Cisco Sees $1bn of AI Orders This Year

Cisco Sees $1bn of AI Orders This Year

Cisco Systems [CSCO] exceeded fiscal Q2 guidance on revenue, margins and EPS. CEO Chuck Robbins highlighted strong artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure momentum, with year-to-date orders over $700m and a full-year target above $1bn. Total product revenue grew 11% to $10.2bn, while service revenue rose 6% to $3.8bn. Security revenue jumped 117%, boosted by Splunk. Full-year 2025 revenue is projected at $56bn–56.5bn, with EPS guidance of $3.68–3.74.

Coming Soon: xAI’s “Scary Smart” New Bot

Speaking remotely at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Elon Musk touted his upcoming Grok 3 chatbot as the most advanced AI model yet, Bloomberg reported. Musk characterized Grok 3 as “scary smart” and highlighted its use of synthetic data to enhance logical consistency. The xAI founder also touched on his feud with OpenAI’s Sam Altman and ambitions to “delete entire agencies” of the US federal government.

Earnings Breakdown: Reddit

Reddit [RDDT] reported annual revenue exceeding $1bn, with Q4 revenue growing 71% year-over-year and achieving GAAP profitability for the second straight quarter. Daily active users grew 46% in new international markets, supported by machine translation features. For Q1 2025, Reddit expects revenue of $360m–370m, with adjusted EBITDA of $80m–90m, Seeking Alpha reported. Strategic priorities for 2025 include enhancing ad solutions with machine learning and expanding advertiser diversity.

Cautious Optimism on Applovin

AppLovin [APP] CEO Adam Foroughi highlighted Q4 2024 as a transformative period for the firm, which expanded its ad platform beyond gaming into e-commerce, targeting over 10 million businesses. Q1 2025 guidance projects $1.03bn–1.05bn in advertising revenue, Seeking Alpha outlined. Analysts are cautiously optimistic but question the timing and scalability of the e-commerce push. Read OPTO’s deep dive into this innovative gaming stock.

Will 2025 Be a Good Year for IPOs?

Cybersecurity firm SailPoint is set for an IPO that could value the company at over $12bn, the Financial Timesoutlined. The IPO is seen as a key test of investor appetite for tech listings. “Everyone was expecting the market to be fabulous under a Republican administration, but it hasn’t gone to plan so far,” according to a person close to the IPO for defense contractor Karman Holdings [KRMN], which is also set to start trading this week.

SMCI: Sky-High Hopes for Q2

Super Micro Computer [SMCI] expects Q2 2025 net sales of $5.6bn–5.7bn, a 54% year-over-year increase, despite delays in filing its annual report; CEO Charles Liang is confident the report will be submitted by February 25. The company also priced $700m of 2.25% convertible senior notes due 2028 and amended terms for $1.725bn of notes due 2029, which will bear 3.50% interest. Proceeds will fund growth and expansion.

SPOT Stock in the Top Spot

With more than 675 million users — 263 million of whom are paid subscribers — Spotify [SPOT] is the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service. Enjoying a lockdown-related boom in 2020, SPOT stock was lackluster until a rally began in early 2024. Since then, Spotify’s share price has gone from strength to strength, including a notable jump following strong Q4 results, as OPTO details.