Cisco Systems Stock Rose On More Than Its AI Orders

Cisco Systems (CSCO) stock has returned about 64% over the past year, against roughly 21% for the S&P 500. The easy explanation is that Cisco sells the switches and optics that hyperscalers are buying for AI. That business is real, and it is the smaller part of the story. The larger part is that the rest of Cisco started growing again, much of it as customers ready their networks for AI.