Cisco

Cisco returns large, repeatable cash to shareholders while investing in strategic software assets. FY25 returned $6.44B in dividends and $5.99B in buybacks; Q1 FY26 added $3.6B more with a $0.41/share dividend and 29M shares repurchased, leaving $12.2B authorized.

Splunk was a sizable bet, financed with a mix of cash and debt, but it solidifies the platform economics of security and observability and is expected to be EPS-accretive on a non-GAAP basis by FY26. SBC is meaningful but largely offset by buybacks.

We view overall capital allocation as disciplined, with a bias toward shareholder-friendly uses and platform-building deals.