Here’s what Wall Street experts are saying about Cisco ahead of earnings

Cisco (CSCO) is scheduled to report results of its fiscal third quarter after the market closes on May 13 with a conference call scheduled for 4:30 pm ET. What to watch for:

GUIDANCE: Along with its last report, Cisco guided for Q3 adjusted earnings per share of $1.02-$1.04 on revenue of $15.4B-$15.6B. At the time, analysts were expecting the company to report Q3 EPS of $1.03 on revenue of $15.21B, but those figures have since risen to $1.04 and $15.56B, respectively.

BWG DOWNGRADE: Last month, BWG Global downgraded its view of Cisco to Mixed from Positive, citing checks.

EVERCORE: Last week, Evercore ISI raised the firm’s price target on Cisco to $110 from $100 and maintained an Outperform rating on the shares, calling the company’s Silicon One, an “underappreciated lever for upside.”

JPMORGAN: In mid-April, JPMorgan raised the firm’s price target on Cisco to $96 from $95 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm adjusted ratings and targets in the hardware and networking group as part of a Q1 preview. JPMorgan expects AI infrastructure investments across server, switches, copper interconnects and optical to drive upside to AI-levered suppliers in Q1.

TRUIST INITIATION: In late March, Truist initiated coverage of Cisco with a Buy rating and $94 price target. Networking and Hardware represents the group most directly linked to elevated AI and cloud investment at a time when U.S. hyperscaler capex alone is forecasted to total about $700B in 2026, the analyst tells investors while rolling out coverage of the group. The firm, which favors a more selective approach to the stocks considering relatively higher valuations, names Arista Networks (ANET), Cisco, HPE (HPE) and Motorola Solutions (MSI) among its favorites in the group.

ASTRIX: Last week, Peter Bailey, the SVP and GM of Cisco’s Security business, announced Cisco’s intent to acquire Astrix Security, a company engaged in Non-Human Identity Security. “The addition of Astrix Security brings deep capability to discover and secure every AI agent and non-human identity, including excessive privileges and real-time threats, enabling organizations to adopt AI securely and at scale,” Bailey said in a statement, adding that “We plan to integrate Astrix Security’s capabilities into Cisco Identity Intelligence, strengthening visibility and context across identities within the Cisco Security platform.”