New York, February 6, 2026, 2:03 PM ET — Regular session
- Cisco shares climbed roughly 2.4% in afternoon trade, edging past Thursday’s closing price.
- UBS stuck with its Buy rating, citing more stable core enterprise demand as results approach next week.
- With Cisco’s earnings set for Feb. 11, investors are also eyeing crucial U.S. jobs and inflation figures coming out the same day.
Cisco Systems shares climbed 2.4% to $84.32 on Friday, hitting levels close to a new high. Investors are gearing up for next week’s earnings while weighing a bullish outlook from UBS.
This shift matters because Cisco now serves as a barometer for whether the AI boom is actually driving network spending, beyond just lofty forecasts. Traders have been swift to sell off anything hinting at a tech slowdown, even while some investors pick up stakes in “old” tech that reliably generates cash.
A selloff in major tech stocks has investors jittery, as funds shift away from software shares following a steep decline. “Rotation is the dominant theme this year,” said Angelo Kourkafas, senior global investment strategist at Edward Jones. 1
UBS analyst David Vogt stuck with a Buy rating and maintained his $90 price target, anticipating revenue to exceed the firm’s $15.05 billion forecast, driven by strength in core enterprise markets. He also projected “Product” orders to rise at a high-single-digit pace, though slower than the previous quarter, the note said. 2
Wall Street climbed on Friday following a tough tech sell-off earlier this week, though Amazon dropped amid news of a big jump in AI infrastructure spending. The conversation has moved from “who wins AI” to “who can justify the costs,” and that calculation is weighing on sentiment day by day. 3
Cisco doubled down on that message at its AI Summit this week. CEO Chuck Robbins dubbed 2026 “a turning point for AI,” predicting it will be “the year of agentic applications” — AI tools that don’t just respond but actually take action. 4
Cisco plans to release its fiscal 2026 second-quarter earnings after the market closes on Wednesday, Feb. 11, covering the period ending Jan. 24. The company will host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET, according to its announcement. 5
Investors in Cisco will focus on whether order growth remains steady, alongside updates on demand linked to AI data centers, security budgets, and campus network upgrades. The initial market reaction will probably hinge on guidance and remarks about “product orders,” a crucial indicator of future revenue.
Cisco heads into earnings with its stock trading close to the highs seen over the past year, leaving little margin for error. Signs that customers are tightening budgets, postponing upgrades, or favoring competitors could send shares tumbling, particularly given the fragile mood across the tech sector.
Wednesday is loaded: the delayed January U.S. jobs report hits, with Cisco set to report after the bell. Then on Friday, the consumer price index drops. These data points could shift rate expectations — and shake risk appetite — right as Cisco looks to hold onto its recent gains.
