Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is trading around $78 on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, edging slightly lower in midday action as investors digest a mix of bullish AI-driven networking momentum, shareholder-return strength, and a fresh cybersecurity headline that’s putting the company’s security franchise under a spotlight.
This update pulls together the most visible news, forecasts, and market analysis as of 23.12.2025, including today’s price action, Wall Street targets, Cisco’s most recent guidance, and what the market is watching next.
CSCO stock price today: where Cisco shares stand on Dec. 23, 2025
As of the latest mid-session update, CSCO is at $77.98, down about 0.17% from the prior close, after opening near $77.64 and trading between $77.63 and $78.20. Volume is roughly 4.0 million shares at the time of the snapshot.
Context matters: Cisco has been consolidating after a notable early-December breakout to modern highs. The stock posted an all-time high closing price of $80.25 on Dec. 10, 2025, and a 52-week high of $80.82, before pulling back toward the high-$70s. [1]
Key reference points investors are using this week:
- 52-week range:$52.11–$80.82 [2]
- Recent closes:$78.11 (Dec. 22) and $78.05 (Dec. 23 intraday snapshot) [3]
- Record-close milestone: a symbolic “back to dot‑com peak” moment highlighted in recent market commentary [4]
The bull case that keeps showing up in headlines: Cisco’s AI networking momentum
Cisco’s biggest stock narrative in late 2025 has been straightforward: AI infrastructure buildouts require massive networking upgrades, and Cisco is positioning itself as a key “picks-and-shovels” supplier for hyperscalers, enterprises, and sovereign AI initiatives.
1) Cisco’s FY2026 outlook was raised as AI spending accelerated
In November, Cisco raised its full-year forecast, with Reuters reporting the company now expects FY2026 revenue of $60.2B–$61.0B and adjusted EPS of $4.08–$4.14 (up from prior ranges). [5]
Those same guidance ranges are also reflected in Cisco’s filed materials, along with quarterly guidance for Q2 FY2026 revenue of $15.0B–$15.2B and non-GAAP EPS of $1.01–$1.03, with margin/EPS guidance incorporating the estimated impact of tariffs based on current trade policy. [6]
2) “AI orders” and the hyperscaler pipeline are now a core part of the CSCO thesis
Reuters reported Cisco expects $3 billion in AI infrastructure revenue from hyperscalers in fiscal 2026, and that Cisco secured more than $2 billion in AI orders in fiscal 2025, “nearly all” from hyperscalers—plus a pipeline above $2 billion for high-performance networking products across multiple customer groups. [7]
Separately, Cisco’s own FY2025 earnings release emphasized FY2025 revenue of $56.7B and noted AI infrastructure orders from webscale customers exceeded $800M in the quarter referenced, bringing FY2025 AI infrastructure orders to over $2B. [8]
3) Product and partnership cadence supports the “AI infrastructure” framing
- New silicon for AI-era data centers: Reuters covered Cisco’s P200 networking chip aimed at connecting AI data centers over long distances, with Microsoft and Alibaba units among initial customers; Cisco said the design can replace many chips with one and reduce power usage in comparable systems. [9]
- Middle East AI data center JV: Reuters also reported an AMD–Cisco–Humain joint venture targeting data-center builds, beginning with a 100 MW project and aiming toward 1 GW by 2030; the initial capacity was reported as contracted by a customer. [10]
For investors, the through-line is that Cisco is pushing beyond legacy “campus networking” into data-center scale, AI backbones, and AI-adjacent services.
The headline risk investors are watching right now: a maximum-severity Cisco AsyncOS zero‑day (CVE‑2025‑20393)
While AI optimism has been helping CSCO stay near highs, a significant security story has also been developing in December—and it matters because Cisco is simultaneously trying to grow its security and software footprint.
What happened
Cisco disclosed it became aware on Dec. 10, 2025 of a cyberattack campaign targeting a limited subset of appliances running Cisco AsyncOS for Cisco Secure Email Gateway and Cisco Secure Email and Web Manager, involving an issue tracked as CVE‑2025‑20393. [11]
CISA added CVE‑2025‑20393 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog on Dec. 17, 2025, and the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) entry shows a due date of Dec. 24, 2025 for required action in the federal context (apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use if mitigations are unavailable). [12]
Why it can affect the stock narrative even if it doesn’t hit revenue directly
Security incidents often create short-term sentiment pressure for large vendors: customers and partners want clarity on mitigations, and investors watch for signs of reputational or support-cost impacts. At the same time, Cisco’s long-term pitch to the market includes being a security platform company, so headlines around actively exploited vulnerabilities tend to get extra attention—even if they are product/configuration specific. [13]
Important nuance from coverage: some reporting notes exposure may depend on configuration (for example, whether certain features are enabled and accessible), which can limit the affected population compared with “default-on” product-wide issues. [14]
Forecasts and analyst outlook: what Wall Street thinks CSCO is worth
With CSCO near multi-decade highs, “what’s already priced in?” is now a central debate.
