Cisco Systems Inc's Competitiveness
A competitive positioning analysis and financial ratio benchmarking of Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) against its publicly traded competitors: sales growth, net income, profitability, valuation and market share, plus each peer's market capitalization, revenue, income and employees. Free below: the top 5 peers. Subscriber access adds the full competitor list and CSV downloads.
Key Findings: Cisco Systems Inc vs Its Competitors
- TTM: Trailing 12-month revenue of 63,325M vs 1,037,332M combined for its competitors (5.8% combined share).
- Trending: Latest-quarter revenue run-rate is accelerating (+9.0% annualized vs trailing 12 months), vs accelerating (+17.0%) for its tracked peer group.
- Growth: Cisco Systems Inc generated 17.6% revenue growth year over year in Q4 2026, vs 50.9% for its competitors combined.
- Profitability: Its 22.4% net margin compares with 39.2% for the peer group.
- Scale: Cisco Systems Inc ranks #1 of 15 companies by market capitalization in the Computer Networks industry, holding 60.5% of industry market cap.
- Peer revenue share: Cisco Systems Inc accounted for 5.4% of combined revenue among its tracked peer group, down from 6.8% a year earlier.
- Peer differentiation: Revenue per employee of $0.77M compares with $1.34M for the peer group (0.6x).
- Structure: Cisco Systems Inc operates in the following segments: Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Asia Pacific, Japan, and China.
Every figure above is sourced and cited in detail further down this page (Market Structure, Profitability & Cost Structure, Productivity vs Peers).
CSCO Sales vs. its Competitors, Q4 2026
Cisco Systems Inc reported revenue growth of 17.58 % year on year in Q4 2026, below its competitors' combined revenue growth of 50.92 %.
With a net margin of 22.37 %, Cisco Systems Inc reported lower profitability than its competitors (39.21 %).
Cisco Systems Inc generated 5.38 % of the combined sales of its peer group, down from 6.80 % a year earlier.
API endpoints for this dataset
Cisco Systems Inc vs. its Competitors, Q4 2026
Revenue growth, year on year
Net income growth, year on year
Net margin
Revenue run-rate vs trailing 12 months
TTM net margin
TTM = trailing twelve months. Run-rate annualizes the latest quarter (×4) and compares it to TTM. In millions of $. High-Confidence Competitors are named as a competitor directly in Cisco Systems Inc reports; Similar-Size Competitors are the closest peers by market-cap rank within the same industry; Similar Growth & Profitability Competitors are the closest peers by combined revenue growth, operating margin and ROIC, all independent of the competitor list.
TTM revenue, latest-quarter run-rate and net income/margin benchmarked across Cisco Systems Inc and its 4 competitor groupings. Available under Commercial License.
| Entity | TTM Revenue | Rev Run-rate vs TTM |
|---|---|---|
| Cisco Systems Inc | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Competitors combined | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| High-Confidence Competitors (53) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Similar-Size Competitors (5) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Similar Growth & Profitability (4) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
TTM revenue, run-rate and net margin benchmarking across Cisco Systems Inc's competitor groups requires a Commercial License.
For context: the Computer Networks industry grew revenue 19.6% year over year, combined, vs 17.6% for Cisco Systems Inc. Cisco Systems Inc's share of combined industry revenue moved from 66.75% to 65.63%, a loss of 1.12 percentage points.
Cisco Systems Inc's Competitor Quality Breadth
Group definitions: see Methodology: Performance Group Definitions.
| Entity | Profitable | Expanding | Above Industry Growth | Distressed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco Systems Inc | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Competitors combined (46) | ||||
| High-Confidence Competitors (75) | ||||
| Similar-Size Competitors (5) | ||||
| Similar Growth & Profitability (8) | 87.50 % (7 of 8) | 100.00 % (8 of 8) | 100.00 % (8 of 8) | 0.00 % (0 of 8) |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Altman Z-Score is not shown here: it is not populated in the underlying data for any company. Percentages are of companies in each group that report the relevant metric, not of the full group size.
