CSCO vs FFIV
Cisco and F5, side by side.
Prices and company dataas of yesterday's close
- CSCOBuy more1.8%
Cisco pays a 1.8% dividend that it has raised for 14 years in a row, and its sales grew 12% over the past year.
- FFIVBuy morein the past month−33%
F5 fell 33% over the past month, far more than other tech stocks (down 13%), but its report on Oct 27 beat profit forecasts by 5.4%.
Percent return
- CSCO+43.11%
- FFIV+34.17%
Nov 11, 2025 to Nov 11, 2026
Where they differ
- Company size: CSCO $443B, FFIV $22.0B.
- Sales growth, 1 yr: CSCO +12%, FFIV +11%. CSCO is ahead.
- Price for $1 of next year's profit: CSCO $18, FFIV $17. FFIV is ahead.
- Profit per $1 of sales: CSCO 25¢, FFIV 24¢. CSCO is ahead.
- Cash minus debt: CSCO −$15.3B, FFIV +$1.38B. FFIV is ahead.
- Price change, 1 yr: CSCO +43%, FFIV +34%. CSCO is ahead. S&P 500 +12%.
- How much the price swings: CSCO 37%, FFIV 53%. CSCO is ahead.
| Measure | CSCOCisco | FFIVF5 |
|---|---|---|
| Price and returns | ||
| Price | $100.83 | $320.00 |
| Today | Best in this row: +2.73% | +0.85% |
| 1 month | Best in this row: −14.89% | −33.31% |
| 3 months | Best in this row: −15.95% | −22.71% |
| This year | Best in this row: +33.23% | +25.37% |
| 1 year | Best in this row: +43.11% | +34.17% |
| 5 years | Best in this row: +103.57% | +41.96% |
| From 52-week high | −21.9% | −33.3% |
| How much it swings (90 days) | Best in this row: 37% | 53% |
| Valuation | ||
| Market value | $443B | $22.0B |
| Price vs last year's earnings | 37.4× | Best in this row: 31.8× |
| Price vs next year's expected earnings | 18.2× | Best in this row: 17.1× |
| Price vs earnings, adjusted for growth | Best in this row: 2.07× | 3.10× |
| Price to sales | 5.8× | Best in this row: 5.2× |
| Price vs cash it brings in | 28.9× | Best in this row: 20.3× |
| Company value vs operating profit | 20.6× | Best in this row: 17.6× |
| Price vs earnings, against its own past (0 = cheapest) | 9 | – |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth, 1 year | Best in this row: +11.8% | +10.6% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 3 years | +3.6% | Best in this row: +6.7% |
| Earnings per share growth, last year | Best in this row: +26.0% | +15.6% |
| Earnings per share growth expected next year | +8.8% | Best in this row: +11.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Kept from sales after making the product | 64.5% | Best in this row: 82.0% |
| Kept as operating profit | Best in this row: 25.4% | 24.3% |
| Kept as final profit | 20.9% | Best in this row: 21.1% |
| Kept as spare cash | 20.2% | Best in this row: 25.4% |
| Profit on shareholders' money | Best in this row: 27.3% | 19.0% |
| Profit on all money put in | 20.4% | Best in this row: 26.9% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | −$15.3B | Best in this row: $1.38B |
| Debt for each $1 of shareholders' money | 0.62× | Best in this row: 0.05× |
| Short-term assets per $1 of bills due | 0.93× | Best in this row: 1.73× |
| Dividend yield | 1.79% | – |
| Share of profit paid as dividends | 50% | – |
| Our readPro | ||
| Our call | Buy more | Buy more |
| Why | Cisco pays a 1.8% dividend that it has raised for 14 years in a row, and its sales grew 12% over the past year. | F5 fell 33% over the past month, far more than other tech stocks (down 13%), but its report on Oct 27 beat profit forecasts by 5.4%. |
| Where the price sits | in the full report | in the full report |
| Our overall score (out of 100) | Best in this row: 66 | 60 |
| Our value score | Best in this row: 40 | 30 |
| Our growth score | Best in this row: 70 | 51 |
| Our quality score | Best in this row: 85 | 84 |
| Our price trend score | 64 | Best in this row: 75 |
| Earnings and analysts | ||
| Next earnings | Nov 12AMCtoday | – |
| Analyst consensus | Buy | Hold |
| To average analyst target | +36.4% | Best in this row: +46.5% |
| Average analyst target | $137.50 | $468.67 |
| Analysts rating it a buy | Best in this row: 62% | 31% |
| Buy ratings added, 3 months | −1 | −1 |
| Analysts covering | 18 | 6 |
Too close to call
No clear pick between these two
CSCO62% of analysts rate it a buy, vs 31%
CSCO 62%, FFIV 31%.CSCO1-year return +43.1% vs +34.2%, S&P 500 +12.4%
CSCO +43.1%, FFIV +34.2%.FFIV+46.5% to the average analyst target, vs +36.4%
CSCO +36.4%, FFIV +46.5%.FFIVPrice trend score 75 of 100, vs 64
CSCO 64, FFIV 75.Cover this stock to see the full report
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Prices as of yesterday, 3:59 PM ET. A view, not advice.