$CSCO - Earnings 8.12 (After Hours) Cisco Before Earnings: Hold For Me
I’ve done well with Cisco this year, and with earnings coming Wednesday, I’m not changing my plan or adding.
I got in a few months before the last earnings report, when the stock was still being treated much differently than it is today. Since then, Cisco has taken off. The AI story got bigger, networking demand came in stronger than expected, and the market finally started giving the company credit for it.
Now the stock is sitting above $120 after a huge run.
That obviously makes me more careful here. I wouldn’t tell someone who missed the move to jump in two days before earnings and expect the same setup we had last quarter. That opportunity has already passed. Is there some upside potential here? Yes, if they have a huge beat. Meet or exceeding a bit is already priced in.
But selling is a different conversation.
Cisco raised its expected FY26 hyperscaler AI infrastructure orders from $5 billion to roughly $9 billion after the last report. That was a massive jump and a big reason the stock took another leg higher.
Now we get to find out how much of that momentum carried through the end of the fiscal year.
Wall Street is looking for around $16.8 billion in quarterly revenue and $1.17 in EPS Wednesday.
Could Cisco beat those numbers and still drop? Of course.
At this price, I wouldn’t be surprised by anything after hours. A lot of money has already been made here, and there will be people looking for an excuse to lock some of it in.
That doesn’t bother me enough to sell beforehand.
I bought Cisco for the long haul, and so far the reason for owning it has gotten stronger, not weaker. AI infrastructure is bringing serious money into a business that was already producing billions in cash and had an enormous installed base.
So I’m keeping this one pretty simple.
If I didn’t own Cisco already, I’d probably wait until after earnings before making a move.
But I do own it. I got in before the last report. I have room to absorb some volatility, and I’m not giving up my position trying to guess what the stock does for 20 minutes Wednesday afternoon.
We’ll see what Cisco gives us Wednesday.