Understanding Asset Value

Report Generated
2026-02-02 15:45:25
CSCO
Cisco Systems, Inc.
$80.88
Price from Yahoo Finance
Today: +3.27% | YTD: +6.4%

How Cisco Systems, Inc. Makes Money

Income Statement Flow (TTM) | Source: Yahoo Finance

Revenue
$57.7B
Gross Profit
$37.4B
65% margin
Operating Income
$13.0B
23% margin
Net Income
$10.3B
18% margin

Current Price

Price $80.88
52-Week High $81.16
52-Week Low $52.11

Market Data

Market Cap $319.56B
Shares Outstanding 3.95B
Beta 0.86

Valuation Ratios

P/E (TTM) 31.23x
P/E (Forward) 18.08x
EV/EBITDA 20.63x

Financial Health

Profit Margin 17.9%
ROE 22.4%
Revenue Growth 7.5%

Levered Free Cash Flow (TTM) - Cash That Can't Lie

$12.41B 3.88% Yield
$13.74B OCF - $1.01B CapEx - $7.33B Buybacks - $1.52B Interest = $12.41B

Source: Cash Flow Statement | LFCF = Operating Cash Flow - CapEx - Interest Expense

BUY

Fair Value: $95.70

+18.3% Upside

Stock appears undervalued with 18.3% upside to fair value. Medium confidence based on valuation spread and data quality.

Investment Verdict

Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) currently trades at $80.88, representing a 18.3% discount to our calculated fair value of $95.70.

Key Strengths: Strong balance sheet (Net Debt/EBITDA: 0.9x); High profit margins (17.9%); Low short interest.

Key Risks: No significant concerns identified.

The company generates $12.41B in levered free cash flow annually, providing real cash returns to shareholders. Wall Street consensus is buy with a mean price target of $86.95.

Business Simplicity Filter

CriterionStatusNotes
≤4 operating segments PASS Segment count estimated from sector classification. Verify in 10-K for accuracy.
Top 2 segments ≥70% of revenue PASS Revenue concentration estimated. Verify segment breakdown in 10-K.
≤3 material geographic regions PASS Most US-listed companies report US vs International (2 regions).
No exotic debt instruments or off-balance-sheet complexity PASS Review 10-K for convertibles, derivatives, and off-balance-sheet items.

Recommendation: PROCEED TO VALUATION

Company Profile

Sector Technology
Employees 86,200
Country United States

Cisco Systems, Inc. designs, develops, and sells technologies that help to power, secure, and draw insights from the internet in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Japan, and China. The company offers data center switching; network security, identity and access management, and secure access service edge; threat intelligence, detection, and response 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, monitoring and analytics, and observability suite; 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 delivers connectivity to campus, data center, and branch networks; wireless products, including indoor and outdoor wireless 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, transition collaboration solutions from on-premise to the cloud; and network assurance, monitoring and analytics, and observability suite. In addition, it offers technical support and advisory services. The company serves businesses, public institutions, governments, and service providers. It sells its products and services directly, through systems integrators, service providers, resellers, and distributors. Cisco Systems, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Enterprise Value Calculation

Market Capitalization $319.56B
(+) Total Debt $29.64B
(-) Cash & Equivalents $15.74B
Net Debt $13.90B
Enterprise Value $333.47B
EV = Market Cap + Total Debt - Cash = $319.56B + $29.64B - $15.74B = $333.47B

Leverage & Solvency

MetricValueWhat It Means
Net Debt / EBITDA 0.89x Very Strong
Interest Coverage 8.5x Strong
Debt / Equity 63.2% Elevated
Current Ratio 0.93 Review - may struggle with short-term obligations

Overall: Balance sheet is adequate with some areas to monitor.

Peer Comparison

Industry: Communication Equipment | Data: TTM (Trailing 12 Months) as of 2026-02-02 | Source: Yahoo Finance

CompanyMarket CapP/EForward P/EEV/EBITDAProfit Margin
NVDA $4521.7B 46.1x 24.2x 40.8x 53.0%
GOOGL $4162.0B 33.9x 30.5x 27.7x 32.2%
AAPL $3963.9B 34.2x 29.1x 25.1x 27.0%
MSFT $3149.7B 26.6x 22.4x 18.4x 39.0%
META $1788.5B 30.1x 20.0x 17.8x 30.1%
CSCO (Target) $319.6B 31.2x 18.1x 20.6x 17.9%
Peer Average (excl. target) - 33.9x 24.2x 25.1x 32.2%

Intrinsic Value Calculation

MethodInputsFair Value
Equity (TTM EPS) EPS: $2.59 x 33.9x P/E $87.80
Equity (Forward EPS) EPS: $4.47 x 33.9x P/E $151.65
EV-Based (EBITDA) EBITDA: $15.62B x 25.1x $95.70
Headline Fair Value Median value used (spread 57.2% exceeds 15% threshold) $95.70
Fair Multiples Basis: Fair P/E of 33.9x and EV/EBITDA of 25.1x. Multiples based on peer averages with no significant adjustments.

