Cisco Earnings Preview: AI and Security Push in Focus Beyond Profit Numbers

Cisco Systems is set to report earnings after market today, drawing strong investor interest as markets focus on corporate results this week. Over the past two years, Cisco has topped revenue forecasts by an average of 0.6%.

The company will roll out the Cisco 360 Partner Program on January 25, 2026, introducing new incentives and tools to enhance partner profitability in AI, security, and collaboration.

Key Highlights

• Cisco will launch the Cisco 360 Partner Program on January 25, 2026, co-designed with partners to add new specializations, bonuses, and tools that boost partner profitability in AI, security, and collaboration. It helps organizations adopt AI despite infrastructure and skills gaps, and aligns with Cisco’s strong footing, highlighted by a perfect Piotroski Score of 9.
• The company has enhanced its Security Cloud Control platform with multi-tenant management, enabling Managed Service Providers to manage security solutions more efficiently.
• AI infrastructure orders surpassed $2 billion in FY25, over twice the $1 billion target with Q4 alone delivering more than $800 million from web-scale customers.
• The Silicon One P200 launch positions it strongly in the expanding AI data center connectivity market, with Microsoft and Alibaba as early customers, while a large campus networking refresh tens of billions of dollars in installed base, offers a multi-year catalyst to upgrade to AI-ready smart switches.
• Cross-selling with Splunk drove a 14% year-over-year increase in new logos in Q4, highlighting effective integration and broader market reach.
• CSCO trades at a high P/E relative to near-term growth, with a PEG of 70.21 indicating possible overvaluation. Its moderate debt could also pose risks if interest rates stay elevated longer than expected.

Analysts Expectation

• UBS upgraded Cisco from Neutral to Buy and lifted its price target to $88. The move reflects confidence in Cisco’s growth, supported by AI infrastructure demand, a major campus refresh cycle, and expanding security revenue, underscoring its strategic push in AI, networking, and security.
• Citi maintained a Buy rating with an $80 target, viewing Cisco as a long-term beneficiary of campus refresh and enterprise/sovereign AI, despite few near-term catalysts.
• Morgan Stanley kept an Overweight rating with a $77 base-case target, assuming a 19x multiple on about $4 FY26 EPS. Its bull case is $92, based on $4.20 EPS.

CSCO Q1 2026 earnings after-market (4:05 pm ET) Wed. November 12, 2025

Technical Analysis Perspective

• CSCO is challenging a key trendline resistance from July 2019 high around 74.50 to 73.
• Stock is also facing an array of resistance between 77.20 to 73 from March 2000 highs.
• Ideal Scenario: A rejection of 74.50 resistance would pave the way for a dip to 69/68 support with more to 65.
• Bull case: CSCO pushed through 74.50 resistance for a move to 77.50.

Monthly Candlestick Chart

CSCO Seasonality Chart:

Since 2006, CSCO has seen November close with a 1.1% gain in 50% of years and December with a 1.7% gain in 63% of years.

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Disclaimer: This article is written for informational purposes only. It is not intended to encourage the purchase of assets in any way, nor does it constitute a solicitation, offer, recommendation or suggestion to invest. I would like to remind you that all assets are evaluated from multiple perspectives and are highly risky, so any investment decision and the associated risk belongs to the investor. We also do not provide any investment advisory services.