Key Takeaways:

  • Cisco Systems recorded over $800 million in AI infrastructure orders in the fourth fiscal quarter, pushing total orders for fiscal 2025past $2 billion, exceeding the initial target of $1 billion, the company disclosed on Wednesday (August 13).
  • Cisco, headquartered in San Jose, California, specializes in networking equipment and software, and offers tools including "AI-native"data center infrastructure. Chief Financial Officer Mark Patterson, who took over the CFO role on July 27, revealed on Wednesday's first earnings call that full-year revenue related to AI orders reached $1 billion.
  • Patterson said the company will continue to focus on "strategic innovation investments to capture the significant growth opportunities ahead of us," emphasizing that "this will continue to be underpinned by disciplined expense management."

Deep Dive:

Patterson, previously Cisco's Chief Strategy Officer and a 25-year veteran of the company,succeeds Scott Herronas CFO. According to earlier reports from CFO Dive, Herron served as Cisco's CFO for five years and will remain as a strategic advisor to the company after stepping down until May 1, 2026.

As the new financial chief, Patterson, responding to analysts' questions about CFO priorities, said his goal is to "ensure we have the financial support needed to succeed." He added: "In terms of what to expect from me, you can anticipate a focus on sustainable profitable growth, financial discipline and transparency, and genuinely creating value for shareholders."

AI remains a key growth area for the tech giant. Cisco CEO Charles Robbins said the company is ensuring it is "well-positioned to provide critical infrastructure in the AI era." In the quarter ending July 26, AI orders exceeded $800 million, compared to the previous quarter's figureof over $600 million. Robbins said this growth "demonstrates the undeniable capability and relevance of our technology across multiple backend use cases from some of the most technologically advanced customers."

Discussing the company's AI strategy, Robbins said: "We see clear customer demand for our technology in the market, and the opportunity is expanding as we move toward agentic AI. We are innovating at an unprecedented pace, embedding AI as the foundation of design, deeply integrating security into our networking products, and delivering operational simplicity to customers."

According to the financial results, Cisco's non-GAAP net income for the fourth fiscal quarter was $4 billion, with non-GAAP total gross margin reaching 66%. Non-GAAP operating expenses increased 4% year-over-year to $5 billion.

Patterson said that for fiscal 2026, Cisco expects full-year revenue to be between $59 billion and $60 billion.

The CFO also highlighted the potential impact of tariffs on Cisco's next fiscal year, noting that current guidance for the first fiscal quarter and fiscal 2026 assumes existing tariffs and exemptions will remain in effect through the end of the fiscal year. This includes a 30% tariff on Chinese goods (excluding semiconductors and certain electronic components), a 25% tariff on Mexican imports, and a 35% tariff on Canadian goods. He also mentioned that Cisco expects "modest impacts from copper, steel, aluminum, and retaliatory tariffs."