Cisco's stock drops despite earnings, revenue beat

Cisco shares dropped in extended trading on Wednesday despite a better-than-expected earnings report and a revenue forecast that sailed past estimates.

Here's how the company did compared with analyst estimates, according to LSEG:

Entering the fiscal fourth-quarter report, Wall Street had turned bullish on Cisco, pushing the stock up more than 60% this quarter and about 8% this month on optimism that the networking company would start playing a bigger role in the artificial intelligence boom.

Cisco's numbers suggest that's happening, even though the stock traded lower on the report. The company said it sees revenue this quarter of $18 billion to $18.2 billion, topping the $16.8 billion average estimate, according to LSEG.

Cisco also issued an earnings forecast for the current period that exceeded expectations, as well as offering strong guidance for the full year.

Hyperscalers, or the internet giants driving much of the AI spend, placed $4 billion of infrastructure orders in the quarter, bringing the total for the fiscal year to $9.3 billion, Cisco said. That group accounted for about $4 billion of revenue in the past fiscal year, with Cisco expecting that number to almost double in fiscal 2027 to $7.5 billion.

Revenue climbed 18% in the latest quarter from $14.7 billion a year earlier. Net income increased 51% to $3.9 billion, or 97 cents a share, from $2.6 billion, or 64 cents a share, a year ago.