Cisco Systems (CSCO) Competitors $67.83 -0.12 (-0.18%) As of 02:32 PM Eastern This is a fair market value 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, HPE, IBM, and JNPRShould 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), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), International Business Machines (IBM), and Juniper Networks (JNPR). 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 Hewlett Packard Enterprise International Business Machines Juniper Networks Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, media sentiment, analyst recommendations and risk. Is GOOG or CSCO more profitable? Alphabet has a net margin of 30.86% compared to Cisco Systems' net margin of 17.60%. Alphabet's return on equity of 34.54% beat Cisco Systems' return on equity.Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Alphabet30.86% 34.54% 25.07% Cisco Systems 17.60%26.48%9.87% Do analysts prefer GOOG or CSCO? Alphabet presently has a consensus price target of $207.13, indicating a potential upside of 13.17%. Cisco Systems has a consensus price target of $69.95, indicating a potential upside of 3.07%. Given Alphabet's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Alphabet is more favorable than Cisco Systems.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) 6 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.84Cisco Systems 0 Sell rating(s) 8 Hold rating(s) 15 Buy rating(s) 2 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.76 Does the media prefer GOOG or CSCO? In the previous week, Alphabet had 102 more articles in the media than Cisco Systems. MarketBeat recorded 174 mentions for Alphabet and 72 mentions for Cisco Systems. Cisco Systems' average media sentiment score of 1.24 beat Alphabet's score of 1.06 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 121 Very Positive mention(s) 12 Positive mention(s) 23 Neutral mention(s) 8 Negative mention(s) 1 Very Negative mention(s) Positive Cisco Systems 56 Very Positive mention(s) 4 Positive mention(s) 7 Neutral mention(s) 2 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Positive Which has better valuation & earnings, GOOG or CSCO? Alphabet has higher revenue and earnings than Cisco Systems. Alphabet is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cisco Systems, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings RatioAlphabet$350.02B6.35$100.12B$8.9720.40Cisco Systems$53.80B4.99$10.32B$2.4527.70 Which has more volatility and risk, GOOG or CSCO? Alphabet has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cisco Systems has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Is GOOG or CSCO a better dividend stock? Alphabet pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Cisco Systems pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Alphabet pays out 9.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cisco Systems pays out 66.9% 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 raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Cisco Systems has raised 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. Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of 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, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth. 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. Email Address New MarketBeat Followers Over TimeWhat are MarkeBeat Followers?This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding CSCO and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period. Skip ChartMedia Sentiment Over TimeWhat is Media Sentiment?This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. 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$268.75B$21.18B$27.94B$9.13BDividend Yield2.41%2.41%3.13%4.01%P/E Ratio27.7021.2833.9819.58Price / Sales4.992.221,961.1979.96Price / Cash17.8822.2533.7127.50Price / Book5.9610.307.295.55Net Income$10.32B$705.90M$774.15M$252.28M7 Day Performance-1.55%0.79%0.53%2.99%1 Month Performance5.89%8.10%6.39%11.65%1 Year Performance43.24%4,998,522.15%52,797.55%17.15% Cisco Systems Competitors List Export to ExcelCompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)CSCOCisco Systems4.6802 of 5 stars$67.87-0.1%$69.95+3.1%+43.4%$268.75B$53.80B27.7090,400Positive NewsAnalyst DowngradeGOOGAlphabet4.884 of 5 stars$180.22+0.3%$206.38+14.5%-2.9%$2.19T$350.02B20.09190,200Trending NewsAnalyst ForecastGOOGLAlphabet4.1965 of 5 stars$179.08+0.2%$199.95+11.7%-2.6%$2.17T$350.02B19.96183,323Trending NewsMSFTMicrosoft4.5123 of 5 stars$498.25+1.5%$524.71+5.3%+11.0%$3.70T$245.12B38.50228,000Trending NewsNVDANVIDIA4.4725 of 5 stars$159.28+1.3%$176.19+10.6%+27.6%$3.89T$130.50B51.3836,000Trending NewsPANWPalo Alto Networks4.1428 of 5 stars$201.50+2.3%$208.00+3.2%+11.4%$134.36B$8.03B115.1415,289Positive NewsZMZoom Communications4.8269 of 5 stars$78.12+0.7%$87.00+11.4%+27.5%$23.64B$4.67B23.467,412ANETArista Networks4.2928 of 5 stars$102.45+1.3%$109.33+6.7%+20.2%$128.66B$7.00B43.364,412Positive NewsAnalyst ForecastHPEHewlett Packard Enterprise4.702 of 5 stars$21.32+0.3%$21.85+2.5%-2.1%$27.97B$30.13B21.5361,000Positive NewsAnalyst ForecastIBMInternational Business Machines4.2249 of 5 stars$291.66+1.4%$257.50-11.7%+55.0%$271.06B$62.75B50.20293,400Positive NewsJNPRJuniper Networks3.3677 of 5 stars$39.95flat$40.00+0.1%N/A$13.36B$5.20B38.053,519 Related Companies and Tools Related Companies Alphabet Competitors Alphabet Competitors Microsoft Competitors NVIDIA Competitors Palo Alto Networks Competitors Zoom Communications Competitors Arista Networks Competitors Hewlett Packard Enterprise Competitors International Business Machines Competitors Juniper Networks 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 7/14/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our PartnersYour Bank Account Is No Longer SafeWhat If Washington Declared That: YOUR Money ISN'T Actually Yours? 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