Cisco Sys Stock Price, News & Analysis

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is described in its regulatory filings and investor communications as a worldwide technology leader. The company focuses on technologies that help organizations connect and protect their operations in what it calls the AI era. Cisco states that for more than 40 years it has securely connected the world, and that its AI-powered solutions and services are intended to enable customers, partners and communities to unlock innovation, enhance productivity and strengthen digital resilience.

According to Cisco’s proxy statement and repeated "About Cisco" disclosures in its news releases, the company designs and sells a broad range of technologies that power, secure and draw insights from the Internet. Cisco reports that it is incorporating artificial intelligence into its product portfolios across networking, security, collaboration and observability. These areas align with the company’s reported revenue groupings for networking, security, collaboration, observability and services in its financial disclosures.

Business focus and technology portfolio

In its proxy materials, Cisco explains that it designs and sells technologies that help to power, secure and draw insights from the Internet. The company highlights networking systems powered by Cisco Silicon One, AI-native security solutions and software operating systems as examples of how it has refreshed much of its product portfolio. Cisco’s earnings release for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 groups product revenue into networking, security, collaboration and observability, with additional revenue from services, illustrating the breadth of its technology offerings.

Across its public communications, Cisco emphasizes secure networking and AI-enabled capabilities. The company describes itself as providing critical infrastructure for the AI era, and its news releases reference AI-powered solutions and services as central to how it aims to enhance productivity and digital resilience for organizations. Cisco also notes that it is integrating AI into security operations, including through Splunk, a Cisco company that focuses on security information and event management and security analytics.

Role in networking, security and AI infrastructure

Cisco’s earnings release for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 underscores the importance of networking and AI-related demand in its business. The company reports networking as its largest product revenue group and notes growth in networking product orders across geographies and customer markets. It also highlights AI infrastructure orders from hyperscale customers and describes a multi-year campus networking refresh cycle involving switching, routing, wireless and IoT technologies.

In multiple news releases, Cisco characterizes itself as a technology leader in networking and security that is focused on the AI era. It describes its solutions as AI-powered and positions its portfolio as providing secure, scalable infrastructure for AI workloads. Cisco’s collaboration with partners such as AMD and HUMAIN on AI infrastructure, and its investment activity through Cisco Investments in areas like spatial intelligence, are presented as part of a broader innovation strategy across research and development, investments, mergers and acquisitions and strategic partnerships in AI-related domains.

Corporate governance, stock and regulatory profile

Cisco is incorporated in Delaware and files reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Its common stock, with a par value of $0.001 per share, trades on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the symbol CSCO, as disclosed in its current reports on Form 8-K. The company holds an annual meeting of stockholders, conducted as a virtual meeting via audio webcast, where stockholders vote on the election of directors, amendments to stock incentive plans, advisory votes on executive compensation, ratification of the independent registered public accounting firm and stockholder proposals.

The company’s proxy statement details its corporate governance framework, including a Board of Directors, Board committees, stockholder engagement practices and compensation programs. Cisco’s stockholders recently approved an amendment and restatement of the Cisco Systems, Inc. 2005 Stock Incentive Plan, increasing the number of shares authorized for issuance and extending the plan’s effectiveness through the 2030 annual meeting, as reported in a Form 8-K.

Financial reporting and business segments

Cisco provides regular financial updates through earnings releases and related Form 8-K filings. For its fiscal first quarter 2026, the company reported total revenue, product revenue and services revenue, along with revenue by geography and by groups of similar products and services. The reported product groups are networking, security, collaboration and observability, with services reported separately. Cisco also discloses gross margin, operating margin, operating expenses, net income, earnings per share, cash flows, remaining performance obligations and deferred revenue.

In its proxy materials, Cisco notes that subscriptions make up more than half of its revenue and that it tracks metrics such as annualized recurring revenue and remaining performance obligations. The company uses both GAAP and non-GAAP measures in its financial communications and explains the adjustments it makes for non-GAAP reporting, including share-based compensation, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, acquisition-related costs, significant asset impairments and restructurings, certain litigation settlements, gains and losses on investments and significant tax matters.

Strategic themes: AI, security and digital resilience

Cisco’s recent news releases emphasize several strategic themes. First, the company highlights AI as a central focus, describing itself as operating in the AI era and hosting events such as an AI Summit that convenes leaders involved in building the AI economy. Second, Cisco underscores digital resilience and security, referencing Splunk’s role in security information and event management and security analytics, and describing Splunk as helping organizations prevent security, infrastructure and application issues from becoming major incidents.

Third, Cisco’s communications stress the importance of digital inclusion and well-being. Through its collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on the Digital Well-being Hub, Cisco examines how AI and digital technologies affect different generations and regions, and how digital well-being and the digital divide relate to AI adoption. The company connects this work to its stated purpose of creating a more connected and inclusive future for all and to initiatives such as Cisco Networking Academy and Country Digital Acceleration programs.

