Adobe vs Cisco
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The short version
- Cisco is the larger business, with $63.3B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $23.8B for Adobe, about 2.7 times as much.
- Cisco grew revenue faster (11.8%, against 10.5%).
- Adobe kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (36.6% operating margin, against 24.3%).
- Adobe turned more of its sales into free cash flow (41.5% FCF margin, against 20.2%).
- Adobe earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (65.9%, against 20.2%).
| Latest fiscal year | ADBE · FY25 | CSCO · FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $104.3B | $424.6B |
| Revenue | $23.8B | $63.3B |
| Free cash flow | $9.9B | $12.8B |
| Net income | $7.1B | $13.3B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 10.5% | 11.8% |
| 5-year growth | 13.1% | 4.9% |
| Share count change | −5.1% | −0.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 89.3% | 64.5% |
| Operating margin | 36.6% | 24.3% |
| Net margin | 30.0% | 21.0% |
| FCF margin | 41.5% | 20.2% |
| Return on capital | 65.9% | 20.2% |
| Return on equity | 55.4% | 27.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$385M | $15.2B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.0x | 1.0x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $11.3B | $12.7B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 14.7x | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 6 |
Revenue
FY17
ADBE $7.3B
CSCO $48.0B
FY18
ADBE $9.0B
CSCO $49.3B
FY19
ADBE $11.2B
CSCO $51.9B
FY20
ADBE $12.9B
CSCO $49.3B
FY21
ADBE $15.8B
CSCO $49.8B
FY22
ADBE $17.6B
CSCO $51.6B
FY23
ADBE $19.4B
CSCO $57.0B
FY24
ADBE $21.5B
CSCO $53.8B
FY25
ADBE $23.8B
CSCO $56.7B
FY26
ADBE —
CSCO $63.3B
ADBE
CSCO
Operating margin
FY17
ADBE 29.7%
CSCO 24.9%
FY18
ADBE 31.5%
CSCO 25.0%
FY19
ADBE 29.3%
CSCO 27.4%
FY20
ADBE 32.9%
CSCO 27.6%
FY21
ADBE 36.8%
CSCO 25.8%
FY22
ADBE 34.6%
CSCO 27.1%
FY23
ADBE 34.3%
CSCO 26.4%
FY24
ADBE 31.4%
CSCO 22.6%
FY25
ADBE 36.6%
CSCO 20.8%
FY26
ADBE —
CSCO 24.3%
ADBE
CSCO
Free cash flow
FY17
ADBE $2.7B
CSCO $12.9B
FY18
ADBE $3.8B
CSCO $12.8B
FY19
ADBE $4.0B
CSCO $14.9B
FY20
ADBE $5.3B
CSCO $14.7B
FY21
ADBE $6.9B
CSCO $14.8B
FY22
ADBE $7.4B
CSCO $12.7B
FY23
ADBE $6.9B
CSCO $19.0B
FY24
ADBE $7.9B
CSCO $10.2B
FY25
ADBE $9.9B
CSCO $13.3B
FY26
ADBE —
CSCO $12.8B
ADBE
CSCO
Return on capital
FY17
ADBE 37.9%
CSCO 33.5%
FY18
ADBE 35.6%
CSCO 23.9%
FY19
ADBE 29.0%
CSCO 48.2%
FY20
ADBE 38.7%
CSCO 45.6%
FY21
ADBE 40.0%
CSCO 39.9%
FY22
ADBE 39.1%
CSCO 39.1%
FY23
ADBE 44.4%
CSCO 43.7%
FY24
ADBE 47.7%
CSCO 24.1%
FY25
ADBE 65.9%
CSCO 18.1%
FY26
ADBE —
CSCO 20.2%
ADBE
CSCO
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.