(Bloomberg) – Cisco Systems Inc., the largest manufacturer of machines that operate computer networks and the Internet, is a disappointing investor who made warm forecasts for the fiscal year and wanted a boost from a large AI data center project.
The company said in a statement Wednesday that its revenue for the fiscal year, which will be held until July 2026, will range from $59 billion to $60 billion. At the midpoint, it's roughly in line with the average Wall Street estimated $59.5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Some analysts are looking for more than $61 billion.
Like many of our peers, Cisco is working to benefit from spending that will invigorate artificial intelligence. The market is becoming more and more competitive. Companies such as Broadcom Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which completed their acquisition of Juniper Networks last month, are looking to serve the same market.
To promote Cisco bets, CEO Chuck Robbins has bolstered the company's security and surveillance software by acquiring Splunk Inc. in 2024 for $28 billion.
Stocks fell late in trading after the report was released. Cisco had risen 19% this year during the closing.
In the fourth quarter, which ended July 26th, revenue rose 7.6% to $14.7 billion. The profit was 99 cents per share except for some items. This is compared to an estimate of $14.6 billion in revenue and 98 cents per share in revenue.
The company said that AI infrastructure orders from large cloud providers exceeded $800 million in the quarter. This is an increase from $600 million in the last quarter.
Cisco Inc. will be playing a role in the UAE Stargate project, a Stargate company in the UAE, incorporating its partnership with Saudi Arabian AI company Humain.
These orders “sign a great opportunity to go ahead as we lead the required architectural shift and build the critical infrastructure needed in the AI age,” Robbins said in a statement.
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