Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO)
Information TechnologyCommunication EquipmentOvervalued
Price: $95.64 · Nov 13, 2026Analysis of Nov 9, 2026
Fair value
- Fair value · Low
- $39.89
- Fair value · Mid
- $49.86
- Fair value · High
- $59.83
Scorecard
Five subjects rated by the server with fixed thresholds. No overall grade: each colour shows where the strength or the weakness is.
Altman zone: Safe (Z 3.86) · annual report of Jul 31, 2026
Overvalued
Analysis
Conclusion
Cisco Systems Inc designs and sells networking equipment, security, collaboration and related services to businesses, governments and service providers. At 98.65 USD per share, the market capitalisation is 388.9 billion USD and the enterprise value is 402.6 billion USD.
The verdict is overvalued. The price of 98.65 USD sits well above the fair value band of 39.89 to 59.83 USD, with a midpoint of 49.86 USD and a margin of safety of -49.5%. Current multiples are well above their own ten-year medians: the price-to-earnings ratio is 29.3 against a median of 18.9, a premium of 54.7%, and the price-to-free-cash-flow ratio is 30.5 against 15.9, a premium of 92.0%. The discounted cash flow gives 35.97 USD per share, and the fair value from historical multiples is 63.75 USD. The reverse DCF implies growth of 18.0% a year, while revenue has compounded at 4.9% over five years and free cash flow per share has fallen at 1.7% a year over the same period.
The case rests on the balance sheet and the quality of earnings. The Altman Z-score of 3.86, interest coverage of 11.9x and free cash flow conversion of 96.2% over the last twelve months are the strongest figures. The weakest are the price-to-free-cash-flow premium of 92.0%, the implied growth of 18.0% against 4.9% delivered, and a current ratio of 0.93.
Metrics
Company
| Name | Cisco Systems Inc |
|---|---|
| Sector | Technology |
| Symbol | CSCO.US |
| Country | USA |
| Currency | USD |
| Industry | Communication Equipment |
| Description | Cisco Systems, Inc. designs, develops, and sells technologies to power, help, secure, and draw insights from the internet in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Japan, and China. The company provides data center switching; network security, identity and access management, and secure access service edge; identity and agentic security solutions; interconnects public and private wireline and mobile networks, delivering connectivity to campus, data center, and branch networks; WEBEX suite, collaboration devices, and contact center; communication platform as a service software, including perpetual licenses, subscription arrangements, and hardware solutions; network assurance and observability suite; accelerated issue resolution, software support, and hardware replacement; professional services, such as planning, design, implementation, and high-value consulting; service and support packages, financing, and managed network services; and regional, national, and international wireline carriers, webscale products, internet, and cable. It also provides wireless products, including indoor and outdoor coverage designed for seamless roaming use of voice, video, and data applications; end-to-end collaboration solutions through cloud, on-premise, or within hybrid cloud environments. In addition, it offers technical support services. The company serves businesses, public institutions, governments, and service providers. It sells its products and services directly |
| Fiscal year end | July |
Data dates
| Price | 2026-11-09 |
|---|---|
| Statements | 2026-07-31 |
| Risk free date | 2026-11-09 |
| Fundamentals fetched at | 2026-11-06T03:31:28.672Z |
Market
| Beta | 1.002 |
|---|---|
| Price | 98.65 |
| Market cap | 388,936,195,021 |
| Quote unit | USD |
| Shares now | 3,942,586,873 |
| Risk free rate | 0.0487 |
| Risk free symbol | US10Y |
| Enterprise value | 402,551,195,021 |