CSCO Stock Performance relative to its Competitors
CSCO Stock Performance relative to High-Confidence Competitors
CSCO Stock Performance relative to Similar-Size Competitors
CSCO Stock Performance relative to Similar Growth & Profitability Competitors
5 Best-Performing Tracked Competitors, Trailing 12 Months
| # | Competitor | TTM Share Price Return | vs U.S.A. 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maxlinear Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 2 | Ringcentral Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 3 | Lumentum Holdings Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 4 | Dell Technologies Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 5 | Fastly Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
TTM share price return and U.S.A. 500 outperformance for Cisco Systems Inc's best-performing competitors requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months.
Cisco Systems Inc's Comment on Competition and Industry Peers
We compete in the networking and communications equipment markets, providing
products and services for transporting data, voice, and video traffic across
intranets, extranets, and the Internet. These markets are characterized by rapid
change, converging technologies, and a migration to networking and communications
solutions that offer relative advantages. These market factors represent both
an opportunity and a competitive threat to us. We compete with numerous vendors
in each product category. The overall number of our competitors providing niche
product solutions may increase. Also, the identity and composition of competitors
may change as we increase our activity in our new product markets. As we continue
to expand globally, we may see new competition in different geographic regions.
In particular, we have experienced price-focused competition from competitors
in Asia, especially from China, and we anticipate this will continue.
Our competitors include Alcatel-Lucent; Amazon Web Services LLC; Arista Networks,
Inc.; ARRIS Group, Inc.; Aruba Networks, Inc.; Avaya Inc.; Brocade Communications
Systems, Inc.; Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.; Citrix Systems, Inc.;
Dell Inc.; LM Ericsson Telephone Company; Extreme Networks, Inc.; F5 Networks,
Inc.; FireEye, Inc.; Fortinet, Inc.; Hewlett-Packard Company; Huawei Technologies
Co., Ltd.; International Business Machines Corporation; Juniper Networks, Inc.;
Microsoft Corporation; Motorola Solutions, Inc.; Palo Alto Networks, Inc.; Polycom,
Inc.; Riverbed Technology, Inc.; Ruckus Wireless, Inc.; Symantec Corporation;
and VMware, Inc.; among others.
Some of these companies compete across many of our product lines, while others are primarily focused in a specific product area. Barriers to entry are relatively low, and new ventures to create products that do or could compete with our products are regularly formed. In addition, some of our competitors may have greater resources, including technical and engineering resources, than we do. As we expand into new markets, we will face competition not only from our existing competitors but also from other competitors, including existing companies with strong technological, marketing, and sales positions in those markets. We also sometimes face competition from resellers and distributors of our products. Companies with which we have strategic alliances in some areas may be competitors in other areas, and in our view this trend may increase. For example, the enterprise data center is undergoing a fundamental transformation arising from the convergence of technologies, including computing, networking, storage, and software, that previously were segregated within the data center. Due to several factors, including the availability of highly scalable and general purpose microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits offering advanced services, standards-based protocols, cloud computing, and virtualization, the convergence of technologies within the enterprise data center is spanning multiple, previously independent, technology segments. Also, some of our current and potential competitors for enterprise data center business have made acquisitions, or announced new strategic alliances, designed to position them to provide end-to-end technology solutions for the enterprise data center. As a result of all of these developments, we face greater competition in the development and sale of enterprise data center technologies, including competition from entities that are among our long-term strategic alliance partners. Companies that are strategic alliance partners in some areas of our business may acquire or form alliances with our competitors, thereby reducing their business with us.
