Cisco Systems reported Q3 fiscal 2026 results on May 13, 2026, with record revenue of $15.8 billion, up 12% year over year, per the company's investor relations release. AI infrastructure orders reached $5.3 billion year-to-date through Q3, and Cisco raised its full-year FY26 AI order outlook to $9 billion from a prior $5 billion and its AI revenue outlook to $4 billion from $3 billion, per Cisco. Networking product orders accelerated to more than 50% year-over-year growth, with data center switching orders up more than 40%, per Cisco. Q4 FY26 revenue guidance is $16.7 to $16.9 billion. CEO Chuck Robbins stated, per Cisco's investor release, that "Cisco is well-positioned as the critical infrastructure for the AI era." Cisco also announced a restructuring plan targeting up to $1 billion in charges to redirect investment toward AI, silicon, optics, and security.
Q3 FY26 Earnings
Cisco Systems reported Q3 fiscal 2026 revenue of $15.8 billion on May 13, 2026, up 12% year over year, per the company's investor relations press release. GAAP EPS was $0.85 (up 37% YoY) and non-GAAP EPS was $1.06 (up 10% YoY), both exceeding the high end of prior guidance, per Cisco. Non-GAAP gross margin was 66.0%, down from 68.6% in Q3 FY25, reflecting product mix and component costs.
AI Infrastructure Orders
Cisco disclosed AI infrastructure orders of $5.3 billion year-to-date through Q3 FY26, per its investor relations release. The company raised its FY26 AI order outlook to $9 billion (up from $5 billion prior guidance) and its FY26 AI revenue outlook to $4 billion (up from $3 billion), per Cisco. Networking product orders accelerated to more than 50% year-over-year growth; data center switching orders grew more than 40% YoY and campus networking orders more than 25% YoY, per Cisco. Total product orders rose 35% YoY; excluding hyperscalers, product orders grew 19% YoY.
Management commentary
CEO Chuck Robbins stated, per Cisco's investor relations release: "Cisco is well-positioned as the critical infrastructure for the AI era, building on our technology leadership and customer trust, while innovating at the speed and scale that our dynamic world demands." CFO Mark Patterson noted the company "once again delivered double-digit growth on both the top and bottom lines which exceeded the high end of our guidance," per Cisco.
Q4 Guidance and Restructuring
Q4 FY26 guidance calls for revenue of $16.7 to $16.9 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $1.16 to $1.18, per Cisco. Concurrently, Cisco announced a restructuring plan targeting up to $1 billion in charges - primarily severance - to redirect investment toward silicon, optics, security, and AI; approximately $450 million is expected in Q4 FY26, per Cisco.
Industry context
AI workloads drive higher intra- and inter-rack bandwidth requirements, benefiting switching and optical interconnect vendors. Industry-pattern observations: vendors with diversified supply chains and long OEM relationships tend to report steadier order books during rapid demand upcycles, but face gross-margin pressure from commodity memory and ASIC supply dynamics. Practitioners planning data-center capacity should monitor Cisco's Q4 order cadence and gross-margin guidance, as these are leading indicators for switching and interconnect lead times.
Scoring Rationale #
Cisco's Q3 FY26 results show a real and significant inflection in AI infrastructure demand: 50%+ YoY networking order growth, $9B FY26 AI order outlook (nearly doubled), and record revenue. This is notably above typical quarterly earnings cadence and has direct relevance for practitioners tracking switching and interconnect capacity. Scored at 6.5 (Notable) given the scale of order acceleration and raised outlook, but below 7.0 as this is an earnings story rather than a new product or platform release.
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