Cisco Shares Rise 19% After Earnings Beat and AI Order Forecast Increase

Cisco shares rose as much as 19% to $122 in after-hours trading Wednesday after the company reported third-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations and raised its forecast for AI infrastructure orders. The San Jose-based networking company posted revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, up 12% from a year earlier and above the $15.56 billion consensus estimate.

Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.06, compared with the $1.04 that analysts had projected. Cisco also provided fourth-quarter guidance that topped forecasts, projecting $16.8 billion in revenue and $1.17 in adjusted earnings per share. Wall Street had expected $15.82 billion in revenue and $1.07 in earnings per share.

The company said it had received $5.3 billion in hyperscaler and AI infrastructure orders so far this year. It raised its fiscal 2026 forecast for such orders to $9 billion, up from a previous target of $5 billion.

Robbins said the company would cut nearly 4,000 jobs, or just under 5% of its workforce, as part of a reorganization. The changes are intended to focus resources on silicon, optics, security and greater use of AI across the company. The stock move, if sustained in regular trading, would mark Cisco's largest one-day rally since 2002.

The company had lagged behind many of its peers during the recent surge in technology stocks tied to artificial intelligence demand.

“Cisco reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue." — @FortuneMagazine The earnings report comes as technology companies continue to invest heavily in infrastructure to support artificial intelligence applications. Cisco supplies networking equipment used in data centers that run AI workloads.”