The principal competitive factors in the markets in which we presently compete
and may compete in the future include:
The ability to provide a broad range of networking and communications products
and services
Product performance
Price
The ability to introduce new products, including products with price-performance
advantages
The ability to reduce production costs
The ability to provide value-added features such as security, reliability, and
investment protection
Conformance to standards
Market presence
The ability to provide financing
Disruptive technology shifts and new business models
We also face competition from customers to which we license or supply technology
and suppliers from which we transfer technology. The inherent nature of networking
requires interoperability. Therefore, we must cooperate and at the same time
compete with many companies. Any inability to effectively manage these complicated
relationships with customers, suppliers, and strategic alliance partners could
have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial
condition and accordingly affect our chances of success.
Publicly Traded Peers of Cisco Systems Inc
Revenue and income for trailing 12 months, in millions of $, except employees| Company | Market Cap | Revenues |
|---|---|---|
 Cisco Systems Inc |
374,179.95 | 63,325.00 |
 Nvidia Corp |
4,532,552.40 | 302,969.00 |
 Microsoft Corporation |
3,950,922.06 | 346,445.00 |
 Broadcom Inc |
1,435,263.03 | 89,104.00 |
 Palo Alto Networks Inc |
239,773.76 | 11,480.00 |
 Crowdstrike Holdings Inc |
226,545.33 | 5,395.06 |
| SUBTOTAL | 11,993,637.21 | 1,137,356.54 |
Sign in to see all competitors of Cisco Systems Inc .
Sources: see Methodology: Peer & Competitor Identification, Sourcing.
Updated on:
Focus of this report: publicly traded companies. Ten additional tables on Cisco Systems Inc versus competitors, including market share analysis, are in the navigation menu under Competition. To download the tables, please subscribe.
Cisco Systems Inc's Competitors Named by the Company
Competitive relationships identified from Cisco Systems Inc reports and corroborating sources, each with a basis and confidence.| Competitor | Basis | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Dynatrace Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Datadog Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Solarwinds Corporation | Company report | 85% |
| Microsoft Corporation | Company report | 85% |
| New Relic Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Arista Networks inc | Company report | 85% |
| Ciena Corp | Company report | 85% |
| Zscaler Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Juniper Networks | Company report | 85% |
| Fortinet Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Visium Technologies Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Infinera Corp | Company report | 85% |
| Pagerduty Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Ribbon Communications inc | Company report | 85% |
| Elastic N v | Company report | 85% |
| Zoom Communications Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Vmware Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Sentinelone Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Crexendo Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Cloudflare Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Lumentum Holdings Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Amazon Web Services LLC | Company report | 85% |
| International Business Machines Corporation | Company report | 85% |
| Super Micro Computer Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Netskope Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Ooma Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Careview Communications Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Nice Ltd | Company report | 85% |
| Csp inc | Company report | 85% |
| Audiocodes ltd | Company report | 85% |
| Cid Holdco Inc | Company report | 85% |
| GLVT | Company report | 85% |
| Inseego Corp | Company report | 85% |
| On24 Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Cxapp Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Adtran Holdings Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Picocela Inc | Company report | 85% |
| A10 Networks Inc | Company report | 85% |
| F5 Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Greenlit Ventures Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Insight Enterprises Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Airgain Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Lightwave Logic Inc | Company report | 85% |
| OBLG | Company report | 85% |
| Xti Aerospace Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Taoweave Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Paltalk Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Electronic Systems Technology Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Inuvo Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Nutanix Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Semtech Corp | Company report | 85% |
| Grom Social Enterprises Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Casa Systems Inc | Company report | 85% |
| CMBM | Company report | 85% |
| Harmonic Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Kaltura Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Calix Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Fastly Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Cambium Networks Corp | Company report | 85% |
| Dzs Inc | Company report | 85% |
| BMC Software | Company report | 85% |
| Oracle | Company report | 85% |
| Intel | Company report | 85% |
| Proofpoint inc | Company report | 85% |
| Micro Focus | Company report | 85% |
| Dell Technologies Inc | Company report | 85% |
| 8x8 Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Five9 Inc | Company report | 85% |
| CrowdStrike Holdings | Company report | 85% |
| Palo Alto Networks | Company report | 85% |
| Ringcentral Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Nokia Corporation | Company report | 85% |
| Broadcom Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Nvidia Corporation | Company report | 85% |
| Mimecast Limited | Company report | 85% |
| Extreme Networks Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Huawei Technologies Co | Company report | 85% |
| Check Point Software Technologies Ltd | Company report | 85% |
| Zoom Video Communications | Company report | 85% |
| Vocera Communications Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company | Company report | 85% |
| Broadcom Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Hub Cyber Security Ltd | Company report | 85% |
| Ubiquiti Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Rapid7 Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Netgear Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Palantir Technologies Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Tenable Holdings Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company | Company report | 85% |
| Secureworks Corp | Company report | 85% |
| Motorola Solutions inc | Company report | 85% |
| Qualys Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Varonis Systems Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Mandiant Inc. | Company report | 85% |
| Sumo Logic Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Corning Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Clear Secure Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Akamai Technologies Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Alphabet Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Utstarcom Holdings Corp | Company report | 85% |
| Belden Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Digi International Inc | Company report | 85% |
Company report basis, confidence, active dates and source counts for Cisco Systems Inc's named competitors require a Commercial License.
