I’ve been taking a look at Cisco (CSCO) since I saw a long setup back in Feb. 2026 after its record-breaking Q2 FY2026 at just under $80. Then the stock skyrocketed a massive 70% plus since, to a new all-time high of $130.37 on June 4, 2026.
And now after a retracement to the current levels, Jim Cramer just weighed in on the Aug. 27 Mad Money Lightning Round with his clearest endorsement yet.
“Cisco actually had a really good quarter, and I know that they gave very conservative guidance, but that’s all it was,” Cramer said.
The answer is I would absolutely buy, buy, buy.
I haven’t seen Cramer use the phrase “buy, buy, buy” lightly. Three buys. No hedging. In Cramer’s vocabulary, that’s about as unambiguous as it gets.
The guidance concern Cramer waved off is vital — I’ll address it. But it’s also worth understanding what Cisco just put on the board, because the fiscal 2026 results aren’t just good. They’re the best productivity metrics the company has posted in 30 years.
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What Cisco’s record fiscal year 2026 actually showed
CFO Mark Patterson said it in the company statement: “In fiscal 2026, Cisco achieved its highest productivity metrics in 30 years measured by revenue, non-GAAP operating margin, and earnings per employee.”
Thirty years. That’s nowhere close to a quarterly beat. That’s a company operating at a different level than it has since the dot-com era.
Key Cisco fiscal 2026 full-year results:
- Revenue of $63.3 billion, up 12% year-over-year (YoY)
- Non-GAAP EPS of $4.33, up 14% YoY
- GAAP EPS of $3.33, up 31% YoY
- Non-GAAP operating margin of 34.8%
- Total AI infrastructure orders for the year: $9.3 billion, delivering approximately $4 billion in revenue
- Source: Cisco Fiscal 2026 Full-Year Results
Q4 alone was record-setting. Revenue hit $17.3 billion, up 18% YoY. Non-GAAP EPS of $1.22 beat the high end of guidance.
Total product orders grew 35% YoY — 25% even excluding hyperscalers, with double-digit growth across every geography and customer market, according to the same company statement.
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Networking product orders grew 40% YoY in Q4, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.
CEO Chuck Robbins put it this way: “We delivered a very strong close to fiscal 2026, marking another record year for Cisco.”
Cisco’s conservative guidance that spooked the market, and why Cramer disagrees
Decoding Cramer’s comments, here’s where his “buy, buy, buy” does real analytical work. The market’s concern is that Cisco’s fiscal 2027 guidance implies a deceleration from the pace it just delivered.
FY2027 guidance calls for revenue of $72.2-$73.4 billion, non-GAAP EPS of $5.05-$5.11, according to Cisco’s statement. Q1 FY2027 revenue is guided at $18-$18.2 billion with non-GAAP EPS of $1.32-$1.34.
I crunched what that actually implies. At the midpoint, FY2027 revenue guidance represents roughly 15% growth over FY2026’s $63.3 billion. Not acceleration, but not a collapse either.
Related: Cisco just broke its biggest hardware rule to chase the AI boom
And crucially, Cisco’s own history suggests the company tends to underpromise and outperform. This is a management team that just beat every guidance metric in Q4.
Cramer’s view that the guidance is conservative rather than a warning sign is consistent with Cisco’s approach in recent quarters.
The AI revenue trajectory, as outlined in the company’s statement, adds further weight to that view.
Cisco delivered approximately $4 billion in AI infrastructure revenue in FY2026.
The company is guiding $7.5 billion for FY2027. That’s nearly double in a single year. That’s actually not conservative framing but a growth target that requires continued execution at the pace Cisco just demonstrated.
Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images
Why Morgan Stanley and the broader analyst community back Cramer’s call
I managed to go through Morgan Stanley‘s Cisco thesis, and the firm’s conviction hasn’t wavered.
Morgan maintains an Overweight rating with a $135 price target, according to a note shared with TheStreet. The firm has specifically highlighted Cisco’s TSMC procurement advantage. Chip volumes with TSMC are expected to grow roughly tenfold in fiscal 2027, giving Cisco a critical supply edge during an industry-wide parts shortage.
Related: Morgan Stanley reveals Cisco’s quiet edge over rivals
Even the broader analyst picture is similarly supportive. According to TipRanks, CSCO received 27 Buy ratings, nine Hold ratings, and zero Sell ratings in August 2026. TheStreet notes that the average 12-month price target across 17 analysts sits at $141.21, with a high of $165 from Rosenblatt Securities, according to Investing.com.
- JPMorgan holds an Overweight rating with a $150 target, according to Market Screener.
- Bank of America lifted its target to $150, according to TheStreet.
- HSBC nearly doubled its target from $77 to $137, according to TheStreet.
At the current price of $109.93, the average analyst target implies roughly 28% upside, according to Yahoo Finance data as of Aug. 28, 2026.
Cisco also made two strategic acquisitions in Q4.
- Galileo Technologies for AI program monitoring
- Astrix Security for non-human identity protection
Cisco is expanding its cybersecurity capabilities at exactly the moment enterprise AI deployments are creating new attack surfaces. Cisco also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, payable Oct. 21, 2026, maintaining its income appeal alongside the growth narrative.
CSCO shares are up 44.79% year-to-date and 61.61% over the past year, according to Yahoo Finance, compared to the S&P 500’s 12.65% and 18.61% over those same periods, respectively.
I first recommended Cisco below $80. Cramer is now saying buy, buy, buy above $109. The thesis hasn’t changed. But the scale of the validation has.
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