Cisco Stock Surges on AI Orders Beat

CNBC reported Wednesday that Cisco shares surged roughly 14% in after-hours trading after the networking company delivered fiscal third-quarter results that topped Wall Street expectations on both earnings and revenue. The company also significantly lifted its Cisco AI orders outlook for the full year, sending investors into a buying frenzy.

Blowout Numbers Across the Board

Cisco posted adjusted earnings of $1.06 per share against analyst forecasts of $1.04. Revenue came in at $15.84 billion, beating the $15.56 billion consensus. That represented a 12% year-over-year increase from $14.15 billion. Net income jumped to $3.37 billion from $2.49 billion in the year-ago period.

Fourth-quarter guidance also cleared the bar. Cisco projected adjusted earnings of $1.16 to $1.18 per share on revenue of $16.7 billion to $16.9 billion. Analysts had only expected $1.07 per share on roughly $15.82 billion in sales.

Also Read: Apple Posts Strong Services Revenue Despite Hardware Slowdown

AI Order Momentum Drives the Upgrade

The headline figure for investors was Cisco’s AI traction. The company disclosed it has accumulated $5.3 billion in AI infrastructure and hyperscaler orders year-to-date. It lifted its full-year AI order target to $9 billion from a prior estimate of $5 billion. Expected AI-related revenue for the fiscal year was raised to $4 billion from $3 billion. Networking revenue grew 25% to $8.82 billion. Security revenue held roughly flat near $2 billion.

A Stock Playing Catch-Up to Peers

Cisco spent much of the early AI boom lagging behind data center-focused rivals. That changed late last year when the stock finally broke past its dot-com era peak to set a new all-time high. Shares have now climbed approximately 33% so far in 2026, comfortably outpacing the Nasdaq’s roughly 14% advance over the same period.

Also Read: Nvidia Revenue Forecast Tops Estimates on Data Center Demand

Job Cuts Tied to AI Restructuring

CEO Chuck Robbins announced in a blog post Wednesday that Cisco will reduce its workforce by fewer than 4,000 employees, representing under 5% of total headcount. Cuts begin May 14. Robbins framed the reductions as necessary to redirect investment toward high-demand areas. Severance and related costs are expected to generate roughly $1 billion in pre-tax charges, with around $450 million hitting the fiscal fourth quarter. Cisco also introduced new networking switches and routers built around its next-generation processor during the quarter, alongside an AI model security benchmarking tool.

Read Next: Tech Layoffs Tracker: Which Companies Are Cutting Jobs in 2026