# Cisco Systems, Inc. Common Stock (DE) (CSCO) — Stock CV

Cisco Systems, Inc. is a $466B technology company. Revenue grew 11.8% over the last year, it keeps 21¢ of every dollar of sales as profit, and its net debt equals ~1.2 years of free cash flow. It trades at 35.2× earnings — near the highest of its own history.

> Cisco Systems is the largest provider of networking equipment in the world and one of the largest software companies in the world. Its largest businesses are selling networking hardware and software (where it has leading market shares) and cybersecurity software such as firewalls.

## Identity

- **Ticker**: CSCO
- **Sector**: Technology
- **Industry**: Computer Communications Equipment
- **Headquarters**: SAN JOSE, CA
- **Employees**: 82 400
- **Website**: https://www.cisco.com
- **Market cap**: $466B
- **Last price**: $118.20
- **Financial profile**: Solid

## Vitals (TTM)

- **Revenue**: $63.3B
- **Net income**: $13.3B
- **Free cash flow**: $12.8B
- **Net debt**: $15.3B
- **P/E**: 35.2
- **Revenue growth (YoY)**: 11.8%

## Skills (profile scores, 0–100)

| Pillar | Score |
|---|---|
| Valuation | 22 |
| Growth | 55 |
| Profitability | 90 |
| Health | 68 |
| Quality | 82 |
| Moat | 82 |

## Qualifications (beginner checklist) — 11 of 11 passed

- [x] Revenue growing — +11.8% YoY
- [x] Profitable — $13.3B TTM
- [x] Profit growing — +2.7% YoY
- [x] Generates cash — $12.8B TTM
- [x] Debt under control — ~1.2y of cash flow to repay
- [x] Established company — $466B market cap
- [x] Not printing shares — -5.9% shares over ~5y
- [x] Proven track record — 11/11 profitable years
- [x] Financially stable — Altman Z 4.4 — safe
- [x] Pays a dividend — yield 1.40%
- [x] Valuation not extreme — P/E 35.2

## Experience (career milestones)

- **FY2026** — Best year on record: $13.3B net income
- **Sep 21, 2023** — Cisco announced the acquisition of cybersecurity firm Splunk in a $28 billion deal, its…
- **FY2019** — Revenue crossed $50B: $51.9B for the year
- **FY2019** — Became debt-free: cash now exceeds total debt
- **FY2016** — Profitable every year on record: 11 consecutive profitable years in our data
- **FY2016** — Revenue already above $10B: $49.2B in first reported year
- **FY2016** — Positive free cash flow every year since: 11-year streak
- **Jul 24, 2012** — Cisco received approval from the EU to acquire NDS (a TV software developer) for US$5 billion
- **2010** — Cisco bought Starent Networks (a mobile packet core company) for $2.9 billion and Moto Development Group, a…
- **2009** — Cisco also expanded into new markets by acquisition, including its 2009 purchase of mobile specialist Starent…
- **2000** — At the height of the dot-com bubble, Cisco became the most valuable company in the world
- **1999** — One of them, Juniper Networks, shipped its first product in 1999 and by 2000 chipped away about 30% from Cisco SP…
- **1999** — Cisco also acquired a stake for $1 billion in KPMG Consulting to enable establishing Internet firm Metrius…
- **1993** — Although many buy-ins (such as Crescendo Networks in 1993, Tandberg in 2010) resulted in acquisition of flagship…
- **1990** — The company went public in 1990 and, by the end of the dot-com bubble in 2000, had a market capitalization of $500…
- **1984** — Cisco Systems was founded in December 1984 by Sandy Lerner, along with her husband Leonard Bosack

## Strengths

- High gross margin (64.5%)
- Strongly profitable — 21.0% net margin
- Revenue growing 11.8% year over year
- Strong cash conversion — FCF is 20.2% of revenue
- Could repay net debt from ~1.3 years of free cash flow

## Watch-outs

- None stand out in the data.

## Track record

| Year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2022 | $51.6B | $11.8B | $12.7B |
| FY2023 | $57.0B | $12.6B | $19.0B |
| FY2024 | $53.8B | $10.3B | $10.2B |
| FY2025 | $56.7B | $10.2B | $13.3B |
| FY2026 | $63.3B | $13.3B | $12.8B |

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Source: https://stockcv.com/CSCO — derived from company filings; may be delayed or incomplete. Information, not investment advice.