Cisco Slips as Huawei Criminal Trial Begins

Cisco Systems slipped approximately 0.5% to $108.865 on Thursday as a federal criminal trial against Huawei opened in Brooklyn. Prosecutors accused the Chinese technology company of conspiring to steal trade secrets from five American businesses, including source code for Cisco's router operating system.

The prosecution also alleged sanctions and financial-system violations tied to Iran. Huawei rejected the charges and characterized the actions as legitimate business conduct or isolated employee behavior. The proceedings could run for roughly three months. Cisco is not prosecuting the case, and there is no disclosed financial recovery for shareholders.

Meanwhile, Cisco booked $9.3 billion of fiscal 2026 artificial intelligence orders, representing about 14.7% of its $63.33 billion in annual revenue. The networking company expects its annual AI revenue to climb from approximately $4 billion to $7.5 billion in fiscal 2027.