Methodology: see Methodology: Peer & Competitor Identification, Sourcing.
Cisco Systems Inc's Business Segment Mix vs Peers
Revenue by operating segment or division, as named and reported by each company. Segment names are the filer's own and are not standardized across companies. Do not assume a same-named or similarly-named segment is defined identically between two companies. Shares are of each company's own total revenue and are not required to sum to 100% (intersegment revenue, unallocated items).| Company | Largest Segment |
|---|---|
| Cisco Systems Inc | Americas 60.41 % |
| Nvidia Corp | Compute and Networking 91.34 % |
| Microsoft Corporation | Agents and Infra 83.22 % |
| Broadcom Inc | Semiconductor Solutions 64.81 % |
| Dell Technologies Inc | Infrastructure Solutions Group 53.57 % |
| Cloudflare Inc | Reportable 100.00 % |
Source: operating segment revenue as reported in each company's reports (10-K/10-Q), via the CSIMarket API, leaf-level reportable segments only (parent roll-up segments are excluded where sub-segments are separately disclosed).
Sign in to see all peers for Cisco Systems Inc .
Cisco Systems Inc's Productivity vs Peers Comparison
Revenue and income per employee, trailing 12 months, in $; market cap in millions of $| Company | Market Cap | Revenue / Employee | Income / Employee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco Systems Inc | 374,180 | 768,507 | 161,007 |
| Nvidia Corp | 4,532,552 | 7,213,548 | 4,592,357 |
| Microsoft Corporation | 3,950,922 | 1,553,565 | 639,601 |
| Broadcom Inc | 1,435,263 | 2,700,121 | 1,159,545 |
| Palo Alto Networks Inc | 239,774 | 523,699 | 14,005 |
| Crowdstrike Holdings Inc | 226,545 | 504,306 | 7,166 |
| PEERS TOTAL | 11,619,457 | 1,341,302 | 509,391 |
Sign in to see all peers for Cisco Systems Inc .
Cisco Systems Inc's Geographic Revenue Exposure vs Peers
Revenue by country/region as reported in each company's most recent report. Disclosure granularity varies by filer (some report by country, others by broad region) and is shown as disclosed.| Company | Largest Market |
|---|---|
| Nvidia Corp | United States 78.13 % |
| Microsoft Corporation | US 53.60 % |
| Broadcom Inc | Asia Pacific 60.15 % |
| Palo Alto Networks Inc | United States 61.76 % |
| Crowdstrike Holdings Inc | United States 66.86 % |
Source: revenue geography as reported in each company's reports (10-K/10-Q), via the CSIMarket API. Percentages are of that company's own total consolidated revenue for its most recent reported period.
Sign in to see all peers for Cisco Systems Inc .
