{"slug": "ai-boom-is-a-blessing-for-cisco-but-shipping-hardware-is-costly", "title": "AI boom is a blessing for Cisco, but shipping hardware is costly", "summary": "Cisco closed FY2026 with $63.3 billion in revenue, up 12% from FY2025, its best results in 30 years, driven by a 4.5x increase in hyperscaler orders, but shares fell about 6% in pre-market trading as non-GAAP gross margin shrank from 68.7% to 66.9% and CFO Mark Patterson guided Q1 margin to 65-66%. CEO Chuck Robbins said, \"We believe we're in the early stages of a networking super cycle, presenting a massive opportunity.", "body_md": "[Cisco](/tag/cisco/)\n\nThe trickle-down effect of the AI infrastructure build-out continues to be a boon for Cisco, with the networking firm celebrating better-than-expected results Wednesday, but rising costs appeared to spook investors.\n\nThe US company closed out the 2026 financial year with its best results in 30 years, recording [ $63.3 billion in revenue](https://s21.q4cdn.com/812015656/files/doc_earnings/2026/q4/presentation/Q4FY26-Cisco-Earnings-Slides.pdf?ref=thestack.technology), up 12% on FY2025, after a 4.5x increase in the value of its hyperscaler orders.\n\nCEO Chuck Robbins told an earnings call, “We believe we’re in the early stages of a networking super cycle, presenting a massive opportunity”, citing high demand from hyperscalers, telcos, and enterprise customers.\n\nBut it was continued pressure on its non-GAAP gross profit margins that analysts questioned. CFO Mark Patterson said he expected its gross margin to hover around 65-66% in Q1 after it shrank from 68.7% in FY25 to 66.9% in FY26.\n\nThe company’s shares dropped around 6% in pre-market trading at the time of publication.\n\n**Data centres need networking**\n\n## Get the full story: Subscribe for free\n\nJoin peers managing over $100 billion in annual IT spend and subscribe to unlock full access to The Stack’s analysis and events.\n\n[Subscribe now](https://www.thestack.technology/membership/)\n\nAlready a member? [Sign in](https://www.thestack.technology/signin/)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/ai-boom-is-a-blessing-for-cisco-but-shipping-hardware-is-costly", "canonical_source": "https://www.thestack.technology/cisco-shares-drop-memory-costs-ai-orders/", "published_at": "2026-08-13 11:10:51+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-13 11:35:39.152662+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-infrastructure"], "entities": ["Cisco", "Chuck Robbins", "Mark Patterson"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/ai-boom-is-a-blessing-for-cisco-but-shipping-hardware-is-costly", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/ai-boom-is-a-blessing-for-cisco-but-shipping-hardware-is-costly.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/ai-boom-is-a-blessing-for-cisco-but-shipping-hardware-is-costly.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/ai-boom-is-a-blessing-for-cisco-but-shipping-hardware-is-costly.jsonld"}}