Consensus targets cluster in the mid‑$80s, with a wide range
Analyst compilation data reflects a consensus price target around $84.88, implying high-single-digit upside from today’s trading area, with targets ranging roughly from the low-$60s to $100. [15]
A notable recent change: Morgan Stanley moved higher in December
MarketBeat reported that Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $91 from $82 and reiterated an Overweight stance (reported Dec. 17). [16]
Other recent target changes cited in the same coverage span both bullish and more cautious views, illustrating that analysts generally agree Cisco’s fundamentals improved—but differ on how much of that improvement should translate into multiple expansion at today’s price. [17]
Valuation analysis published today: “about right,” with fair value near $82
A valuation note published Dec. 23, 2025 by Simply Wall St estimates an intrinsic value of about $82.02/share using a DCF framework, describing Cisco as broadly “fairly valued” (slightly below modeled fair value). [18]
Takeaway: the sell-side “base case” on Dec. 23 looks like mid‑$80s targets, while at least one popular DCF-style model lands closer to low‑$80s—which helps explain why the stock can feel “rangebound” after a powerful run to record levels.
Dividend and buybacks: the shareholder-return engine remains a CSCO pillar
Cisco is also being treated by many investors as a cash-return story—not just an AI story.
Dividend snapshot
Market data listings show Cisco’s annual dividend run-rate at $1.64/share (about a 2% yield at current prices), with an ex-dividend date listed as Jan. 2, 2026. [19]
Buybacks and capital return details (from Cisco filings)
Cisco’s recent filing materials state that in Q1 FY2026 the company returned $3.6B to shareholders via buybacks and dividends, including:
- $0.41/share dividend (about $1.6B)
- Repurchase of about 29 million shares for about $2.0B (avg price $68.28)
- Remaining repurchase authorization of about $12.2B [20]
For long-only investors, this matters because sustained buybacks can support per-share earnings growth, even when revenue growth is moderate—one reason Cisco often trades like a “tech + capital return” hybrid.
What to watch next (after Dec. 23): earnings date, AI order updates, and the security timeline
Here are the catalysts most likely to shape the next leg of CSCO trading:
- Next earnings event (FY2026 Q2): market calendars point to Feb. 11, 2026 as the next quarterly call date. [21]
- AI order velocity: investors will look for updates to (a) hyperscaler order conversion, (b) enterprise AI refresh cycles, and (c) any guidance changes tied to AI infrastructure demand. [22]
- Security updates for CVE‑2025‑20393: markets will watch for mitigation adoption, any patch/updated vendor guidance, and whether the incident evolves beyond a contained campaign—especially given CISA KEV timelines. [23]
- Macro and spending discipline: Cisco’s guidance language explicitly flags policy/tariff assumptions—so any changes in trade policy expectations can affect margin and demand narratives. [24]
Bottom line for CSCO stock on Dec. 23, 2025
Cisco stock is trading near $78 today—close to record territory reached earlier this month—while the market balances:
- Bull drivers: raised outlook, AI-driven networking demand, big-hyperscaler pipeline signals, and consistent capital returns. [25]
- Key debate: whether the stock is already “priced for good news,” as consensus targets sit only modestly above today’s levels. [26]
- Near-term headline risk: active exploitation of a critical vulnerability in certain Cisco email security products, now tracked in the CISA KEV ecosystem. [27]
As always with single-stock coverage: the meaningful question isn’t whether Cisco is “good” or “bad”—it’s whether future execution (AI orders, margins, security posture, and cash returns) will beat what the market already assumes at roughly 30x trailing earnings / ~19x forward earnings-type framing shown in major market data snapshots. [28]
This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice.
References
1. www.macrotrends.net, 2. stockanalysis.com, 3. stockanalysis.com, 4. www.ft.com, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. www.sec.gov, 7. www.reuters.com, 8. investor.cisco.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. www.reuters.com, 11. sec.cloudapps.cisco.com, 12. www.cisa.gov, 13. www.itpro.com, 14. www.techradar.com, 15. stockanalysis.com, 16. www.marketbeat.com, 17. www.marketbeat.com, 18. simplywall.st, 19. stockanalysis.com, 20. www.sec.gov, 21. stockanalysis.com, 22. www.reuters.com, 23. www.cisa.gov, 24. www.sec.gov, 25. www.reuters.com, 26. stockanalysis.com, 27. nvd.nist.gov, 28. stockanalysis.com
