Cisco just reminded the market that it's no longer a legacy networking company — it's an AI infrastructure powerhouse.

Shares surged almost 20% in extended trading after the company blew past Wall Street's estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Revenue climbed 12% to $15.84 billion, versus the $15.56 billion expected, while adjusted EPS of $1.06 edged past the $1.04 consensus.

But the real headline was AI:

CEO Chuck Robbins put it plainly: "The companies that will win in the AI era will be those with focus, urgency, and the discipline to continuously shift investment toward the areas where demand and long-term value creation are strongest."

$CSCO ( ▲ 2.32% ) has a Ziggma score of 50, as it ranks lower than peers in growth and valuation.

Cisco's results are a watershed moment for a stock that spent years in the shadow of sexier AI names.

Its networking infrastructure — switches, routers, and security products — is now the backbone of the AI buildout, and the market is finally pricing that in.

With its stock already up 33% this year and after-hours gains potentially marking the sharpest single-day rally since 2002, Cisco is no longer playing catch-up. It's leading.

The next A.I. boom could create massive winners just like the 1990s tech surge. We identified 7 small tech companies positioned to benefit from the next phase of A.I. growth. View the 7 Stocks.

Wednesday's session was a tale of two markets.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit fresh all-time highs, powered almost entirely by AI-linked semiconductor and technology stocks, while roughly two-thirds of the S&P 500 ended the day in the red.

The rally came despite another uncomfortable inflation reading: the producer price index jumped 1.4% in April, well above the 0.5% consensus, marking the biggest monthly gain since March 2022.

On an annual basis, wholesale inflation hit 6% — the highest since December 2022. Investors who would normally sell on that data chose instead to pile into chip stocks, betting that AI demand is structural and immune to short-term macro headwinds.

NVIDIA rose more than 2%, Micron gained more than 4%, and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) advanced 2%.

The enthusiasm was partly fueled by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang joining President Trump on his trip to China to meet with President Xi Jinping — a signal that AI chip sales in China could improve.

Meanwhile, Boston Fed President Susan Collins kept the door open to rate hikes if inflation remains stubborn, adding a note of caution to an otherwise euphoric session.

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Akamai shares jumped 7.7% after Bank of America upgraded the stock to Buy and raised its price target to $175 from $130.

The bank cited a 40% year-over-year surge in cloud infrastructure services, a $1.8 billion AI infrastructure deal, and Akamai's successful pivot from legacy content delivery to a credible AI platform.

Analyst Tal Liani sees earnings accelerating meaningfully over the next two years as the AI infrastructure business scales.

Ford soared over 13% after a Morgan Stanley report predicted the automaker would secure multiple battery contracts for energy storage.

Leveraging its CATL partnership, Ford is expected to supply energy storage to large commercial customers and AI hyperscalers, potentially generating $500 million in annual revenue — a surprising but compelling repositioning as an AI infrastructure play.

Nebius surged 16% after reporting a staggering 684% year-over-year revenue surge to $399 million in Q1, fueled by skyrocketing demand for cloud and GPU capacity.

The AI cloud company also announced it has secured up to 1.2 gigawatts of power and land for a new AI factory in Pennsylvania, signaling an aggressive buildout to capture the AI infrastructure wave.

🤝 U.S. President Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing to discuss trade, Iran, and AI oversight, with markets watching closely for signals on tech tariffs and chip exports.

📈 Apple stock crossed the $300 per share mark for the first time ever, touching an intraday high of $300.49 on Wednesday, adding to a strong year for the tech giant.

🛢️ WTI crude futures hovered above $101/barrel and Brent above $106, as the ongoing Iran conflict continues to weigh on energy prices and broader inflation.

🚨 Fed President Susan Collins said monetary policy should stay restrictive "for some time" and left the door open to rate hikes if inflation doesn't durably return to 2%.

🔋 Citi upgraded Venture Global to Buy and raised its price target to $17 from $12, citing higher-than-expected LNG export volumes from its CP2 facility.

💊 Leerink Partners upgraded J&J to Outperform with a $265 price target, citing strong momentum behind newer drugs including Icotyde, Inlexzo, Rybrevant, and Tremfya.

📉 Alibaba's adjusted EBITA plunged 84% year-on-year in the March quarter to just 5.1 billion yuan ($750.9M), as heavy investments in tech and e-commerce weighed heavily on profitability.

🏬 The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) shed nearly 2% mid-session and was on pace for its worst weekly performance since October, with National Vision tumbling 22% on a revenue miss.

ON Semi surged 11.1% to $115.71, fueled by aggressive analyst price target upgrades and broad semiconductor sector momentum.

The stock has rallied 35% in recent weeks as AI data center buildout drives demand for its power management chips used in both data centers and electric vehicles.

HPE hit an all-time high of $31.65, climbing nearly 7% amid reports that additional activist investors, including Irenic Capital, are joining Elliott Management's push for operational improvements.

Revenue grew 14% in 2025, and shares have roughly doubled since Elliott's initial involvement.

EchoStar shares rose nearly 3% after the FCC approved its $40 billion spectrum sale to AT&T and SpaceX — 50 MHz to AT&T and 65 MHz to SpaceX — a major catalyst as the company restructures its business around the proceeds.

Applied Materials $AMAT ( ▼ 0.89% ) reports after the bell; results will heavily influence the chip sector.

Nu Holdings $NU ( ▼ 5.72% ) reports after the close; watch for signals of consumer credit health in emerging markets.

Figma $FIG ( ▲ 13.24% ) reports after market close, a signal for enterprise software spending trends.

Brookfield Corporation $BN ( ▼ 4.19% ) reports before the open; it offers a window into real estate and private equity markets.

🛍️ April Retail Sales: Economists forecast a 0.5% monthly increase; a miss here could weigh on consumer-linked stocks.

👩‍💼 Weekly Jobless Claims: High-frequency labor data that could shift Fed rate expectations.

💰 Import & Export Prices: Adds more color to the inflation pipeline after yesterday's hot PPI reading.

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