Cisco shares slide 9% despite earnings beat and strong guidance

Cisco Systems shares fell 9% on Thursday, August 13, 2026, even after the company reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations and issued stronger-than-expected revenue guidance. The stock was trading around $113 by mid-day, down from its record closing high of $130 in June.

The networking equipment maker said revenue in the current quarter will be between $18 billion and $18.2 billion, above the $16.8 billion average analyst estimate, according to LSEG. For the fiscal fourth quarter, revenue rose 18% to $17.3 billion, also topping the $16.8 billion consensus.

Investors appeared to focus on the pace of growth rather than the beat. Analysts at Piper Sandler wrote in a note that Cisco's numbers were good but that guidance "looks conservative given the current demand environment." They added that some investors "may start to nitpick that we're seeing peak growth," and they recommend holding the stock.

Heading into the report, Cisco shares were up more than 60% for the year as the company began to show benefits from the artificial intelligence boom. While Cisco projects revenue growth of about 15% for the current fiscal year, analysts see sales growth dipping back into the single digits next fiscal year.

CEO Chuck Robbins defended the forecast in an interview with CNBC's Jim Cramer on Thursday. "We had a record year, we had a record quarter," Robbins said. He noted that after issuing guidance that beat expectations, analysts asked, "Why are you being so conservative," and he responded that the company is starting a new fiscal year and wants to be "a little bit prudent."

Analysts at KeyBanc Capital Markets remain bullish on the stock with the equivalent of a buy rating. They wrote that Cisco will likely see market share gains as hyperscalers increase capital expenditures and neoclouds ramp spending. Cisco said hyperscalers placed $4 billion of infrastructure orders in the quarter, bringing the fiscal year total to $9.3 billion. That group accounted for about $4 billion of revenue in the past fiscal year, and Cisco expects that number to almost double to $7.5 billion in fiscal 2027.