CiscoCSCOCOMMENTJun 09, 2017Stock 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.
He likes this here. This is a case of old tech which, a generation ago, turned up their nose at dividends, but have now got religion in terms of turning cash back to the owners of the company. Their dividend growth rate over the last 5-7 years has been one of the strongest of any stock in the Dow. The bad news is that as the tech industry continues to evolve, some of the old switches, etc. they are selling to telcos, are not in the same kind of demand that they were. Given the current valuation and its dividend, this is a good bet.