Financial health
| Altman z | 3.8647SAFE |
|---|---|
| Quick ratio | 0.6449 |
| Current ratio | 0.9311WATCH |
| Debt to equity | 0.5873 |
| Net debt to ebitda | 0.6801OK |
| Interest coverage | 11.8905OK |
| Debt vs revenue growth5y | 0.1579 |
Earnings quality
| Beneish › M | — |
|---|---|
| Beneish › Label | — |
| Piotroski › Score | 7 |
| Piotroski › Passed | 7 |
| Piotroski › Evaluable | 9 |
| Fcf after sbc | 8,937,000,000 |
| Accrual ratio | -0.0072 |
| Sbc to revenue | 0.0605 |
| Fcf conversion5y | 1.1694 |
| Fcf conversion ttm | 0.9623 |
| Share count cagr5y | -0.012 |
| Earnings surprises › Beats | 8 |
| Earnings surprises › Misses | 0 |
| Earnings surprises › Quarters | 8 |
| Earnings surprises › Average surprise pct | 3.5348 |
| Estimate revisions › Next year › Growth | 0.0925 |
| Estimate revisions › Next year › Change90d | 0.0653 |
| Estimate revisions › Next year › Up last30d | 3 |
| Estimate revisions › Next year › Down last30d | 0 |
| Estimate revisions › Current year › Change90d | 0.0767 |
| Estimate revisions › Current year › Up last30d | 1 |
| Estimate revisions › Current year › Down last30d | 1 |
Profitability
| Roic | 0.2267 |
|---|---|
| Wacc | 0.0948 |
| Dupont › As of | 2026-07-31 |
| Dupont › Net margin | 0.2095 |
| Dupont › Asset turnover | 0.4885 |
| Dupont › Equity multiplier | 2.578 |
| Tax rate | 0.1713 |
| Net margin | 0.2095 |
| Cost of debt | 0.0498 |
| Gross margin | 0.6452 |
| Cost of equity | 0.0988 |
| Roic median5y | 0.2267 |
| Roic minus wacc | 0.1319CREATES_VALUE |
| Return on equity | 0.2638 |
| Net margin median | 0.2111 |
| Operating margin | 0.2427 |
| Gross margin median | 0.6349 |
| Operating margin median | 0.2536 |
| Operating margin stability | 0.0826 |
Growth
| Eps › Cagr3y | 0.0269 |
|---|---|
| Eps › Cagr5y | 0.0588 |
| Eps › Cagr10y | 0.0466 |
| Revenue › Cagr3y | 0.0357 |
| Revenue › Cagr5y | 0.0492 |
| Revenue › Cagr10y | 0.0255 |
| Fcf per share › Cagr3y | -0.1161 |
| Fcf per share › Cagr5y | -0.0168 |
| Fcf per share › Cagr10y | 0.0275 |
| Revenue growth consistency › Growing years | 7 |
| Revenue growth consistency › Comparable years | 10 |
Valuation
| Dcf › G1 | 0.0492 |
|---|---|
| Dcf › G t | 0.025 |
| Dcf › Fcf0 | 8,937,000,000 |
| Dcf › Discount rate | 0.0988 |
| Dcf › Terminal share | 0.5137 |
| Dcf › Fair value per share | 35.9698 |
| Current › Pb | 7.7346 |
| Current › Pe | 29.3161 |
| Current › Ps | 6.1419 |
| Current › P fcf | 30.4642 |
| Current › Fcf yield | 0.0328 |
| Current › Ev to ebitda | 20.1085 |
| Current › Earnings yield | 0.0341 |
| Verdict | OVERVALUED |
| Fair value › Low | 39.8894 |
| Fair value › Mid | 49.8617 |
| Fair value › High | 59.834 |
| Fair value › Margin of safety | -0.4946 |
| Historical › Pb › Median | 5.2988 |
| Historical › Pb › Points | 10 |
| Historical › Pb › Current | 7.7346 |
| Historical › Pb › Premium pct | 0.4597 |
| Historical › Pe › Median | 18.9458 |
| Historical › Pe › Points | 10 |
| Historical › Pe › Current | 29.3161 |
| Historical › Pe › Premium pct | 0.5474 |
| Historical › Ps › Median | 4.1221 |
| Historical › Ps › Points | 10 |
| Historical › Ps › Current | 6.1419 |
| Historical › Ps › Premium pct | 0.49 |
| Historical › P fcf › Median | 15.8668 |
| Historical › P fcf › Points | 10 |
| Historical › P fcf › Current | 30.4642 |
| Historical › P fcf › Premium pct | 0.92 |
| Historical › Ev to ebitda › Median | 12.6499 |
| Historical › Ev to ebitda › Points | 10 |
| Historical › Ev to ebitda › Current | 20.1085 |
| Historical › Ev to ebitda › Premium pct | 0.5896 |
| Reverse dcf › Implied growth | 0.1804 |
| Reverse dcf › Vs revenue cagr5y | 0.1313 |
| Reverse dcf › Vs fcf per share cagr5y | 0.1972 |
| Historical fair value | 63.7536 |
Dividend
| Yield | 0.0168 |
|---|---|
| Payout on fcf | 0.5133 |
| Forward yield | 0.0163 |
Data flags
| Prices stale | No |
|---|---|
| Risk free stale | No |
| Fundamentals stale | No |