Cisco's Conservative AI Sales Forecast Disappoints Investors

Cisco Systems Inc has announced its AI sales forecast for fiscal year 2027. The company projects US$7.5 billion in sales tied to the artificial intelligence data center boom this fiscal year, which is a disappointment to investors.

The projected total revenue of Cisco is between US$72.2 billion and US$73.4 billion, with AI sales making up around 10% of that figure. This marked the first time Cisco has given a full-year AI revenue forecast, sparking questions from analysts about how it aligns with the company's previous AI-related orders.

According to a recent quarter, Cisco received US$9.3 billion in AI-related orders over the past year alone. Analyst David Vogt of UBS questioned the conservative nature of Cisco's new forecast, stating 'That just strikes me as very, very conservative.'