San Jose, May 16, 2026, 03:23 (PDT)
- Cisco ended the week at an all-time closing high. The company raised its fiscal 2026 AI order outlook and delivered better-than-expected quarterly results.
- Nasdaq is closed for the weekend. The next session will show if Cisco’s AI-networking run can keep going as Treasury yields push higher.
- Prediction markets aren’t betting on quick Fed cuts, as Polymarket now puts odds of no U.S. rate cuts in 2026 at 70%.
Cisco Systems shares ended the week at a record, closing Friday at $118.21, up 2.32%. The stock hit $118.78 earlier in the session. The networking giant boosted its AI order outlook and said it plans to cut almost 4,000 jobs to help fund the move.
TIming is in focus. U.S. stock markets are shut for the weekend. The Nasdaq resumes normal hours Monday at 9:30 a.m. through 4 p.m. Eastern. After stocks fell last week on oil, inflation, and yields, investors head back to trading Monday. nasdaq.com
Cisco’s week gave a clear read that demand for artificial intelligence is spreading past chips into the guts of data centers. AI—software for jobs like learning from data or spitting out answers—needs fast networks, not just processors. Cisco is selling the switches, routers, optics and silicon that let those machines connect.
Cisco posted third-quarter revenue of $15.8 billion, a 12% rise from the year before. Non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $1.06. That profit measure strips out some costs. For the fourth quarter, Cisco guided revenue between $16.7 billion and $16.9 billion. The company also raised its fiscal 2026 revenue forecast to a range of $62.8 billion to $63.0 billion. investor.cisco.com
The bigger move came from hyperscalers. These cloud and internet giants, known for buying data-center gear in bulk, drove the surprise. Cisco said AI infrastructure orders reached $5.3 billion so far this year. The company now sees around $9 billion for fiscal 2026, raising its forecast from $5 billion.
Cisco posted record revenue in Q3, CEO Chuck Robbins said. He called demand for Cisco products “very strong” and said the company is positioned as “critical infrastructure for the AI era.” CFO Mark Patterson noted double-digit growth at both the top and bottom line, beating guidance, and said non-GAAP operating income also hit a record. investor.cisco.com
Cisco shares moved up, but CEO Chuck Robbins gave staff a tougher update. Robbins said Cisco will cut under 4,000 jobs in the fourth quarter, less than 5% of its workforce, even as the company puts more money into silicon, optics, security and AI projects. “This means making hard decisions,” Robbins said in a note to employees. Cisco Blogs
Cisco stock jumped 17% Thursday, hitting a record high and heading for its biggest one-day gain in over 20 years, according to Reuters. Wall Street looked past the job cuts and focused on a strong order book. Ryan Lee, senior vice president of product and strategy at Direxion, said hyperscaler capital spending is “about more than just chips.” Reuters Reuters
Cisco’s data-center effort faces Broadcom and Nvidia in the AI networking silicon space, a key front though not a wide one. Reuters said in February the Silicon One G300 chip and router from Cisco were built to go up against those rivals in big AI data centers. Reuters
Nasdaq fell 1.54% Friday, breaking a six-week run, as oil prices moved up and Treasury yields climbed. The S&P 500 dropped from its highs too. Monday looks mixed—Cisco has its own momentum, but if yields stay near one-year peaks, the Nasdaq could have trouble. Reuters
Prediction markets didn’t offer much new for Cisco after the numbers. A Polymarket contract on Cisco’s fiscal Q3 AI orders settled near the $1.9 billion figure the company reported, with $1.0 billion and $1.5 billion thresholds already trading at 100%. Volume was just $16,400, so the move didn’t amount to a real read on the wider market. Polymarket
Cisco’s gross margin has already come under pressure from its product mix and pricier memory, and its outlook counts on today’s tariffs and exemptions sticking. If yields go higher, oil holds up, or big cloud customers pull back on orders, Monday’s trade could snap from AI optimism to a sharp focus on valuation fast.
Cisco is set to stay better bid than the Nasdaq next session if investors keep paying up for AI infrastructure orders, but the index could struggle if the 10-year yield makes another push toward 4.6%. The stock has a new AI multiple for now. The market isn’t giving it away for free.
