AI Demand Drives Cisco Earnings and U.S. Stock Market to Record Highs
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The catalyst that sent shares into a parabolic move early in the U.S. cash session was demand for AI. Cisco boosted its expected fiscal 2026 hyperscaler AI orders to $9 billion from $5 billion, signaling stronger traction in supplying the networking infrastructure needed for data center buildouts. Shares surged more than 16%, marking their best day since May 2002.
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CNBCCisco investors aren't the only victors from the network company's blowout earnings on Wednesday night: Broadcom shareholders also picked up a win. Shares of Cisco surged 15% on Thursday to a new record high, after posting results and guidance that topped Wall Street's expectations. More importantly, the report highlighted the rising demand for networking solutions tied to the AI data center buildout. Cisco said it has received $5.3 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure and hyperscaler orders so far this year, and raised its expected orders for the fiscal year to $9 billion, up from $5 billion. Those positive vibes extended to Broadcom , which jumped more than 5% and also hit a new high.
FortuneChuck Robbins, Cisco’s chair and CEO, said the company is “well-positioned as the critical infrastructure for the AI era, building on our technology leadership and customer trust, while innovating at the speed and scale that our dynamic world demands.” Cisco, No. 83 on the Fortune 500, has a market cap of over $450 billion.
Washington Times BusinessCisco helped lead the market after jumping 14.6% in what could be its best day in nearly 15 years. The tech giant reported better profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and CEO Chuck Robbins said it saw “very strong, broad-based demand for our products.”
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Cisco frames the cuts as an AI-driven strategic shift, which reallocates investment toward AI infrastructure, silicon, optics, and security, rather than AI directly replacing workers, the stance some other tech companies have taken.
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CNBCThe California-based networking equipment maker also said it will cut about 5% of its workforce as it shifts focus toward AI-focused segments, silicon, and optics.
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Such voracious demand for AI, and the big profits it’s producing, have been major reasons the U.S. stock market has set records throughout this year. Cerebras Systems, an AI processor company, raised $5.55 billion after selling its stock in an initial public offering, and its shares are set to begin trading on the Nasdaq later in the day.
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CNBCStocks @ Night is a daily newsletter delivered after hours, giving you a first look at tomorrow and last look at today. Sign up for free to receive it directly in your inbox. Here's what CNBC TV's producers were watching as the Dow Industrials reclaimed the 50,000 level and what's on the radar for the next session. Cerebras If you thought Thursday was interesting, wait for the first full day of trading on this giant artificial intelligence chipmaker . Cerebras Systems ' initial public offering price was $185. It popped up to a high of $386.34 once the gates opened, but settled back to $311.07 at the close. After hours, the stock is up 5% to nearly $330 a share. We'll have coverage of this first full day of trading for Cerebras Friday on CNBC.
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The S&P 500 added 0.5% to its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 254 points, or 0.5%, and is close to finishing a day above the 50,000 level for the first time since the war with Iran began. The Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher and adding to its own record, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time.
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CNBCWall Street is coming off yet another positive session, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closing at record highs. The S&P 500 gained 0.8%, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.9%. The 30-stock Dow closed up 370 points, or 0.8%.
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01 CNBC As earnings season continues, investors have opportunities to profit off the big bounces — or avoid the pullbacks — in stocks in the wake of these quarterly reports. It's been a volatile week. The S & P 500 rallied to a record intraday high of 7,501.24 on Thursday as the first-quarter earnings season continued to prove strong. However, the broad-market index gave up some of those gains in Friday's session, with tech stocks falling sharply, as investors were left underwhelmed by the outcome of the U.S.-China summit. Despite these moves, Cisco shares tallied a 22% one-week gain in the wake of blowout earnings , putting the stock into overbought territory. A stock qualifies as overbought when its relative strength index is greater than 70.
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02 Fortune Big Deal Going deeper Here are four Fortune weekend reads: Fortune "Jenn Hyman steps down as CEO of Rent the Runway: ‘I’ve left it all on the field’"—Emma Hinchliffe
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03 Washington Times Business Corporate earnings reported so far this season have “reinforced that this is still an AI-led market, but one where the impact is broadening quickly,” according to Gargi Pal Chaudhuri, chief investment and portfolio strategist at BlackRock.
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04 ZeroHedge Stock is at a record high. UBS analyst Simon Penn summed up third-quarter results and guidance:
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