New York, February 21, 2026, 14:03 (ET) — Market closed.
- Cisco shares closed up 0.8% on Friday at $79.20, extending a three-session rise.
- An SEC filing showed Cisco’s operations chief sold 10,233 shares under a pre-set trading plan.
- Traders head into next week watching Nvidia’s results for a read-through on AI infrastructure spending and hardware margins.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO.O) shares ended Friday up 0.8% at $79.20 on Nasdaq, their third straight gain, as investors positioned for next week’s heavy AI calendar. (Yahoo Finance)
Why it matters now: Cisco has been trading as part of the AI infrastructure ecosystem, and that tape has stayed jumpy. A Reuters Wall Street Week Ahead column singled out Nvidia’s results as the next big test for an “AI-sensitive” U.S. stock market — “it’s hard for Nvidia to surprise when everyone expects it to surprise,” said Marta Norton, chief investment strategist at Empower. (Reuters)
Cisco’s own executives are leaning into that framing. Jeetu Patel, Cisco’s president and chief product officer, told The Economic Times the company aims to ship “at least a half-dozen” software products “fully developed” with AI in 2026, arguing demand is still running ahead of supply: “Today, all the capacity that’s being built is being consumed right away… we are still short on compute.” (The Economic Times)
On the company tape, a filing showed executive vice president for operations Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 10,233 Cisco shares on Feb. 19 at prices around $78.50 to $79.05, worth about $804,000. The trades were made under a Rule 10b5-1 plan — a pre-arranged program that can let insiders sell shares on a set schedule. (SEC)
Cisco’s rebound comes after an earnings-driven shock earlier this month, when it flagged the fallout from a global memory-price increase that pushed adjusted gross margin to 67.5%, below estimates, and knocked the stock about 7% lower after hours. “Compressed margins definitely took some shine off the report,” said Jake Behan, head of capital markets at Direxion; CEO Chuck Robbins said the company “now expect[s] to take AI orders in excess of $5 billion” and has already raised prices and revised contract terms to blunt the cost hit. (Reuters)
But the near-term margin line is still the risk point. Cisco forecast non-GAAP gross margin of 65.5% to 66.5% for the current quarter and said its EPS guidance includes the estimated impact of tariffs under current trade policy. (Cisco Newsroom)
The longer game is whether Cisco can turn AI networking into durable share gains. Earlier this month it launched its Silicon One G300 switch chip and a router aimed at massive AI data centers, taking on Broadcom and Nvidia; “We focus on the total end-to-end efficiency of the network,” executive vice president Martin Lund told Reuters. (Reuters)
Cisco shares are still clawing back ground from the selloff after earnings — they slid 12.3% on Feb. 12 to close at $75.00, leaving Friday’s close about 6% above that level. (Investing)
The next hard catalyst is Nvidia’s fiscal fourth-quarter report on Feb. 25, with a conference call set for 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET). For Cisco, the read-through on AI capex and component costs could set the tone when trading resumes. (Nvidia)
