Cisco Systems reported fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue that topped estimates as new product orders continued to rebound amid growing artificial intelligence infrastructure demand. Cisco stock climbed on Thursday as its revenue outlook for the current quarter ending in July came in above views.
The company released Cisco earnings after the market close on Wednesday.
Further, Cisco named a new chief financial officer, Mark Patterson, to succeed Scott Herren. Patterson takes over effective July 27. Herren plans to retire. Patterson, a 25-year Cisco veteran, had been chief strategy officer.
Fiscal Q3 financial results included recently acquired software maker Splunk. For the period that ended April 26, Cisco earnings rose 9% to 96 cents on an adjusted basis. Revenue climbed 11% to $14.1 billion.
Cisco Stock: AI Infrastructure Growth
Analysts estimated that Cisco would earn 92 cents per share on revenue of $14.05 billion, according to FactSet.
Product orders increased 20% the company said. Excluding Splunk, product orders rose 9%.
Also, artificial intelligence network infrastructure orders exceeded $600 million, up from $350 million in the previous quarter, the company said. New AI-centric data centers being built by cloud computing companies are driving demand for Ethernet networking upgrades, Cisco said.
Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng said in a report: "Enterprise AI orders are also showing momentum with Cisco's AI factory with Nvidia likely to contribute in fiscal 2026. Sovereign AI, as evidenced by newly announced Saudi Arabia and UAE deals, are also picking up."
But cybersecurity results underwhelmed.
"Security growth continues to be a challenge as new product growth is outweighed by declines in legacy appliances," said Bank of America analyst Tal Liani in a report.
On the stock market today, Cisco stock climbed more than 6% to 65.19 in morning trading, nearing an entry point. Cisco stock had advanced nearly 4% in 2025 heading into the earnings report.
Shares in rival Arista Networks, meanwhile, fell 2.3% to 95.91 on Thursday.
For the fourth fiscal quarter ending in April, Cisco forecast sales of $14.6 billion at the midpoint of its outlook. Analysts predicted sales of $14.52 billion. the company said it expects adjusted earnings of 97 cents vs. estimates of 95 cents.
"Cisco did not offer forecasts beyond its July-ending fiscal fourth quarter," noted Raymond James analyst Simon Leopold in a report. "The forecast captures the assumption that paused tariffs resume after July 9 and present a modest headwind to margin. Further risk stems from the U.S. Commerce Department section 232 investigation on semiconductors."
Cisco Stock: Technical Ratings
Cisco stock holds a Composite Rating of 88 out of a best-possible 99, according to IBD Stock Check-up. In addition, Cisco stock owns an entry point of 66.50 from a consolidation base.
In addition, Cisco has shifted away from its core business of selling network switches and routers. With acquisitions, Cisco aims to increase revenue from software and services.
Cisco recently closed the acquisition of software company Splunk for $25 billion in cash. With roots in data analytics software, Splunk has expanded into cybersecurity.
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