Cisco has reported record first-quarter revenue of $18.5 billion, up 24% on a year earlier, and raised its full-year outlook, as demand for the networking equipment used in artificial intelligence data centres continued to surge. The results were published after the US market closed on Thursday 12 November 2026.

The networking giant also lifted its forecast for AI infrastructure revenue from hyperscale cloud customers to $9 billion for fiscal 2027, up from $7.5 billion and more than double the total for fiscal 2026. Shares rose in extended trading after the announcement.

What Cisco reported

Revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, which ended on 24 October 2026, was $18.5 billion, compared with $14.9 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. Product revenue rose 32% to $14.67 billion, while services revenue edged up 1% to $3.85 billion.

Net income on a generally accepted accounting principles basis was $4.6 billion, or $1.14 per share, up 58% year on year. Non-GAAP earnings per share reached $1.40, up 40%. Both figures beat Wall Street expectations: analysts polled by LSEG had forecast earnings of $1.33 per share on revenue of $18.14 billion.

Networking revenue, Cisco's largest business, rose 43% in the quarter, the company said. Security revenue grew 7%, collaboration rose 8% and observability increased 2%. The 24% overall revenue growth was the company's strongest in more than 15 years.

Guidance raised across the board

Cisco raised its fiscal 2027 revenue forecast to between $74.8 billion and $75.8 billion, up from $72.2 billion to $73.4 billion. It also lifted its non-GAAP earnings forecast to $5.47 to $5.53 per share.

For the second quarter, Cisco guided to revenue of $18.0 billion to $18.2 billion, above the average analyst estimate of $17.88 billion compiled by LSEG. The company said most of its capital requirements for fiscal 2027 would be funded by customer prepayments and hardware partners, a model that has helped it finance the build-out of AI infrastructure without taking on the heavy debt loads carried by some rivals.

The results landed on a turbulent day for AI stocks. Nvidia shares fell sharply during the regular session after reports that its board was weighing the future of chief executive Jensen Huang, dragging chipmakers lower. Cisco's numbers offered a counterweight, showing that spending on the networks that connect AI data centres remains strong even as investors question valuations elsewhere in the sector.

Why the AI forecast matters

Cisco was slow to benefit from the first wave of generative AI spending, which flowed mainly to chipmakers and cloud providers. Its raised AI forecast suggests the company is now capturing a larger share of the build-out, as hyperscalers spend heavily on the high-speed networking that links thousands of graphics processors together.

The $9 billion AI infrastructure target is more than double the figure for fiscal 2026, and Cisco said demand from hyperscale customers was the main driver of the quarter's growth. Analysts will now watch whether the company can sustain that pace without the margin pressure that has affected other suppliers to the AI boom.

Cisco shares have gained about 35% so far this year, according to CNBC, outperforming the broader market as investors have warmed to its AI story. The stock's after-hours rise on Thursday suggested the market welcomed both the beat and the raised outlook.

Sources: Cisco, Reuters