Cisco Stock Surges 15% as CEO Declares Start of a "Networking Supercycle" Driven by AI Demand

Cisco shares jumped 15% on Thursday — their best single-day performance since 2011 — after the networking equipment maker surpassed its full-year AI infrastructure and hyperscaler order guidance and raised its fiscal-year forecast from $5 billion to $9 billion.

CEO Chuck Robbins told CNBC that soaring demand for artificial intelligence tools and equipment is propelling the industry toward what he described as a "networking supercycle."

"Given the speed at which the market is moving, we need to make a rapid reallocation of resources," Robbins said in an interview with CNBC. "By the way, a lot of the people that are potentially impacted will actually go take those jobs."

Alongside the upbeat order figures, Cisco announced it will cut approximately 5% of its workforce as it redirects its focus toward AI-focused segments, silicon, and optics.

The California-based company has historically trailed its hyperscaler peers in capitalizing on AI infrastructure spending, an area long dominated by Nvidia. Thursday's results, however, reflect a broadening of the AI investment trade — one that is now reaching networking infrastructure providers supplying the backbone of data center buildouts.

Robbins acknowledged that the fast-moving nature of the AI market complicates forward visibility on bookings. He noted the company has passed on some projects with hyperscalers. "We don't have visibility completely yet, but we have enough understanding of our relationship and the design wins and what their capital commitments are that we feel good about where we're headed," he said.

Cisco recently surpassed its own internet-boom-era share price highs as investors recalibrated the company's role in the AI infrastructure stack.

Robbins also addressed the Mythos AI model, which has generated significant attention across financial markets and prompted meetings at the White House between top technology executives and administration officials. He said Cisco is now discussing the model with every customer.

Cisco is a participant in Anthropic's Project Glasswing, which opened access to a select group of businesses last month to test the model and evaluate its cybersecurity implications. Robbins said concerns about potential vulnerabilities tied to the model have accelerated security upgrade timelines across the industry.

"You have to be agile, and you have to be ready to move," he said.

With Thursday's gain, Cisco's stock trajectory underscores how demand for AI is migrating beyond chip manufacturers and cloud providers into the broader networking layer — a shift that the company is positioning as a multi-year tailwind rather than a single-quarter event.

Disclaimer