CiscoCSCOBUYNov 04, 2014Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Sep 04, 2026. Market Open.
Like Apple it was sort of a sleeper last year. It sells processes and analogue chips, very different than GPU's. Is involved in networking products and services. The AI stack explosion needed their products and technology. It is fully priced according to analysts' price targets.
Kudos on that choice, because it's not been a market darling (since the dot-com bubble). Riding coattails of stronger players in the space, catching the halo effect. The old adage: "No one ever went broke taking a profit" -- good risk management.
Prefers, and owns, ANET.
Part of IT infrastructure, but $27B acquisition of Splunk really helped drive security business. Finally hit a new high (previous high was March 27, 2000). Phenomenal allocator of capital. Compelling buy. Every year, buys back stock and raises dividend.
Finally growing revenues again, he's looking for mid-high single-digit revenue growth. AI will bring a much higher recurring revenue stream. Its solutions are so embedded in businesses, he's not worried about clients trying to go it alone with AI.
This is not the 15% earnings grower that it was. It is more of a 6%-8% earnings grower. However, they have $30 billion net of all debt which they are aggressively using to buy back shares and raise their healthy dividend of around 3%. They remain #1 in the world in their major industry sectors, which are growth sectors. He is looking for earnings to grow in a 6%-8% range in the next couple of years. If you want a conservative name, trading at a pretty low multiple, with a pristine balance sheet and growth, this is a good bet.