Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Releases FY 2027 Earnings Guidance

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) updated its FY 2027 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 5.050-5.110 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 4.640. The company issued revenue guidance of $72.2 billion-$73.4 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $68.6 billion. Cisco Systems also updated its Q1 2027 guidance to 1.320-1.340 EPS.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSCO opened at $113.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $447.24 billion, a PE ratio of 33.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $117.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.00. Cisco Systems has a 1-year low of $65.75 and a 1-year high of $130.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.54% and a net margin of 20.95%.The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Cisco Systems has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.050-5.110 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.320-1.340 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cisco Systems will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. New Street Research boosted their target price on Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Evercore increased their price target on Cisco Systems from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cisco Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Oliver Tuszik sold 2,607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.12, for a total transaction of $315,759.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 172,727 shares in the company, valued at $20,920,694.24. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 7,127 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.91, for a total value of $854,598.57. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 140,857 shares in the company, valued at $16,890,162.87. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 31,134 shares of company stock valued at $3,739,000 over the last 90 days. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cisco Systems News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Cisco Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco exceeded estimates with fiscal Q4 non-GAAP earnings of $1.22 per share versus $1.17 expected, while revenue rose 18% year over year to approximately $17.3 billion, above the roughly $16.8 billion consensus. Cisco Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure demand remains a major growth catalyst. Cisco received $9.3 billion in hyperscaler AI orders during fiscal 2026, including $4 billion in Q4, and expects about $7.5 billion of related revenue in fiscal 2027. Networking product orders increased 40% year over year. Chuck Robbins Says AI Is Fueling a Networking Supercycle
• Positive Sentiment: Management forecast fiscal Q1 revenue of $18.0 billion to $18.2 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $1.32 to $1.34. Fiscal 2027 revenue guidance of $72.2 billion to $73.4 billion and EPS of $5.05 to $5.11 also exceeded analyst expectations. Cisco Forecasts Upbeat Annual Revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts raised their price targets, including Wells Fargo to $150, Rosenblatt to $165, UBS to $138 and Truist to $140, maintaining bullish ratings despite the market reaction. Analysts Raise Forecasts on Cisco
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, payable October 21 to shareholders of record October 2.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that AI-related growth could pressure profitability. Analysts highlighted squeezed gross margins and questioned whether Cisco’s AI acceleration can justify its premium valuation. Cisco Stock Falls on Margin Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings beat and guidance apparently did not clear the market’s high bar. Some analysts described the outlook as conservative relative to current demand, while services revenue reportedly missed expectations, intensifying skepticism about longer-term growth.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Cisco Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that designs, manufactures and sells networking hardware, software and telecommunications equipment. Its core business focuses on enabling enterprise and service-provider networks through products such as routers, switches, network security appliances and wireless systems. Over time Cisco has broadened its portfolio to emphasize software-defined networking, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure and edge computing solutions that help organizations build and manage modern IT environments.

In addition to hardware, Cisco offers a growing range of software platforms and subscription services for network management, security, analytics and collaboration.