Key Highlights

  • Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) and Applied Materials both report after the close on Thursday, November 12, 2026, with calls at 4:30 PM Eastern Time.
  • Cisco's consensus is about USD 1.15 per share against USD 0.81 a year earlier, with prior company guidance for Revenue of USD 18.0 billion to USD 18.2 billion.
  • Applied Materials guided to revenue of USD 10.25 billion, plus or minus USD 500 million, and Earnings of USD 4.02 per share, against a USD 4.06 and USD 10.30 billion consensus.
  • Applied Materials stock jumped about 11% to near USD 370.81 on November 9 after a sharp monthly drop, so expectations into the print have risen quickly.

What Cisco Needs to Deliver

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) enters its fiscal first-quarter report as one of the main ways investors play AI networking outside the chip makers. Consensus calls for adjusted earnings of about USD 1.15 per share, up roughly 42% from USD 0.81 a year earlier, and the company had guided revenue to USD 18.0 billion to USD 18.2 billion for the quarter. The key questions are orders from large cloud and AI customers for switching and optics, the pace of campus network upgrades and how much security and software revenue is recurring. Any comment on how the post-midterm pause in some Data Center projects affects customer plans will draw attention. Gross margins are also in focus, because memory and component costs have risen across hardware. With AI hardware stocks rebounding on November 9 after the previous week's selloff, guidance for the next quarter is likely to drive the share price more than the headline beat or miss.

What Applied Materials Needs to Deliver

Applied Materials guided its fiscal fourth quarter to revenue of USD 10.25 billion, plus or minus USD 500 million, and adjusted earnings of USD 4.02 per share, plus or minus USD 0.20. Consensus sits slightly higher at USD 4.06 and USD 10.30 billion, implying year-over-year growth of about 87% in earnings and 51% in revenue. The prior quarter was a record at USD 9.12 billion. The stock rose about 11% to near USD 370.81 on November 9 as equipment names rallied, with Lam Research up about 9% after announcing a USD 25 billion buyback the previous week. Even after that jump, Applied traded near 18 times forward earnings, the lowest among major equipment peers. Investors will look for 2027 commentary on leading-edge logic, high-bandwidth memory and advanced packaging demand, plus updates on export controls to China and clean-room capacity constraints at customers.

The Wider Thursday Slate and Risks

Nebius reports before the open with a consensus loss of about USD 0.61 per share, and Cerebras reports after the close with a loss of about USD 0.13. Together with Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) and Applied Materials, these reports test whether AI infrastructure spending is holding up after a sharp chip selloff in early November. The risks run both ways. A cautious outlook from either company could reopen concerns about a pause in data center Capital spending, while strong orders would support the recovery that began on November 9. Macro data also matter. The October CPI on November 10 and producer prices on November 13 will shape rate expectations ahead of the December 9 Federal Reserve meeting, which affects valuations for long-duration technology stocks. Nvidia's report on November 17 is the next major test after Thursday.

Where Things Stand

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) and Applied Materials report after the close on November 12, 2026, with consensus of about USD 1.15 and USD 4.06 per share. Cisco's update on AI networking orders and Applied's view of 2027 equipment Demand will test the rebound in AI hardware stocks. Applied rose about 11% on November 9, which raises the bar. Nebius and Cerebras also report Thursday, ahead of Nvidia on November 17.