upcoming week.
Sunday’s market closure leaves Monday, Feb. 2 focused squarely on rates rather than routers. The key question: will chatter from Washington and a new inflation uptick continue to jostle bond yields — and, in turn, shake big-cap tech?
This is crucial for Cisco, caught between reliable cash flows and its AI-networking push. Investors are eager to watch AI spending shift from buzzwords to actual orders and revenue—without eroding margins.
President Donald Trump said his nominee to head the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, might win some backing from Senate Democrats after the White House announced plans to replace Jerome Powell when his term expires in May. But Republican Senator Thom Tillis has promised to block the confirmation until the U.S. Department of Justice completes an investigation into Powell, injecting fresh uncertainty.
Wall Street’s major indexes closed down Friday as investors reacted to the Fed nomination, viewing it as “hawkish” — signaling slower rate cuts ahead — while earnings reports and inflation figures added to the mix. “Markets are calibrating to Trump’s pick of Kevin Warsh,” said Michael Hans of Citizens Wealth. Angelo Kourkafas at Edward Jones pointed to mixed tech earnings and ongoing shutdown concerns. Reuters
Inflation remained in focus. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Producer Price Index (PPI), which tracks prices businesses receive, climbed 0.5% in December — marking its largest rise in five months. Carl Weinberg of High Frequency Economics commented, “This report validates the pivot of the Fed away from labor market risks back toward price stability.” The January jobs report is set for release on Feb. 6, followed by the consumer price index a week later. Reuters
Cisco’s next big event is just around the corner: its AI Summit on Feb. 3, kicking off at 9 a.m. PT. The company announced the lineup will include prominent speakers like NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and Marc Andreessen from Andreessen Horowitz. The event, set in San Francisco and available online, will be hosted by Cisco’s Chuck Robbins and Jeetu Patel, the company said.
In its last earnings report, Cisco posted $14.9 billion in revenue and forecasted second-quarter revenue between $15.0 billion and $15.2 billion, with non-GAAP EPS expected to hit $1.01 to $1.03. The company revealed that AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers—major cloud providers—reached $1.3 billion for the quarter. Its margin and EPS outlook already factors in the expected tariff impact. “The widespread demand for our technologies highlights the critical role of secure networking,” Robbins said. Cisco Newsroom
Peers matter here, mainly as a gauge for enterprise tech budgets and data-center expansions. Cisco goes head-to-head with Arista Networks and Juniper Networks in switching and routing, while its security products put it in direct competition with Palo Alto Networks.
But the trade can turn quickly. Rising yields tend to squeeze tech valuations, and many investors still view Cisco as a mature hardware-and-services player, facing pressure to protect margins amid tighter IT budgets.
Markets open Monday with a packed schedule ahead: the Feb. 3 summit is set to steer the AI conversation, while the Feb. 6 jobs report could shift rate expectations once more. Cisco will reveal its fiscal second-quarter results on Feb. 11, according to its latest earnings call.
