Brinker International, Cisco And 3 Stocks To Watch Heading Into Wednesday
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Aug 13 2025
0mins
Should l Buy CSCO?
Source: Benzinga
Earnings Reports: Brinker International and Performance Food Group are expected to report quarterly earnings today, with Brinker projected at $2.38 per share and Performance Food Group at $1.45 per share. Both companies saw slight increases in their stock prices during after-hours trading.
Mixed Financial Results: Carparts.Com reported disappointing second-quarter results and is not providing future guidance, leading to an 11.9% drop in its stock. CoreWeave also had mixed results, beating revenue expectations but missing on earnings, resulting in a 10.4% decline in its stock price.
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Analyst Views on CSCO
Wall Street analysts forecast CSCO stock price to rise
13 Analyst Rating
10 Buy
3 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 75.000
Low
76.00
Averages
91.30
High
100.00
Current: 75.000
Low
76.00
Averages
91.30
High
100.00
About CSCO
Cisco Systems, Inc. designs and sells a range of technologies that power the Internet. The Company is integrating its product portfolios across networking, security, collaboration, applications and cloud. The Company's segments include the Americas; Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and Asia Pacific, Japan, and China (APJC). Its Networking product category represents its core networking technologies of switching, routing, wireless, fifth generation (5G), silicon, optics solutions and compute products. Its Security product category consists of its cloud and application security, industrial security, network security, and user and device security offerings. Its Collaboration product category consists of its meetings, collaboration devices, calling, contact center and platform as a service (CPaaS) offering. Its Observability product category consists of its full stack observability offerings.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Capital Return Strategy: Cisco returned $3 billion to shareholders in Q2 through dividends and buybacks, with an annual dividend expense of approximately $6.63 billion, and projected free cash flow of $13.64 billion in fiscal 2026 to support future dividend increases.
- Optimistic Market Outlook: Despite gross margin pressures, Cisco's enterprise networking product orders grew over 20%, indicating strong demand in campus networking and industrial IoT, with expectations for a multi-billion dollar refresh opportunity in the coming years.
See More
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- Market Turmoil: On January 27, 2025, Chinese startup DeepSeek's AI model caused a market shock, leading Nvidia's stock to lose nearly $600 billion in market cap in a single day, plummeting from $143 to below $90, highlighting the market's sensitivity to AI technology.
- Stock Decline: Following the DeepSeek incident, Nvidia's stock continued to decline until April 2025, reflecting investor concerns over U.S.-China trade tensions and revealing the intense competition in the AI technology sector.
- Industry Impact: Dassault's stock fell 10% due to uncertainty over its partnership with Schindler, while Siemens dropped 6.4%, indicating the potential risks associated with reliance on digital twin technology for infrastructure companies.
- Supply-Demand Imbalance: Memory prices surged by 600% over the year, and Cisco's warning about DRAM shortages impacting earnings further exacerbated concerns for Nvidia and similar companies, potentially leading to demand destruction and suppressed sales.
See More
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- Surge in AI Infrastructure Orders: Cisco secured $2.1 billion in AI infrastructure orders from hyperscale cloud companies in Q2 of fiscal 2026, marking a 62% increase from $1.3 billion in Q1, indicating strong demand and growth potential in the AI market.
- Silicon Chip Milestone: The company shipped its one millionth Silicon One chip in Q2, which is utilized in both Cisco's hardware and third-party systems, becoming a significant driver for its hyperscaler business.
- Optimistic Future Orders Outlook: Cisco anticipates over $5 billion in AI infrastructure orders for fiscal 2026, excluding its latest products like the G300 chip; if these new offerings resonate with hyperscaler clients, actual orders could exceed expectations.
- Market Reaction and Cost Challenges: Despite the booming AI business, Cisco's stock fell due to concerns over rising gross margins and memory costs, reflecting market caution regarding the company's cost management capabilities, although long-term demand for AI infrastructure is expected to drive substantial growth.
See More
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- Dow Milestone: The Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed 50,000 for the first time this week, despite a 1.2% decline, marking a significant milestone that reflects long-term growth potential, although short-term investor sentiment is impacted by economic data.
- Strong Employment Data: Nonfarm payrolls increased by 130,000, significantly exceeding the forecast of 70,000, indicating labor market resilience; however, the CPI rose only 0.2% month-over-month, below the expected 0.3%, potentially raising concerns about sustained inflation.
- Earnings Volatility: Kraft Heinz announced a pause on its separation plan to focus on strengthening its existing business, indicating a commitment to future growth; conversely, Hims & Hers abandoned a new product launch due to regulatory pressures, leading to a sharp stock decline and highlighting market sensitivity to compliance risks.
- Tech Stock Movements: Alphabet, Google's parent company, tapped the debt markets by issuing long-term bonds to fund its AI investments, planning to spend between $175 billion and $185 billion by 2026, showcasing its ambition in technological innovation; meanwhile, Moderna's shares fell after its flu vaccine application was refused, underscoring regulatory challenges in the biotech sector.
See More
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- Healthcare Transformation Potential: CVS Health's leadership emphasizes AI's critical role in reshaping healthcare experiences, acknowledging early implementation stages while driving cost savings and growth, showcasing its strategic value in the healthcare sector.
- Enhanced Competitive Advantage: Hilton's CEO highlights that their modern tech stack provides a significant competitive edge, with opportunities in distribution and operational efficiency far outweighing risks, reflecting a positive outlook for the future.
- Infrastructure Investment: Cisco executives report that over 90% of customer support cases are now AI-driven, significantly enhancing customer satisfaction, indicating the company's crucial role in the infrastructure of the AI era.
- Semiconductor Market Growth: Applied Materials anticipates that investments in AI infrastructure will drive over 20% growth in its semiconductor equipment business in 2026, demonstrating the substantial impact of AI on industry revenues.
See More
U.S. Markets Volatile as Investor Sentiment Turns Cautious
- Positive Job Data: Recent U.S. employment figures indicate a rise in new jobs, and while inflation eases, the overall market remains volatile, reflecting investor concerns about future economic prospects that could impact stock performance.
- Mixed Industry Results: Automakers reported mixed earnings, with some industrial stocks outperforming the broader market; however, overall equity demand remains capped, indicating a growing risk-off sentiment among investors.
- AI Panic Trade: The launch of a new freight efficiency platform by an AI firm has spooked markets, leading to sharp declines in traditionally resilient trucking and logistics stocks, as fears grow over the vulnerability of labor-intensive business models to automation.
- Real Estate Impacted: The real estate sector and other old-economy industries have also been hit, as traders express unease over potential AI-driven disruptions, further exacerbating market uncertainty.
See More