Cisco Systems Inc's Position in Industry Market Structure
Market-capitalization share and concentration across all 15 companies in Cisco Systems Inc's industry classification, broader than the peer set above. Market cap in millions of $.Cisco Systems Inc ranks #1 of 15 companies by market capitalization in its industry, holding 60.51 % of total industry market cap. The industry's Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) is 4,912, indicating a highly concentrated market structure (see Methodology: Market Structure & Concentration).
| Rank | Company | Market Cap | Industry Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cisco Systems Inc | 374,180 | 60.51 % |
| 2 | Arista Networks inc | 217,941 | 35.24 % |
| 3 | F5 Inc | 17,889 | 2.89 % |
| 4 | Extreme Networks Inc | 3,243 | 0.52 % |
| 5 | Digi International Inc | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 6 | A10 Networks Inc | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 7 | Allot Ltd | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 8 | Lantronix Inc | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 9 | Silicom Ltd | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 10 | Bos Better Online Solutions Ltd | 1,234 | 5.2% |
Market cap and industry share for the rest of Cisco Systems Inc's industry peers requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API (daily market-structure computation) across CSIMarket's industry classification, market capitalization as of 2026-11-06.
Cisco Systems Inc's Same-Size Peers & Stock Performance
Peers chosen by closeness in market-cap rank within the same industry classification (not the named-competitor list above). Trailing 12-month total return, 3-month price momentum, beta and Sharpe ratio vs the broad U.S. market.| Rank | Company | Market Cap | TTM Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cisco Systems Inc | 374,180 | 34.85 % |
| 2 | Arista Networks inc | 217,941 | 21.03 % |
| 3 | F5 Inc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 4 | Extreme Networks Inc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 5 | Digi International Inc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 6 | A10 Networks Inc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
Market cap, return, momentum, beta and Sharpe ratio for the rest of Cisco Systems Inc's same-size peers requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API (daily market-structure computation); returns and risk metrics as of 2026-11-06. Beta and Sharpe ratio are versus the broad U.S. equity market, not this industry.
Cisco Systems Inc's Profitability & Cost Structure
Trailing 12-month margins from SEC-filed financials. Operating margin is compared to the Computer Networks industry median; gross margin, EBITDA margin and capital intensity are compared to the live industry average (36 companies). See the full Computer Networks industry profitability benchmarks.| Metric | Company | Industry | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 0.65 % | 36.49 % (avg) | -35.8 pp |
| Operating Margin | 0.28 % | industry median | +0.0 pp |
| EBITDA Margin | 0.30 % | -0.86 % (avg) | +1.2 pp |
| Capital Intensity (Capex / Revenue) | 2.23 % | 3.87 % (avg) | -1.6 pp |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. SG&A and R&D as a share of revenue have limited coverage as this data is backfilled and appear only where reported. Higher capital intensity is not inherently negative; it reflects the industry's asset requirements.
Cisco Systems Inc's Valuation vs Competitive Position
Valuation multiples vs the Computer Networks industry average (36 companies, excluding loss-making/negative-equity outliers), alongside returns on capital for context on whether a premium or discount lines up with measurably stronger or weaker returns. See the full Computer Networks industry valuation benchmarks.| Metric | Company | Industry Average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 31.3x | 42.6x | -11.3x |
| EV / EBITDA | 23.8x | 21.4x | +2.4x |
| P/B | 8.6x | 4.3x | +4.4x |
| Return on Equity | 0.27 % | industry aggregate | -27.15 % |
| Return on Invested Capital | 0.21 % | -0.90 % (avg) | 1.11 % |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. A valuation premium or discount is not, by itself, a judgment of over- or under-valuation. Compare it against the return and growth context shown elsewhere on this page.
