Dear Cisco Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for May 13
Cisco Systems (CSCO) is making a return to relevance as investors anticipate its fiscal third-quarter earnings report after the market close on May 13. What makes the outlook even more interesting is the fact that shares have rallied on speculation around higher AI infrastructure demand, switching, security, observability, and enterprise networking.
The problem is clear. With CSCO stock up 62% from its 52-week low of $60.85, the bar is not going to be particularly low. Investors will need to pay much more attention to whether Cisco has what it takes to sustain the current rally in light of growing expectations tied to AI infrastructure investments.
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About Cisco Stock
Cisco Systems is a multinational technology firm based out of San Jose, California. The company is known primarily for its network hardware, software, cybersecurity, observability solutions, and collaboration technologies. In terms of market significance, Cisco Systems is a key player in the AI infrastructure space, with increasing demand for more advanced networking capability among corporations and hyperscalers. Cisco currently has a market capitalization of $389.9 billion.
In recent months, CSCO stock has been a standout performer among large-cap technology stocks. Shares are up 5% over the last five days and recently reached a fresh 52-week high of $99.93. The stock has also outperformed the broader market over the past year, up 60% compared to the S&P 500's ($SPX) 26% gain over the last 12 months.
It does get complicated when looking at valuation metrics. Cisco currently sports a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 28.2 times, a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 6.7 times, and a price-to-book ratio of 7.9 times. This means CSCO stock is quite pricey compared to traditional tech players in the networking space. Additionally, the P/E-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 3.6 times highlights that investors are willing to pay a premium for stability, exposure to AI infrastructure, and software-oriented revenue growth.
Earnings Beat Expected From Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems is expected to report fiscal Q3 results on May 13 after the market close. The expectation seems to be relatively optimistic despite some challenges faced by the company last quarter. On average, Wall Street analysts expect Cisco to report non-GAAP EPS of approximately $0.86 for the April quarter, up 10% year-over-year (YOY) from $0.78. Revenue for the quarter is expected between $15.4 billion and $15.6 billion as AI infrastructure demand drives growth amid stable enterprise networking demand.