Sensitivity Analysis

P/E Multiple Sensitivity (using TTM EPS)

Low (32x)
Base (34x)
High (36x)
$82.62
$87.80
$92.98

EV/EBITDA Multiple Sensitivity

Low (24x)
Base (25x)
High (26x)
$91.75
$95.70
$99.66

Red / Green Dashboard

Green Factors (Positive)

  • Strong balance sheet (Net Debt/EBITDA: 0.9x)
  • High profit margins (17.9%)
  • Low short interest
  • Positive analyst consensus (buy)
  • Active share buyback program
  • Dividend yield: 209.00%

Red Factors (Concerns)

  • No significant concerns identified

Assessment: Strong positive profile with multiple favorable factors.

Seasoned Analyst Perspective

Valuation Context

CSCO trades at 31.2x TTM P/E and 18.1x Forward P/E. This compares to peer averages of 33.9x TTM and 24.2x Forward P/E.

Cash Flow Quality

The company generates positive levered free cash flow of $12.41B, demonstrating its ability to generate real cash after all obligations. The 3.9% LFCF yield is attractive.

Analyst Consensus

21 analysts cover this stock with a consensus buy rating. Price targets range from $67 to $100, with a mean of $87.

Market Sentiment Indicators

VIX
VIX (Fear Index)

16.49 - Neutral/Low Fear

Neutral/Low Fear
F&G
CNN Fear & Greed Index

Score: 62/100

Greed
SKEW
CBOE SKEW Index (Tail Risk)

143.65

Elevated Tail Risk Concerns
MKT
Market Breadth

SPY YTD: 17.7% | RSP YTD: 12.3%

Moderately Narrow

Supply Chain Analysis

No customer/supplier data available for this company. Data is curated from SEC 10-K filings for major tech companies.

Earnings Surprise History (Last 8 Quarters)

Track Record: 8 beats, 0 misses, 0 in-line out of 8 quarters | 100% Beat Rate

DateEPS EstimateEPS ActualResultSurprise %
2025-11-12 $0.98 $1.00 BEAT 1.8%
2025-08-13 $0.98 $0.99 BEAT 1.3%
2025-05-14 $0.92 $0.96 BEAT 4.6%
2025-02-12 $0.91 $0.94 BEAT 3.4%
2024-11-13 $0.45 $0.68 BEAT 51.5%
2024-08-14 $0.85 $0.87 BEAT 2.5%
2024-05-15 $0.82 $0.88 BEAT 7.7%
2024-02-14 $0.84 $0.87 BEAT 4.0%
Average Earnings Surprise: 9.6% (Company tends to beat estimates)

Analyst Data

Price Targets

High Target $100.00
Mean Target $86.95
Low Target $67.00

Consensus

Recommendation buy
# of Analysts 21

Data Sources & Citations

All financial data sourced from:

Click any blue number throughout the report to view its source.

Disclaimer

This analysis is generated automatically using publicly available data and should not be considered as financial advice. All figures are sourced from Yahoo Finance and may contain inaccuracies. Always verify data with primary sources (SEC filings, company IR) before making investment decisions.

Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.

Why Levered Free Cash Flow Matters

Levered FCF is cash that can't be faked. Unlike earnings which can be manipulated through accounting (depreciation schedules, revenue recognition, etc.), cash flow is simple: the money is either in the bank or it's not.

This metric shows how much actual cash the company generates after paying for:

A company with strong Levered FCF can pay dividends, buy back shares, pay down debt, or invest in growth - all from real cash, not accounting profits.

Why Customer & Supplier Earnings Matter

Customers and suppliers report earnings BEFORE the company you're analyzing. Their results give you early signals about demand and supply chain health.

Customer Example: If Microsoft (AMD customer) beats revenue estimates by 20%, it likely means they bought more chips than analysts expected. This is bullish for AMD's upcoming earnings.

Supplier Example: If TSMC (AMD supplier) reports strong demand from AMD, that confirms AMD's production is ramping up.

By the time AMD reports, you already have data points from 5+ related companies. Smart analysts piece these together to predict earnings before they're announced.

Why Segment Breakdown Matters

Not all revenue is equal. Different business segments have different growth rates and profit margins.

For example, AMD's Data Center segment has ~40% margins while Gaming might be ~15%. A shift toward Data Center means higher overall profitability even if total revenue stays flat.

Watch for: