Cisco Systems reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue that beat estimates as financial results turned positive after four quarters of slowing growth. Cisco stock climbed on Thursday as its revenue outlook for the quarter ending in April came in above views.
The company released earnings after the market close on Wednesday. Financial results included recently acquired software maker Splunk.
Cisco Stock: Order Growth Rebounding
"Fiscal Q2 strength was broad-based as networking demand and order growth drove the solid results," said Barclays analyst Tim Long in a report. "Total product order growth accelerated to 29% year-over-year (11% ex- Splunk). Cisco is starting to see demand activity from both enterprises and telco as they prepare to upgrade their AI networks, while webscale demand remains robust."
For the period that ended Jan. 25, Cisco earnings rose 8% to 94 cents on an adjusted basis. Revenue climbed 8.5% to $15 billion.
Analysts estimated that Cisco would earn 91 cents per share on revenue of $13.87 billion, according to FactSet.
On the stock market today, Cisco stock rose 6.4% to 66.47 in early trading. Cisco stock had climbed 5% in 2025 as of Wednesday's regular session.
Cisco Stock: DOGE Not A Problem?
For the third quarter of fiscal 2025 ending in April, Cisco forecast sales of $14 billion at the midpoint of its outlook. Analysts predicted sales of $13.88 billion.
"Management sees efforts to increase efficiency led by DOGE as possible tailwinds," said Raymond James analyst Simon Leopold in a report. "Cisco disclosed the U.S federal is less than 10% of sales and of this, 75% is Department of Defense."
Heading into the Cisco earnings report, the company had a Relative Strength rating of 85 out of a best-possible 99, according to IBD Stock Check-up.
In addition, Cisco has shifted away from its core business of selling network switches and routers. With acquisitions, Cisco aims to increase revenue from software and services.
Cisco recently closed the acquisition of software company Splunk for $25 billion in cash. With roots in data analytics software, Splunk has expanded into cybersecurity.
Follow Reinhardt Krause on Twitter @reinhardtk_tech for updates on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and cloud computing.
