Cisco Stock Forecast: ATH as $9B AI Boom Drives Rally Despite Job Cuts
to a new all-time high around $119 in early trading, extending gains after a strong earnings report that highlighted explosive growth in artificial intelligence demand. The move marks one of the companys biggest rallies in years and signals renewed investor confidence in its AI-driven strategy. So, whats driving this sharp move higher? The answer lies in a combination of strong financial performance and a rapidly expanding AI pipeline. Earnings Beat Fuels Momentum Cisco reported third-quarter revenue of $15.84 billion, beating expectations and reflecting 12% year-over-year growth. Earnings per share also topped estimates at $1.06, reinforcing the strength of its core business. Growth came largely from networking, which jumped 25% year over year. Both cloud and enterprise segments contributed to the surge, showing that demand remains broad-based rather than concentrated in one area. At the same time, product orders excluding AI accelerated to 19% growth, up from 10% in the previous quarter. That shift suggests improving enterprise spending trends, even as macroeconomic uncertainty lingers. Management also issued strong forward guidance. Fourth-quarter revenue is expected to grow about 14.5%, nearly double Wall Street expectations. That outlook alone helped fuel bullish sentiment across the stock. AI Orders Tell the Real Story Still, the biggest catalyst came from Ciscos AI business. The