Cisco Systems Q3 Earnings Preview: Can AI Momentum Carry Company To Another Double Beat?

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) could highlight new products and continued AI momentum when it reports third-quarter financial results after the market closes on Wednesday.

Earnings Estimates: Analysts expect Cisco to report third-quarter revenue of $14.05 billion, up from $12.7 billion in last year's third quarter, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

The company has beaten analyst estimates for revenue in more than 10 straight quarters.

Analysts expect Cisco to report third-quarter earnings per share of 92 cents, up from 88 cents per share in last year's third quarter. The company has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in more than 10 straight quarters.

The company’s guidance calls for third-quarter revenue to be between $13.9 billion and $14.1 billion and earnings per share to be between 90 cents and 92 cents per share.

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Key Items to Watch: Analysts and investors will be looking for Cisco to carry momentum from its second quarter when it reported that product orders grew 29% year over year and AI Infrastructure orders reached over $350 million.

"As AI becomes more pervasive, we are well positioned to help our customers scale their network infrastructure, increase their data capacity requirements, and adopt best-in-class AI security," Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said after second-quarter results.

The company recently announced a new quantum chip created in collaboration with US Santa Barbara. The chip helps quantum networks scale and could be an item covered by the company during its management commentary or conference call questions.

Ahead of quarterly earnings, several analysts lowered their price targets on Cisco. Here are some of the recent analyst ratings and their price targets:

• Evercore ISI Group: Maintained Outperform rating, lowered price target from $75 to $67
• Rosenblatt: Maintained Buy rating, lowered price target from $80 to $63
• JPMorgan: Maintained Overweight rating, lowered price target from $73 to $70
• Citigroup: Maintained Buy rating, lowered price target from $73 to $68
• Piper Sandler: Maintained Neutral rating and lowered price target from $72 to $60

CSCO Price Action: Cisco stock trades at $61.83 on Tuesday versus a 52-week trading range of $44.50 to $66.50. Cisco stock is up 4.6% year-to-date in 2025, with shares up 27% over the last year.

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