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Cisco Systems (CSCO) Enhances Cyber Security With AI Assistant

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Cisco Systems (CSCO - Free Report) is expanding its footprint in the enterprise networking and security sector with its recent introduction of the Cisco AI Assistant for Security.

Cisco's latest move signifies a major advancement in integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the Security Cloud platform.

As cyber threats, particularly ransomware and sophisticated attacks on networking devices, continue to escalate, Cisco's AI Assistant aims to fortify defenses by enabling informed decision-making, enhancing tool capabilities and automating complex security tasks.

With a focus on a vast security-focused dataset, analyzing more than 550 billion security events daily, Cisco's commitment to advancing cybersecurity is evident in its innovative approach to addressing the challenges of the modern digital landscape.

 

Expanding Security Portfolio to Aid Prospect

Cisco is riding on the growing demand for its security, artificial intelligence and cloud products. Its security portfolio benefits from the launch of Cisco AI Assistant for Security and enhancing capabilities in Zero Trust, also fortifying threat intelligence and detection solutions.

Cisco’s investments across the security business, focusing on cloud-based and AI-driven offerings, are expected to drive growth. Expanding growth opportunities for low-power-consuming technologies, including Silicon One and Power over Ethernet, bodes well for the company’s prospects.

In November, Cisco introduced enhanced business metrics in Cloud Observability on AWS, providing end-to-end visibility for modern applications, integrating with AWS services and enabling users to connect digital experiences to critical business outcomes.

Cisco expects more than $1 billion in orders for AI infrastructure from major cloud providers in fiscal 2025.

Moreover, acquisitions have played a significant role in shaping Cisco’s growth trajectory. In the first quarter of fiscal 2024, Cisco announced the acquisition of Splunk , a strategic move to enhance AI, security, and observability strengths, ensuring digital resilience and streamlined data management.

Adding Splunk will help to expand Cisco’s footprint in the cybersecurity domain and accelerate its strategy of securely connecting everything.

Cisco's Q2 Forecast Cloudy

For second-quarter fiscal 2024, Cisco expects revenues between $12.6 billion and $12.8 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current quarter is pegged at $12.73 billion, indicating a year-over-year decline of 6.34%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2024 revenues is pegged at $54.69 billion, indicating a decline of 4.05% year over year.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, CSCO carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

CSCO shares have returned 0.1% compared with the Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s growth of 43.6% year to date.

NetEase (NTES - Free Report) and Intel (INTC - Free Report) are a few better-ranked stocks that investors can consider from the broader sector, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

NTES and INTC shares have returned 41.2% and 56.1%, respectively, on a year-to-date basis.

Long-term earnings growth rates for NetEase and Intel are pegged at 15.98% and 14.18%, respectively.


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