Networking giant Cisco (CSCO) is scheduled to announce its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on August 12. CSCO shares have rallied more than 61% year-to-date, driven by solid demand for the company’s networking products and strong AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers. Wall Street expects Cisco to report Q4 FY26 earnings per share (EPS) of $1.17, reflecting 18% year-over-year growth. Revenue is projected to rise about 15% to $16.82 billion. Currently, analysts are cautiously optimistic on CSCO stock and see further upside.
Analysts’ Views Ahead of Cisco’s Q4 Earnings
Heading into Q4 earnings, UBS analyst David Vogt reiterated a Buy rating on Cisco stock with a price target of $132. The 4-star analyst noted that industry checks and commentary from hyperscalers and neoclouds suggest that AI infrastructure demand accelerated over the past three months. This bodes well for Cisco’s networking revenue and product orders in Q4 FY26. Vogt expects upside to his networking revenue estimate of $9.6 billion (26% year-over-year growth), reflecting an acceleration from the 25% growth in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, the analyst expects product order growth of 29% in Q4 FY26. This marks a deceleration from the 35% growth in the previous quarter, which was the strongest in over a decade. However, Vogt sees the possibility of Cisco delivering upside to his order estimate, given strength in pluggables and systems following more than $1 billion in Acacia orders in the previous quarter. Despite strong top line, Vogt expects increased component costs to limit Cisco’s gross margin at about 66%.
Meanwhile, Citi analyst Atif Malik reiterated a Buy rating on CSCO stock and raised his price target to $139 from $112. The 5-star analyst highlighted that his Q4 FY26 revenue projection is in line with the Street’s expectation of $16.8 billion and at the midpoint of the company’s guidance of $16.7 billion-$16.9 billion.
Malik expects gross margin to be flat sequentially at about 66% due to a higher mix of networking hardware and increased memory costs. He projects operating margin to expand 30 basis points quarter-over-quarter to 34.5%, given management’s focus on optimizing operating leverage. Overall, Malik expects Cisco to deliver EPS of $1.17, in line with the Street’s estimate. He expects investors to focus on key aspects such as Cisco’s FY27 outlook and AI orders.
Options Traders Expect an 8%+ Move
According to TipRanks’ Options Tool, options traders are pricing in an 8.24% move in either direction in reaction to Q4 FY26 earnings. An options-implied move measures the expected magnitude of the stock’s move after earnings, not the direction. The 8.24% implied move is higher than the 7.75% average of the post-earnings moves over the past four quarters.
Is CSCO Stock a Buy, Hold, or Sell?
Heading into Q4 FY26 earnings, Wall Street has a Moderate Buy consensus rating on Cisco Systems stock based on 11 Buys and four Holds. The average CSCO stock price target of $136.23 indicates 11.2% upside potential.
