Cisco Raises Revenue Forecast Amid AI Demand Surge

San Jose, California, February 12, 2025 – Cisco Systems announced on Wednesday a raised annual revenue forecast due to increasing demand for its cloud networking products, benefitting from a boom in artificial intelligence technology.

The company projects its revenue for fiscal 2025 to be between $56 billion and $56.5 billion, an increase from its previous forecast of $55.3 billion to $56.3 billion. This announcement boosted Cisco’s shares by about 6% in extended trading.

Corporate customers are investing heavily in AI infrastructure to enhance their digital transformations, which has in turn driven up demand for data center products like Cisco’s ethernet switches and routers. “As AI becomes more pervasive, we are well positioned to help our customers scale their network infrastructure, increase their data capacity requirements and adopt best-in-class AI security,” said CEO Chuck Robbins.

Cisco’s revenue for the second quarter, ending January 25, reached $14 billion, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $13.87 billion. According to LSEG data, analysts predict an average revenue of $55.99 billion for Cisco in fiscal 2025.

This week, Cisco announced a partnership with French technology firm Mistral, focusing on launching an AI agent aimed at automating tasks and streamlining workflows. Additionally, Cisco’s AI Defense, launched in January, is designed to protect enterprises from AI misuse, data leakage, and complex security threats.

As a leader in internet network equipment design, development, and marketing, Cisco reported that its net sales break down into categories: network equipment (63.5%), services (27.1%), and security products (9.4%). Its geographical sales distribution includes 59.4% from the Americas, 26.2% from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and 14.4% from the Asia-Pacific region.

Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar.