Cisco's Revival: How the Tech Icon Is Rebooting for a New Era of AI-Driven Growth

Cisco Systems experienced blistering growth after its IPO. Its market value skyrocketed to $569 billion ten years later, making it the most valuable company in 2000. Unfortunately, when the dotcom bubble burst, it lost more than 85% of its value and faded from the scene. Now, in the age of AI, the former tech sensation appears to be rebooting.

The renaissance of the company that popularised routers for computer networks could be underway. Chuck Robbins, Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems, said, 'We had a solid start to fiscal 2026, and Cisco is on track to deliver our strongest year yet.'

Cisco 360

The $282.6 billion network technology company now focuses on the business services sector, with an emphasis on long-term growth. In January this year, it launched the Cisco 360 Partner Program, co-designed with partners, to help industry partners accelerate profitability and deliver greater customer value.

Most Cisco partners expect artificial intelligence to generate over 75% of their revenues within the next four to five years. The new Cisco Partner Incentive programme rewards partners for helping enterprises overcome infrastructure constraints, data complexity, and skills gaps.

Cisco 360 Partners have new pathways to profitability. Solutions spanning AI, security, collaboration, and large-scale infrastructure can help partners earn significantly more than with previous programmes.

Tim Coogan, Senior Vice President of Global Partner Sales at Cisco, said, 'This programme is critical to our mutual success with partners. The Cisco 360 Partner Program supports an agile partner ecosystem that reacts and adapts quickly, innovates continuously, and scales efficiently through platform and ecosystem effects.'

Cisco Systems is actively part of the AI race. Its 2025 study, 'From Readiness to Realization,' highlights the urgency of realising AI's value and exploring emerging opportunities with agentic and Edge AI.

Approximately 40% of customers wish AI to create new revenue streams within the next 12 months. As such, Cisco aims to play a vital role in accelerating AI's value and customer growth.

Encouraging Results

The good news in Q1 fiscal 2026 is the better-than-expected top and bottom-line performance. For the quarter ending 25 October 2025, revenue and net income increased 8% and 5%, reaching $14.9 billion and $2.9 billion, respectively, compared with Q1 fiscal 2025.

'Our relevance in AI continues to build, and we have a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar campus refresh opportunity starting to ramp, with strong demand for our refreshed networking products,' said Mark Patterson, CFO of Cisco. 'Looking ahead, you can expect a continued focus on profitable growth, capital returns, and strategic investments to capture the significant opportunities ahead.'

During the same quarter, Cisco completed the acquisition of Aura Asset Intelligence, a Canadian-based provider of asset and risk intelligence (ARI) solutions created by Discovered Intelligence.

A Rare Gem

Cisco has not performed as well in the stock market as the Magnificent Seven and other mega-cap tech giants. Its total return over three years remains below 100%. However, year-to-date, CSCO (ticker symbol) has outperformed the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index, rising 28.15% compared to 21.2%.

Despite this, Cisco remains a rare gem—few dividend-paying, growth-oriented companies offer such stability. The company pays quarterly dividends, with a modest current yield of 2.29%.

With the AI revolution gaining momentum, Cisco Systems could rise again and attract renewed investor attention.

Disclaimer: Our digital media content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Please conduct your own analysis or seek professional guidance before investing. Remember, investments are subject to market risks, and past performance does not guarantee future results.