Cisco Systems Inc's Multi-Year Financial Trajectory
Fiscal-year revenue growth, operating margin, return on invested capital and P/E, as reported in company reports.| Metric | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue Growth | 5.67 % | 1.43 % | -6.84 % | 7.34 % | 3.13 % | 7.66 % | -5.34 % | 9.00 % |
| Operating Margin | 26.55 % | 27.47 % | 25.93 % | 27.09 % | 26.10 % | 27.21 % | 18.98 % | 22.75 % |
| Return on Invested Capital | 10.94 % | 13.75 % | 11.80 % | 12.53 % | 12.74 % | 13.59 % | 7.98 % | 8.33 % |
| P/E | 16.4x | 18.2x | 18.1x | 20.8x | 17.4x | 15.6x | 25.0x | 26.7x |
Source: CSIMarket API, fiscal-year figures. P/E is this company's own historical ratio at each fiscal year end and can swing sharply around an earnings trough: that is real, not a data error.
Cisco Systems Inc's Strategic Group Map
Cisco Systems Inc is shown in red; its closest peers by combined growth, margin and ROIC are labeled. See Methodology: Strategic Group Map for how this chart is built.
Cisco Systems Inc's trailing-12-month revenue growth of 11.7% and operating margin of 0.3% compares with an average of 9.2% growth and 2.6% margin across its 8 closest peers by combined growth, margin and ROIC -- Cisco Systems Inc sits above that peer average on growth and below it on margin.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Extreme outlier values (from near-zero-revenue companies) are excluded from the plotted cloud but never from the highlighted company or its labeled peers.
Cisco Systems Inc's BCG Growth-Share Matrix
See Methodology: BCG Growth-Share Matrix for how relative share and growth are calculated and thresholded.
Cisco Systems Inc falls in the Cash Cow quadrant: relative market share of 1.72x vs its largest competitor, in an industry growing revenue -0.6% (median, trailing 12 months).
Source: CSIMarket API (market-cap share and industry revenue growth). The 10% growth and 1.0x share lines are standard textbook thresholds, not derived from this industry's own distribution.
Cisco Systems Inc's Competitive Forces (Porter's Five Forces)
Only the forces this data can support honestly are shown; the other three are marked as such rather than guessed.| Force | Assessment | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Competitive Rivalry | Low | Industry HHI of 4,912 (see Industry Market Structure & Concentration above) |
| Barriers to Entry | Lower than typical for the industry | Capital intensity (capex / revenue) of 2.23 % vs industry average 3.87 % (see Profitability & Cost Structure above) |
Note: see Methodology: Porter's Five Forces. Supplier power and buyer power are covered on Cisco Systems Inc's dedicated Suppliers and Customers pages, not here.
Cisco Systems Inc's Industry Attractiveness & Competitive Strength
See Methodology: GE/McKinsey Matrix for how the two axes are built.
Cisco Systems Inc falls in the Medium attractiveness / High strength cell: Invest / Grow.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Each axis score is a simple 1(low)/2(medium)/3(high) average across its three inputs -- a transparent, disclosed simplification, not a validated academic scoring model.
Cisco Systems Inc's SWOT
Every point below is a fixed rule applied to a metric already shown elsewhere on this page (Market Structure, Profitability, Valuation, Run-Rate, Stock Performance, Quality Breadth) not an independent strategic assessment. A blank quadrant means no rule was met, not that none apply.Strengths
- Market leader by capitalization in its industry (#1 of 15, 60.51 % share).
- Latest-quarter revenue run-rate is accelerating (+9.0% annualized vs trailing 12 months).
- Outperforming the U.S.A. 500 over the trailing 12 months.
Weaknesses
- Return on equity 27.1 points below the industry aggregate.
Opportunities
- Trades at a lower P/E than the industry average (31.3x vs 42.6x) despite a higher return on invested capital -- a possible re-rating opportunity.
Threats
- Losing revenue share to the broader industry (-1.1 points over the past year).
Methodology: see Methodology: SWOT Analysis.
