The latest earnings batch delivered another reminder that good AI numbers are no longer enough on their own. Cisco and Coherent both topped Wall Street expectations on August 12, yet their shares fell after hours, while Cerebras dropped sharply after revenue came in light.
$Cisco(CSCO)$ -4% after hours
Cisco posted fiscal Q4 revenue of $17.25 billion, above the $16.82 billion expected by analysts, while adjusted EPS of $1.22 also beat the $1.17 consensus. AI infrastructure orders reached $4 billion in the quarter and $9.3 billion for the full fiscal year.
The outlook was strong as well. Cisco expects fiscal 2027 revenue of $72.2 billion to $73.4 billion, comfortably above Wall Street’s roughly $68.7 billion estimate, and sees AI infrastructure revenue from hyperscalers reaching $7.5 billion.
Still, the stock fell about 4% in extended trading. After a roughly 60% run this year, investors appear to have wanted an even bigger upside surprise.
$Coherent(COHR)$ -3% after hours
Coherent reported fiscal Q4 adjusted EPS of $1.74, ahead of the $1.62 consensus, while revenue climbed 34% to $2.05 billion, topping expectations of roughly $1.99 billion.
Its next-quarter outlook also came in above estimates, with revenue expected around $2.3 billion at the midpoint and adjusted EPS of $1.85 to $2.05. Demand for optical networking components used in AI data centers remains strong.
Yet Coherent slipped about 3% after hours after rallying more than 8% during Wednesday’s regular session. With the shares having more than tripled over the past year, expectations were already extremely high heading into the report.
$Cerebras Systems(CBRS)$ -16% after hours
Cerebras shares sank roughly 16% after Q2 revenue of $180.1 million missed the $194.2 million analysts expected, even though sales rose 74% from a year earlier. Hardware revenue declined, while cloud revenue nearly quadrupled to $126 million.
The company still raised its full-year revenue outlook to $880 million–$890 million and lifted its gross-margin forecast to 41%–43%. Its cloud business remains the standout, with core cloud revenue rising 287% year over year.
Today’s discussion:
Cisco fell 4% and Cerebras dropped 16% after earnings. Would you buy the dip on either one?
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