Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Posted by George Bondi on May 15th, 2026

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO – Get Free Report) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 4.270-4.290 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 4.010. The company issued revenue guidance of $62.8 billion-$63.0 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $61.6 billion. Cisco Systems also updated its Q4 2026 guidance to 1.160-1.180 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Cisco Systems from $75.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. HSBC lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. New Street Research lifted their target price on Cisco Systems from $82.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cisco Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.00.

View Our Latest Research Report on Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems Trading Up 13.4%

Shares of CSCO stock opened at $115.53 on Friday. Cisco Systems has a 1 year low of $62.30 and a 1 year high of $119.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.68. The company has a market cap of $456.33 billion, a PE ratio of 37.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.92.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 28.70% and a net margin of 20.14%.The business had revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Cisco Systems has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.160-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.270-4.290 EPS. Research analysts predict that Cisco Systems will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Cisco Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 6th. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.07, for a total value of $134,410.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 156,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,076,329.51. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 7,981 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.50, for a total value of $634,489.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 187,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,874,211.50. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,587 shares of company stock valued at $1,230,765. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Cisco Systems News

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

Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts lifted their price targets on Cisco after the earnings beat, including Evercore, Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas Exane, Piper Sandler, KeyCorp, Morgan Stanley, Citi, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, and Bank of America, reinforcing a broadly bullish outlook for CSCO. BNP Paribas Exane Issues Positive Forecast for Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Stock Price
Positive Sentiment: Cisco reported fiscal Q3 revenue of $15.84 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.06, both ahead of estimates, while also raising FY2026 guidance; the update suggests stronger demand trends and better near-term earnings power. CISCO REPORTS THIRD QUARTER EARNINGS
Positive Sentiment: Management said AI infrastructure orders are accelerating, including roughly $9 billion in hyperscaler AI infrastructure orders for FY2026, fueling investor optimism that Cisco is becoming a key beneficiary of the AI buildout. Cisco CEO says tech is entering a ‘networking supercycle’ as stock pops 14% on strong AI demand
Neutral Sentiment: Cisco also announced a quarterly dividend, which supports the stock’s income appeal but is not the main driver behind today’s move. Cisco Systems Stock Performance
Negative Sentiment: The restructuring includes nearly 4,000 job cuts and up to $1 billion in related charges, which introduces execution risk and near-term cost pressure even as the market focuses on the AI growth opportunity. Cisco to Cut Jobs in Shift to Capture More AI Demand

Institutional Trading of Cisco Systems

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

About Cisco Systems

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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.