The stock of Cisco Systems (CSCO) is down 7% after the telecommunications networking company reported forward guidance that disappointed investors and analysts.
The Silicon Valley-based company announced earnings per share (EPS) of $1.04 U.S., which topped the $1.02 U.S. expected on Wall Street.
Revenue of $15.35 billion U.S. beat analysts’ consensus forecast of $15.12 billion U.S. Sales were up 10% from a year earlier.
Despite the strong print, Cisco’s stock turned lower after management issued inline forward guidance that underwhelmed.
For the current quarter, Cisco expects $1.02 U.S. to $1.04 U.S. in earnings and $15.4 billion U.S. to $15.6 billion U.S. in revenue.
Analysts had $1.03 U.S. per share in earnings and $15.18 billion U.S. in revenue penciled in for the legacy technology company.
Investors have been looking for Cisco to play a bigger role in the artificial intelligence (A.I.) boom, which has lifted the stocks of other technology giants.
Management at Cisco highlighted that they’re seeing some growth due to A.I., reporting $2.1 billion U.S. in A.I. infrastructure orders during Q4 2025.
Cisco also recently announced plans to provide products for a new A.I. infrastructure project in Saudi Arabia alongside chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
Another issue impacting Cisco is the global shortage of memory microchips, which has driven prices sharply higher.
Cisco has raised its prices and adjusted contracts with channel partners to offset the higher costs associated with memory chips, said the company.
For all of 2026, Cisco forecast $4.13 U.S. to $4.17 U.S. in earnings per share and $61.2 billion U.S. to $61.7 billion U.S. in revenue, which implies 8.5% annualized growth.
Wall Street was expecting full-year earnings of $4.12 U.S. a share and sales of $60.74 billion U.S. from the company.
Prior to today (Feb. 12), CSCO stock had risen 37% over the last 12 months to trade at $85.54 U.S. per share.
