Cisco Cites Agentic AI as Key Driver of Growth

Cisco's President and Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel and Chief Financial Officer Mark Patterson took to the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference 2026 to discuss the company's growth trajectory driven by agentic AI. The executives stated that demand is being lifted by this technology, along with a large refresh cycle and stronger security needs.

Cisco is moving from a fragmented acquisition model to a more unified platform, spanning silicon, photonics, networking, security, observability, and data tools. AI is helping the company compress years of integration work into months.

The company's fiscal 2027 revenue guidance implies 15% growth at the midpoint, with underlying growth still in double digits even before AI effects. Hyperscale AI orders reached $9.3 billion for the year, including $4 billion in the latest quarter, up sharply from $2.3 billion two years ago.

Cisco's networking revenue has posted eight straight quarters of double-digit growth, while overall orders rose 35% in the past two quarters. Management said more than $100 billion of refresh and modernization demand is tied to end-of-life and end-of-support infrastructure.