^{A Cisco sign is seen in front of a building at Cisco headquarters on August 13, 2025 in San Jose, California.}

^{Justin Sullivan | Getty Images}

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Earnings Beat and Revenue Growth

Cisco reported fiscal first-quarter results that surpassed Wall Street expectations, sending shares up more than 7% in after-hours trading. The networking giant posted adjusted earnings of $1 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate of 98 cents. Revenue rose to $14.88 billion, topping the expected $14.77 billion and marking an 8% year-over-year increase from $13.84 billion. Net income climbed to $2.86 billion, or 72 cents per share, up from $2.71 billion, or 68 cents per share, in the same period last year.

This marks Cisco’s fourth consecutive quarter of growth following a stretch of four straight year-over-year revenue declines, reflecting renewed spending momentum from enterprise clients and government agencies.

Networking and AI Drive Performance

Cisco’s largest segment, networking, saw sales jump 15% to $7.77 billion, surpassing the $7.47 billion expected by analysts. Growth was driven by strong demand for AI-focused data center infrastructure, including servers packed with graphics processing units (GPUs) primarily from Nvidia.

The company disclosed that AI infrastructure orders from hyperscale customers reached $1.3 billion, highlighting the accelerating demand for AI-capable systems. CFO Mark Patterson emphasized that Cisco’s relevance in AI is expanding: “We have a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar campus refresh opportunity starting to ramp, with strong demand for our refreshed networking products.”

Cisco recently launched a new Ethernet switch based on Nvidia silicon, further positioning itself in the rapidly growing AI hardware ecosystem.

Guidance and Future Outlook

For the fiscal second quarter, Cisco expects revenue between $15 billion and $15.2 billion, above the $14.6 billion average estimate. Adjusted earnings are projected at $1.01 to $1.03 per share, exceeding the 99-cent consensus.

For the full fiscal year, Cisco anticipates revenue between $60.2 billion and $61 billion with EPS of $4.08 to $4.14, again surpassing analyst expectations of $59.7 billion and $4.04 EPS.

Segment Challenges

Despite strong performance in networking, Cisco’s security and collaboration units underperformed. Security revenue fell 2% to $1.98 billion, missing the $2.16 billion estimate, while collaboration sales slipped 3% to $1.06 billion, trailing the $1.09 billion consensus.

Stock Performance and Market Position

Cisco shares have climbed 25% year-to-date, outperforming the Nasdaq’s 21% gain, reflecting investor confidence in the company’s growth trajectory, particularly in AI and enterprise networking solutions.

Analysts view Cisco’s continued investments in AI-enabled infrastructure, refreshed networking products, and multi-year contracts as key drivers for sustained growth and market leadership in the enterprise technology sector.