Cisco Systems (CSCO) Competitors $68.21 -0.47 (-0.68%) Closing price 09/19/2025 04:00 PM EasternExtended Trading$68.08 -0.13 (-0.19%) As of 09/19/2025 07:59 PM Eastern Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more. Add Compare Share Share Competitors Stock AnalysisAnalyst ForecastsChartCompetitorsDividendEarningsFinancialsHeadlinesInsider TradesOptions ChainOwnershipSEC FilingsShort InterestSustainabilityTrendsBuy This Stock CSCO vs. GOOG, GOOGL, MSFT, NVDA, PANW, ZM, ANET, DELL, HPE, and IBMShould you be buying Cisco Systems stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Cisco Systems include Alphabet (GOOG), Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), NVIDIA (NVDA), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Zoom Communications (ZM), Arista Networks (ANET), Dell Technologies (DELL), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), and International Business Machines (IBM). These companies are all part of the "computer and technology" sector. Cisco Systems vs. Its Competitors Alphabet Alphabet Microsoft NVIDIA Palo Alto Networks Zoom Communications Arista Networks Dell Technologies Hewlett Packard Enterprise International Business Machines Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, earnings, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and risk. Is GOOG or CSCO a better dividend stock? Alphabet pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Cisco Systems pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Alphabet pays out 8.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cisco Systems pays out 62.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Alphabet has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Cisco Systems has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Cisco Systems is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth. Which has preferable valuation and earnings, GOOG or CSCO? Alphabet has higher revenue and earnings than Cisco Systems. Cisco Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alphabet, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings RatioAlphabet$350.02B8.82$100.12B$9.3927.18Cisco Systems$56.65B4.76$10.18B$2.6226.03 Is GOOG or CSCO more profitable? Alphabet has a net margin of 31.12% compared to Cisco Systems' net margin of 18.45%. Alphabet's return on equity of 34.31% beat Cisco Systems' return on equity.Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Alphabet31.12% 34.31% 24.88% Cisco Systems 18.45%27.06%10.20% Which has more volatility & risk, GOOG or CSCO? Alphabet has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cisco Systems has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Does the media prefer GOOG or CSCO? In the previous week, Alphabet had 152 more articles in the media than Cisco Systems. MarketBeat recorded 226 mentions for Alphabet and 74 mentions for Cisco Systems. Cisco Systems' average media sentiment score of 1.44 beat Alphabet's score of 1.07 indicating that Cisco Systems is being referred to more favorably in the news media. Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment Alphabet 182 Very Positive mention(s) 15 Positive mention(s) 17 Neutral mention(s) 4 Negative mention(s) 5 Very Negative mention(s) Positive Cisco Systems 63 Very Positive mention(s) 3 Positive mention(s) 7 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Positive Do insiders & institutionals believe in GOOG or CSCO? 27.3% of Alphabet shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.3% of Cisco Systems shares are held by institutional investors. 13.0% of Alphabet shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Cisco Systems shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. Do analysts recommend GOOG or CSCO? Alphabet currently has a consensus target price of $227.56, suggesting a potential downside of 10.84%. Cisco Systems has a consensus target price of $74.53, suggesting a potential upside of 9.26%. Given Cisco Systems' higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Cisco Systems is more favorable than Alphabet.Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Alphabet 3 Sell rating(s) 5 Hold rating(s) 18 Buy rating(s) 4 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.77Cisco Systems 0 Sell rating(s) 10 Hold rating(s) 13 Buy rating(s) 1 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.63 SummaryAlphabet beats Cisco Systems on 15 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks. Get Cisco Systems News Delivered to You Automatically Sign up to receive the latest news and ratings for CSCO and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter. Subscribe Now View SMS TermsBy entering your phone number and clicking the sign-up button, you agree to receive periodic text messages from MarketBeat at the phone number you submitted, including texts that may be sent using an automatic telephone dialing system. 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The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.Skip Chart CSCO vs. The Competition Export to ExcelMetricCisco SystemsCOMP IndustryComputer SectorNASDAQ ExchangeMarket Cap$271.51B$21.48B$32.22B$10.40BDividend Yield2.39%2.39%3.14%4.60%P/E Ratio26.0316.60450.6426.75Price / Sales4.762.302,005.43124.23Price / Cash18.0019.9138.1261.55Price / Book5.766.567.596.40Net Income$10.18B$700.87M$809.77M$271.62M7 Day Performance2.53%2.16%4.16%3.46%1 Month Performance1.64%9.83%9.71%9.87%1 Year Performance31.25%2,439,670.37%24,064.87%28.45% Cisco Systems Competitors List Export to ExcelCompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)CSCOCisco Systems4.8621 of 5 stars$68.21-0.7%$74.53+9.3%+32.6%$271.51B$56.65B26.0386,200Positive NewsHigh Trading VolumeGOOGAlphabet4.7149 of 5 stars$252.10+0.1%$227.56-9.7%+56.4%$3.05T$350.02B26.86190,200Trending NewsInsider TradeShort Interest ↓GOOGLAlphabet3.8947 of 5 stars$251.83+0.1%$222.85-11.5%+57.1%$3.05T$350.02B26.82183,323Trending NewsAnalyst ForecastInsider TradeMSFTMicrosoft4.9248 of 5 stars$511.72-0.7%$612.54+19.7%+18.1%$3.80T$281.72B37.52228,000Trending NewsDividend IncreaseAnalyst DowngradeNVDANVIDIA4.9365 of 5 stars$174.92-1.6%$207.83+18.8%+49.9%$4.25T$165.22B49.8036,000Trending NewsAnalyst ForecastInsider TradePANWPalo Alto Networks4.1483 of 5 stars$201.40+0.1%$211.68+5.1%+24.8%$134.79B$9.22B125.5516,068Positive NewsZMZoom Communications4.5054 of 5 stars$85.22+0.7%$90.30+6.0%+25.8%$25.79B$4.75B22.497,412Trending NewsAnalyst UpgradeANETArista Networks4.7322 of 5 stars$141.35-2.8%$157.88+11.7%+57.6%$177.82B$7.00B55.644,412Trending NewsAnalyst ForecastInsider TradeDELLDell Technologies4.9985 of 5 stars$127.81+0.8%$148.00+15.8%+12.2%$85.97B$95.57B18.80108,000Trending NewsAnalyst ForecastInsider TradeHPEHewlett Packard Enterprise4.6541 of 5 stars$24.44-1.6%$24.81+1.5%+32.6%$32.24B$30.13B29.8061,000Analyst ForecastInsider TradeOptions VolumeIBMInternational Business Machines4.5411 of 5 stars$256.26+0.0%$275.00+7.3%+24.9%$238.31B$64.04B41.63293,400Trending NewsAnalyst Revision Related Companies and Tools Related Companies Alphabet Competitors Alphabet Competitors Microsoft Competitors NVIDIA Competitors Palo Alto Networks Competitors Zoom Communications Competitors Arista Networks Competitors Dell Technologies Competitors Hewlett Packard Enterprise Competitors International Business Machines Competitors Top 10 Stock Comparisons Semiconductor Stocks Artificial Intelligence Stocks Growth Stocks Magnificent Seven Stocks Pharmaceutical Stocks Ecommerce Stocks Bitcoin Stocks Meme Stocks Cryptocurrency Stocks Cybersecurity Stocks This page (NASDAQ:CSCO) was last updated on 9/20/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our PartnersPrepare for the “Mar-a-Lago Accord” Money ShockWhy Are Wall Street Insiders Moving Their Money to This ONE Asset? 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