Cisco (CSCO)
Information Technology · $420B market cap · SEC CIK 0000858877
fundamentals score out of 100
Next reports on Nov 10, 2026, with analysts expecting $1.35 in earnings per share.
The case for CSCO
- Earns 27% back on shareholder equity.
- Generated $13.3B of free cash flow in FY2025, 23% of revenue.
- 21% of revenue drops through to net profit.
- Revenue growing 11.8% year over year.
- Earnings per share up 30.8%.
- Pays a 3.2% dividend while you wait.
The case against
- Pricey at 31.6× earnings, against a long-run market average nearer 20×.
- Current liabilities exceed current assets (ratio 0.93).
What the score is made of
Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Information Technology companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.
| Valuewhat you pay for the earnings, sales, assets and cash | 46 |
|---|---|
| Growthhow fast revenue and earnings are moving, this year and over five | 45 |
| Profitabilityhow much of the revenue becomes profit, and how much of that is cash | 67 |
| Momentumhow the price has behaved lately | 62 |
| Stabilityhow violently it moves, what it owes and what it pays you | 77 |
- Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 73 Information Technology companies.
Key numbers
| Price / earnings | 31.6× |
|---|---|
| Price / book | 8.98× |
| Price / sales | 6.6× |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +11.8% |
| EPS growth (YoY) | +30.8% |
| Gross margin | 65% |
| Operating margin | 24% |
| Net margin | 21% |
| Return on equity | 27% |
| Debt / equity | 0.59× |
| Current ratio | 0.93 |
| Dividend yield | 3.23% |
| Beta | 1.00 |
| 52-week range | $66.81 – $130.37 |
| Position in that range | 62% of the way up |
| 3-month return | -6.8% |
| 1-year return | +63.4% |
Five years of financials, as filed
Pulled from Cisco's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are derived from the rows above.
| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $56.7B | $53.8B | $57.0B | $51.6B | $49.8B |
| Gross profit | $36.8B | $34.8B | $35.8B | $32.2B | $31.9B |
| Operating income | $11.8B | $12.2B | $15.0B | $14.0B | $12.8B |
| Net income | $10.2B | $10.3B | $12.6B | $11.8B | $10.6B |
| Operating cash flow | $14.2B | $10.9B | $19.9B | $13.2B | $15.5B |
| Capital expenditure | $905M | $670M | $849M | $477M | $692M |
| Total assets | $123B | $121B | $101B | $95.8B | $94.3B |
| Total liabilities | $75.6B | $75.8B | $54.9B | $54.4B | $54.8B |
| Shareholder equity | $47.7B | $45.5B | $46.3B | $41.5B | $39.5B |
| Cash | $7.5B | $8.6B | $13.7B | $9.0B | $6.7B |
| Long-term debt | $21.4B | $19.6B | $6.7B | $7.6B | $9.0B |
| Free cash flow | $13.3B | $10.2B | $19.0B | $12.7B | $14.8B |
| Gross margin | 64.9% | 64.7% | 62.7% | 62.5% | 64.0% |
| Operating margin | 20.8% | 22.6% | 26.4% | 27.1% | 25.8% |
| Net margin | 18.0% | 19.2% | 22.1% | 22.9% | 21.3% |
| Diluted shares | 4.0B | 4.1B | 4.1B | 4.2B | 4.2B |
Share count is down 5.6% over 4 years. Buybacks have been shrinking the pie.
What Cisco says it does
" Other Key Financial Measures The following is a summary of our other key financial measures for fiscal 2026 compared with fiscal 2025 (in millions): Fiscal 2026 Fiscal 2025 Cash and cash equivalents and investments $15,918 $16,110 Cash provided by operating activities $14,177 $14,193 Remaining performance obligations $46,734 $43,533 Repurchases of common stock—stock repurchase program $6,106 $5,995 Dividends paid $6,553 $6,437 Inventories $5,694 $3,164 Total debt $29,533 $28,093 32 Table of Contents CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued) CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires us to make judgments, assumptions, and estimates that affect the amounts reported in the Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying…
Risk factors CSCO lists in its 10-K
- MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (Continued)
- Fiscal 2026 Compared with Fiscal 2025
- Inventory Valuation and Liability for Purchase Commitments with Contract Manufacturers and Suppliers
- Valuation of Goodwill and Purchased Intangible Assets
- Research and Development ("R&D"), Sales and Marketing, and General and Administrative ("G&A") Expenses
- Amortization of Purchased Intangible Assets
- Interest and Other Income (Loss), Net
- Purchase Commitments with Contract Manufacturers and Suppliers
- Liquidity and Capital Resource Requirements
- Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
- Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
- Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
- Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting
- Internal Control - Integrated Framework