Innovation, partnerships and ecosystem

Cisco presents its innovation approach as multi-pronged, combining internal research and development, investments, acquisitions and partnerships. Its investment in World Labs Technologies, Inc., a spatial intelligence AI startup founded by Dr. Fei-Fei Li, is described as part of this strategy and as reinforcing Cisco’s role in providing secure, scalable infrastructure for AI applications that interact with the physical world.

The company also announces collaborations with other large technology companies. For example, Cisco and IBM have stated an intention to collaborate on networked distributed quantum computing, combining IBM’s work on quantum computers with Cisco’s quantum networking innovations. Cisco frames this as part of a longer-term vision for a quantum computing internet that could connect quantum computers, sensors and communications. In another initiative, Cisco, AMD and HUMAIN plan a joint venture to deploy large-scale AI infrastructure, with Cisco contributing critical infrastructure solutions to support AI workloads in modern data centers.

Stockholder-focused policies and capital allocation

Cisco’s proxy statement and earnings materials describe its approach to capital allocation, including dividends and share repurchases. The company discloses that it returns capital to stockholders through quarterly cash dividends and stock repurchase programs, subject to Board approval. In its fiscal 2025 proxy summary, Cisco notes that it returned a substantial portion of its free cash flow to stockholders through dividends and repurchases, and that it tracks metrics such as free cash flow, annualized recurring revenue and remaining performance obligations as indicators of business performance.

The company’s governance documents and Form 8-K filings also discuss amendments to its bylaws, including provisions related to director nomination notices and cure processes for deficiencies. These disclosures illustrate how Cisco updates its governance framework and communicates changes to stockholders through SEC filings.

Purpose and digital inclusion

Across multiple news releases, Cisco reiterates that it operates with purpose at its core and that it is committed to creating a more connected and inclusive future for all. It links this purpose to efforts to connect people to the digital economy, close the digital divide and build a global learning culture. Cisco’s work with the OECD on digital well-being and its AI workforce initiatives are presented as examples of how the company seeks to align technology development with well-being, skills development and inclusion.

FAQs about Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO)

• What does Cisco Systems, Inc. say it does?
  In its proxy statement and news releases, Cisco states that it designs and sells technologies that help to power, secure and draw insights from the Internet. It emphasizes networking, security, collaboration and observability technologies, with AI integrated across these portfolios.
• On which exchange does Cisco trade and under what symbol?
  According to its Form 8-K filings, Cisco’s common stock is registered on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC and trades under the symbol CSCO.
• How does Cisco describe its role in the AI era?
  Cisco describes itself as a worldwide technology leader that is revolutionizing the way organizations connect and protect in the AI era. It highlights AI-powered solutions and services and positions its infrastructure as critical for AI workloads, including AI infrastructure orders from hyperscale customers and collaborations on AI data center capacity.
• What major product and service groups does Cisco report?
  In its fiscal first quarter 2026 earnings release, Cisco reports revenue for networking, security, collaboration and observability as product groups, along with services revenue. These categories reflect how the company organizes its technology offerings for financial reporting.
• How does Cisco communicate with stockholders?
  Cisco communicates through SEC filings such as Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, Form 8-K and the definitive proxy statement, as well as through earnings releases and virtual annual meetings of stockholders. The proxy statement describes stockholder engagement activities and provides details on voting items and governance practices.
• What is Cisco’s stated corporate purpose?
  In its news releases and proxy materials, Cisco states that it operates with purpose at its core and remains committed to creating a more connected and inclusive future for all. It links this purpose to initiatives that address the digital divide, digital skills and digital well-being.
• How does Cisco approach innovation and partnerships?
  Cisco describes a multi-pronged innovation strategy that includes internal research and development, investments through Cisco Investments, mergers and acquisitions and strategic partnerships. Examples cited in its news releases include investment in World Labs for spatial intelligence AI, collaboration with IBM on quantum networking and a planned joint venture with AMD and HUMAIN for AI infrastructure.
• What governance and compensation plans has Cisco recently updated?
  Cisco’s Form 8-K filings report that its Board amended and restated the company’s bylaws to address director nomination notices and that stockholders approved an amendment and restatement of the Cisco Systems, Inc. 2005 Stock Incentive Plan, increasing the number of shares authorized for issuance and extending the plan’s term.
• How does Cisco describe Splunk’s role within the company?
  In a news release, Cisco refers to Splunk as a Cisco company that helps build a safer and more resilient digital world. Splunk focuses on security information and event management and security analytics, helping organizations detect and respond to security and operational events.
• What themes does Cisco highlight in its research on AI and digital well-being?
  Cisco’s joint work with the OECD on the Digital Well-being Hub highlights geographic and generational divides in AI adoption, differences in trust and engagement with AI and the relationship between screen time and reported well-being. Cisco connects these findings to its goal of bridging digital skills gaps and fostering digital literacy while prioritizing well-being.