Cisco’s AI-fueled earnings beat gets loud

Cisco did the thing Wall Street likes

Cisco is having one of those rare moments where the old-line infrastructure name gets to act like the cool kid at the AI table. The company said fiscal Q3 2026 revenue hit $15.84 billion and adjusted EPS came in at $1.06, both ahead of expectations, while the stock jumped after hours like it had just found out the reunion was at a rooftop bar.

The AI networking angle is doing the heavy lifting

Revenue rose 12% year over year, and networking products grew 25%, which is basically Cisco’s version of hitting the gym and suddenly fitting into your college jeans again. The company also said it generated $3.8 billion in operating cash flow and finished the quarter with $16.6 billion in cash and investments — the kind of balance sheet that lets management talk with a little extra swagger.

Guidance got better, and that’s the real tell

Here’s the part investors usually zoom in on:

• Full-year adjusted EPS guide went up to $4.27–$4.29 from $4.13–$4.17
• Fiscal 2026 total orders outlook was raised to $9 billion from $5 billion
• Cisco said it already racked up $5.3 billion in orders year to date

That combination matters because it hints the demand story isn’t just a one-quarter sugar high. If orders keep building, the market may keep giving Cisco credit for being more than yesterday’s networking relic.

Big picture

Cisco doesn’t need to become a meme stock to matter. It just needs to keep proving that AI infrastructure, enterprise networking, and cash flow can still throw a decent party together — and this quarter says that party is very much still on.