Cisco now expects $9 billion in AI infrastructure revenue from hyperscalers in fiscal 2027, according to its first-quarter earnings release. It also raised its full-year revenue and non-GAAP EPS guidance. Quarterly revenue rose 24% to $18.5 billion.
AI infrastructure outlook
The release calls the figure a "raised expectation" and says it is more than double the total for fiscal 2026.
In its August release, Cisco said it delivered about $4 billion of hyperscaler AI infrastructure revenue in fiscal 2026 and expected $7.5 billion in fiscal 2027.
The November release does not say how much of that arrived in the first quarter.
The numbers
Q1 fiscal 2027 (quarter ended Oct. 24, 2026), with change against a year earlier.
| Metric | Q1 FY27 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $18.5B | +24% |
| Product revenue | $14.7B | +32% |
| Services revenue | $3.85B | +1% |
| GAAP net income | $4.6B | +59% |
| Non-GAAP net income | $5.6B | +39% |
| GAAP EPS | $1.14 | +58% |
| Non-GAAP EPS | $1.40 | +40% |
Cisco's Networking product revenue rose 43%. Security rose 7%, Collaboration 8% and Observability 2%.
Margins and cash
GAAP operating margin was 30.2% and non-GAAP operating margin was 37.8%. Non-GAAP gross margin was 65.6%, down from 68.1% a year earlier.
Cash flow from operations was $4.4 billion, up 36%. Remaining performance obligations were $46.2 billion, up 8%.
Cisco returned $3.7 billion to stockholders in the quarter. It also declared a $0.42 dividend, payable Jan. 20, 2027, to holders of record on Jan. 4.
Raised guidance
Cisco raised its fiscal 2027 outlook. The table shows the new range next to the one it gave in August.
| Fiscal 2027 | New (Nov. 12) | August |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $74.8B to $75.8B | $72.2B to $73.4B |
| Non-GAAP EPS | $5.47 to $5.53 | $5.05 to $5.11 |
| GAAP EPS | $4.38 to $4.44 | $4.00 to $4.06 |
For the second quarter, Cisco expects revenue of $18.0 billion to $18.2 billion, non-GAAP EPS of $1.34 to $1.36 and GAAP EPS of $1.07 to $1.09.
In the release, CFO Mark Patterson said Q1 revenue, non-GAAP operating margin and non-GAAP EPS all exceeded the high end of Cisco's guidance ranges. In August, Cisco had guided Q1 to $18.0 billion to $18.2 billion in revenue and $1.32 to $1.34 in non-GAAP EPS.
What isn't in the release
The release does not break out the AI infrastructure revenue Cisco booked in Q1, and it gives no orders figure for the quarter. It also does not define which customers count as hyperscalers.
In the release, CEO Chuck Robbins said Cisco is "in the very early stages of a multi-year networking supercycle." That is the company's own description, not an independent forecast.
What we checked
We read Cisco's November release on newsroom.cisco.com at 7:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 12, and its August release for the earlier guidance. We did not read the earnings call transcript. We did not compare the results with analyst estimates or check how Cisco's stock moved.
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