Cisco's Q4 2025: Unraveling Contradictions in AI Orders, Security Growth, and Networking Expectations

AI orders and revenue recognition, security product growth and performance, AI revenue realization and demand signals, campus refresh and networking growth, networking orders and growth expectations are the key contradictions discussed in Cisco's latest 2025Q4 earnings call.



Revenue and Profitability Growth:
- Cisco reported revenue of $14.7 billion for Q4 2025, up 8% year-over-year.
- The growth was driven by strong order growth across geographic segments and solid performance in networking and security solutions.

AI Infrastructure and Order Growth:
- Cisco saw record AI infrastructure orders from webscale customers, exceeding $800 million in Q4, contributing to over $2 billion in fiscal year 2025.
- This growth is attributed to the demand for AI infrastructure solutions from major webscale customers and the integration of Cisco's Silicon One technology.

Product and Geographic Order Trends:
- Total product orders in Q4 grew 7% year-over-year, with strong growth across all geographies except the public sector, which saw a 6% decline.
- The positive trends were driven by enterprise product orders up 5% year-over-year and strong order growth in service provider and cloud segments, particularly from webscale customers.

Security Segment Performance:
- The security segment achieved mid-single-digit order growth in Q4, driven by a 14% year-over-year increase in new logos for Splunk and the adoption of new security products like Secure Access and Hypershield.
- Cisco's cross-selling strategies and product innovation are enhancing growth in the security sector, despite challenges in specific regions like the U.S. Federal sector.