CSCO
Cisco Systems, Inc.
CSCO offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has the edge over CSCO overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
CSCO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Unavailable |
CSCO's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy. There isn't enough data to rate its balance sheet.
MSFT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MSFT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
CSCO PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $52.11 | -49% |
| Fair | 19x | $63.45 | -38% |
| Forward | 20x | $102 | — |
| Current | 27x | $102 | — |
| Expensive | 28x | $92.57 | -9.3% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CSCO's PE is 27x, but its earnings don't support one, so it isn't a reliable read right now.
MSFT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 25x | $523 | — |
| Cheap | 27x | $525 | +0.4% |
| Current | 27x | $523 | — |
| Fair | 34x | $652 | +25% |
| Expensive | 37x | $711 | +36% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MSFT has the edge over CSCO in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
CSCO Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CSCO, with profitability holding steady.
MSFT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for MSFT, with profitability holding steady.
CSCO Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.14 | +54% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.33 | +31% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.01 | +23% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.78 | +21% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.59 | +11% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.55 | +0.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.45 | -18% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.29 | -30% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.33 | -30% |
CSCO earned $3.33 per share over the past year, up 31% from the year before.
MSFT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $20.79 | +8.6% |
| Q3 2026 | $19.15 | +36% |
| Q2 2026 | $17.95 | +32% |
| Q1 2026 | $16.80 | +30% |
| Q4 2025 | $15.99 | +29% |
| Q3 2025 | $14.06 | +16% |
| Q2 2025 | $13.64 | +16% |
| Q1 2025 | $12.93 | +12% |
| Q4 2024 | $12.41 | +12% |
MSFT has the edge over CSCO on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
CSCO Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $17.3B | +18% |
| Q2 2026 | $15.8B | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $15.3B | +9.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $14.9B | +7.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $14.7B | +7.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $14.1B | +11% |
| Q1 2025 | $14B | +9.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $13.8B | -5.6% |
CSCO's revenue has grown year over year for seven quarters in a row: $17.3B last quarter, up 18% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 25% | +3.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 25% | +2.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 25% | +2.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 23% | +5.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 21% | +1.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 23% | +5.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 22% | -1.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 17% | -12 points |
CSCO's operating margin was 25% last quarter, up 3.7 points from the same quarter a year ago.
MSFT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $92.3B | +19% |
| Q2 2026 | $90B | +18% |
| Q1 2026 | $82.9B | +18% |
| Q4 2025 | $81.3B | +17% |
| Q3 2025 | $77.7B | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $76.4B | +18% |
| Q1 2025 | $70.1B | +13% |
| Q4 2024 | $69.6B | +12% |
MSFT has the edge over CSCO on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 50% | +0.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 45% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 46% | +0.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 47% | +1.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 49% | +2.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 45% | +1.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 46% | +1.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 45% | +1.9 points |
MSFT has the edge over CSCO on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
CSCO Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $5B | +24% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.3B | -12% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.5B | -24% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.9B | -16% |
| Q3 2025 | $4B | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.8B | -0.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $2B | +218% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.4B | +54% |
CSCO has the edge over MSFT on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MSFT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $18.6B | -27% |
| Q2 2026 | $19.6B | -23% |
| Q1 2026 | $15.8B | -22% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.9B | -9.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $25.7B | +33% |
| Q2 2025 | $25.6B | +9.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $20.3B | -3.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.5B | -29% |
MSFT's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $60B over the past year, down 23% from the year before.
CSCO Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +5M shares |
| 1 year | -0.3% | -11M shares |
| 3 years | -2.9% | -118M shares |
| 5 years | -5.9% | -249M shares |
| Available history | -6.7% | -286M shares |
CSCO has 4B diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.5B |
| Q2 2026 | $1.3B |
| Q1 2026 | $1.4B |
| Q4 2025 | $2B |
| Q3 2025 | $1.3B |
| Q2 2025 | $1.5B |
| Q1 2025 | $1.2B |
| Q4 2024 | $2B |
CSCO spent $6.1B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 1.8% from the year before.
MSFT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -7M shares |
| 1 year | -0.3% | -20M shares |
| 3 years | -0.2% | -16M shares |
| 5 years | -1.6% | -121M shares |
| Available history | -3.2% | -245M shares |
MSFT has 7.4B diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.4B |
| Q2 2026 | $4.6B |
| Q1 2026 | $4.6B |
| Q4 2025 | $7.4B |
| Q3 2025 | $5.7B |
| Q2 2025 | $4.5B |
| Q1 2025 | $4.8B |
| Q4 2024 | $5B |
MSFT spent $21B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 5.2% from the year before.
CSCO Net Leverage
MSFT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
MSFT's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
CSCO Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 46.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 11.8 | Oversold |
CSCO's weekly RSI is 47 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 12 (oversold).
MSFT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 62.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 68.0 | Neutral |
MSFT's weekly RSI is 62 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 68 (neutral).
CSCO PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | CSCO | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 27x | 28x | 2.4% below |
| PE % | 81 | 35 | 46 pts above |
CSCO has the edge over MSFT on valuation relative to its sector.
MSFT PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MSFT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 27x | 28x | 2% below |
| PE % | 16 | 35 | 19 pts below |
MSFT is trading at 27x earnings, in line with the Technology sector's median of 28x.
CSCO Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $106.4 | 4.2% below |
| 20 week MA | $110.6 | 7.8% below |
| 50 week MA | $98.0 | 4.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $81.5 | 25% above |
| 200 week MA | $66.1 | 54% above |
CSCO has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 54% above its 200-week average.
MSFT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $524.7 | 0.3% below |
| 20 week MA | $484.8 | 7.9% above |
| 50 week MA | $446.9 | 17% above |
| 100 week MA | $453.8 | 15% above |
| 200 week MA | $411.5 | 27% above |
MSFT has the edge over CSCO on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
CSCO Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $47.8 | $44.5 | -6.8% |
| 2021 | $44.5 | $62.3 | +40% |
| 2022 | $62.3 | $47.5 | -24% |
| 2023 | $47.5 | $50.5 | +6.4% |
| 2024 | $50.5 | $59.6 | +18% |
| 2025 | $59.6 | $78.2 | +31% |
| 2026 YTD | $78.2 | $102.0 | +31% |
CSCO has the edge over MSFT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
MSFT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $159.0 | $222.8 | +40% |
| 2021 | $222.8 | $334.7 | +50% |
| 2022 | $334.7 | $238.7 | -29% |
| 2023 | $238.7 | $376.0 | +58% |
| 2024 | $376.0 | $430.5 | +14% |
| 2025 | $430.5 | $487.7 | +13% |
| 2026 YTD | $487.7 | $523.0 | +7.2% |
MSFT has finished higher in five of the last six years, two of them by more than 50%. It's up 7.2% so far in 2026.