Cisco Systems Inc's Financial Strength vs Peers Comparison
Quick ratio, working capital, debt to equity and asset turnover, trailing 12 months| Company | Quick Ratio | Working Capital | Debt / Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco Systems Inc | 0.25 | 0.94 | 0.63 |
| Nvidia Corp | 0.40 | 4.07 | 0.09 |
| Microsoft Corporation | 0.16 | 1.27 | 0.10 |
| Broadcom Inc | 0.99 | 2.05 | 0.75 |
| Palo Alto Networks Inc | 0.30 | 0.91 | 0.04 |
| Crowdstrike Holdings Inc | 1.21 | 1.67 | 0.16 |
Sign in to see all peers for Cisco Systems Inc .
Quick ratio = cash / current liabilities; working capital ratio = current assets / current liabilities; asset turnover = revenue / total assets. Peers in the Blank Checks industry are excluded.
Cisco Systems Inc's Revenue and Income Growth vs Peers
Quarterly revenue and net income growth, year over year and quarter over quarter| Company | Period | Revenue Y/Y | Income Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco Systems Inc | Q2 2026 | +17.6 % | +51.3 % |
| Nvidia Corp | Q2 2026 | +105.9 % | +125.9 % |
| Microsoft Corporation | Q3 2026 | +18.8 % | +32.0 % |
| Broadcom Inc | Q2 2026 | +85.5 % | +216.1 % |
| Palo Alto Networks Inc | Q2 2026 | +34.4 % | - |
| Crowdstrike Holdings Inc | Q2 2026 | +25.9 % | - |
| PEERS TOTAL | +45.1 % | +87.6 % |
Sign in to see all peers for Cisco Systems Inc .
Growth is shown only where both periods are positive. Peers in the Blank Checks industry are excluded.
Cisco Systems Inc's Peers' Costs of Sales and Capital Expenditures
Context for revenue growth: peer costs and capex, year over year and quarter over quarter| Company | Period | Costs Y/Y | Capex Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco Systems Inc | Q2 2026 | +14.8 % | +79.7 % |
| Nvidia Corp | Q2 2026 | +86.8 % | +41.3 % |
| Microsoft Corporation | Q3 2026 | +23.6 % | +103.0 % |
| Broadcom Inc | Q2 2026 | +74.0 % | +274.6 % |
| Palo Alto Networks Inc | Q2 2026 | +62.9 % | +19.4 % |
| Crowdstrike Holdings Inc | Q2 2026 | +20.6 % | +222.1 % |
Sign in to see all peers for Cisco Systems Inc .
Cisco Systems Inc's Returns and Turnover vs Peers
ROA, ROI and ROE (trailing 12 months), receivables and inventory turnover| Company | ROA | ROI | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco Systems Inc | 10.64% | 11.94% | 27.52% |
| Nvidia Corp | 81.41% | 95.06% | 110.11% |
| Microsoft Corporation | 20.01% | 23.87% | 34.15% |
| Broadcom Inc | 21.57% | 24.07% | 43.74% |
| Palo Alto Networks Inc | 0.87% | 0.81% | 1.71% |
| Crowdstrike Holdings Inc | 0.69% | 1.09% | 1.67% |
Sign in to see all peers for Cisco Systems Inc .
ROA = net income / total assets; ROI = net income / investments; ROE = net income / equity; turnover ratios use trailing 12 month revenue (receivables) and cost of sales (inventory).
Cisco Systems Inc's Valuation vs Peers
P/E, price to sales, PEG, price to cash flow and price to book| Company | P/E | Price / Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Cisco Systems Inc | 28.10 | 5.91 |
| Nvidia Corp | 23.63 | 14.96 |
| Microsoft Corporation | 27.71 | 11.40 |
| Broadcom Inc | 37.41 | 16.11 |
| Palo Alto Networks Inc | 640.49 | 20.89 |
| Crowdstrike Holdings Inc | 1,446.00 | 41.99 |
| PEERS AVERAGE | 28.48 | 10.55 |
Sign in to see all peers for Cisco Systems Inc .
P/E = price / diluted EPS (trailing 12 months); PEG = P/E divided by EPS growth; the average row divides the peers' combined market cap by their combined income, sales, cash flow and equity.