Commitments and Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Jan. 24, 2026

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

(a)Purchase Commitments with Contract Manufacturers and Suppliers

We purchase components from a variety of suppliers and use several contract manufacturers to provide manufacturing services for our products. During the normal course of business, in order to manage manufacturing lead times and help ensure adequate component supply, we enter into agreements with contract manufacturers and suppliers that allow them to procure inventory based upon criteria as defined by us or establish the parameters defining our requirements. A significant portion of our reported purchase commitments arising from these agreements consists of firm, noncancelable, and unconditional commitments. Certain of these inventory purchase commitments are directly with suppliers, and relate to fixed-dollar commitments to secure supply and pricing for certain product components for multi-year periods. In certain instances, these agreements allow us the option to cancel, reschedule, and adjust our requirements based on our business needs prior to firm orders being placed.

The following table summarizes our inventory purchase commitments with contract manufacturers and suppliers by period (in millions):


	January 24, 2026		July 26, 2025
Less than 1 year	$	9,615	$	7,202
1 to 3 years	417		320
3 to 5 years	23		77
Total	$	10,055	$	7,599

We record a liability for firm, noncancelable, and unconditional purchase commitments for quantities in excess of our future demand forecasts consistent with the valuation of our excess and obsolete inventory. As of January 24, 2026 and July 26, 2025, the liability for these purchase commitments was $185 million and $206 million, respectively, and was included in other current liabilities.

(b)Other Commitments

We have certain funding commitments, primarily related to our privately held investments. The funding commitments were $0.7 billion and $0.3 billion as of January 24, 2026 and July 26, 2025, respectively.

(c)Product Warranties

The following table summarizes the activity related to the product warranty liability (in millions):


	Six Months Ended
	January 24, 2026		January 25, 2025
Balance at beginning of period	$	399	$	362
Provisions for warranties issued	209		198
Adjustments for pre-existing warranties	—		37
Settlements	(231)		(203)
Balance at end of period	$	377	$	394

We accrue for warranty costs as part of our cost of sales based on associated material product costs, labor costs for technical support staff, and associated overhead. Our products are generally covered by a warranty for periods ranging from 90 days to five years, and for some products we provide a limited lifetime warranty.

(d)Financing and Other Guarantees

In the ordinary course of business, we provide financing guarantees for various third-party financing arrangements extended to channel partners customers. Payments under these financing guarantee arrangements were not material for the periods presented.

Channel Partner Financing Guarantees We facilitate arrangements for third-party financing extended to channel partners, consisting of revolving short-term financing, with payment terms generally ranging from 60 to 90 days. These financing arrangements facilitate the working capital requirements of the channel partners, and, in some cases, we guarantee a portion of these arrangements. The volume of channel partner financing was $7.4 billion and $6.2 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 and 2025, respectively, and $14.0 billion and $12.2 billion for the first six months of fiscal 2026 and 2025, respectively. The balance of the channel partner financing subject to guarantees was $1.3 billion as of each of January 24, 2026 and July 26, 2025.

Financing Guarantee Summary The aggregate amounts of channel partner financing guarantees outstanding at January 24, 2026 and July 26, 2025, representing the total maximum potential future payments under financing arrangements with third parties along with the related deferred revenue, are summarized in the following table (in millions):


	January 24, 2026		July 26, 2025
Maximum potential future payments	$	126	$	123
Deferred revenue	(13)		(13)
Total	$	113	$	110

(e)Indemnifications

In the normal course of business, we have indemnification obligations to other parties, including customers, lessors, and parties to other transactions with us, with respect to certain matters. We have agreed to indemnify against losses arising from a breach of representations or covenants or out of intellectual property infringement or other claims made against certain parties. These agreements may limit the time or circumstances within which an indemnification claim can be made and the amount of the claim.

It is not possible to determine the maximum potential amount for claims made under the indemnification obligations due to uncertainties in the litigation process, coordination with and contributions by other parties and the defendants in these types of cases, and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular case and agreement. Historically, indemnity payments made by us have not had a material effect on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

In addition, we have entered into indemnification agreements with our officers and directors, and our Amended and Restated Bylaws contain similar indemnification obligations to our agents.

(f)Legal Proceedings

Brazil Brazilian authorities have investigated our Brazilian subsidiary and certain of its former employees, as well as a Brazilian importer of our products, and its affiliates and employees, relating to alleged evasion of import taxes and alleged improper transactions involving the subsidiary and the importer. Brazilian tax authorities have assessed claims against our Brazilian subsidiary based on a theory of joint liability with the Brazilian importer for import taxes, interest, and penalties. In addition to claims asserted by the Brazilian federal tax authorities in prior fiscal years, tax authorities from the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo have asserted similar claims on the same legal basis in prior fiscal years. The remaining asserted claims by Brazilian federal tax authorities are for calendar years 2004 through 2007, and the remaining asserted claims by the tax authorities from the state of Sao Paulo are for calendar years 2005 through 2007. The total remaining asserted claims by Brazilian state and federal tax authorities aggregate to $148 million for the alleged evasion of import and other taxes, $902 million for interest, and $303 million for various penalties, all determined using an exchange rate as of January 24, 2026.

We have completed a thorough review of the matters and believe the asserted claims against our Brazilian subsidiary are without merit, and we are defending the claims vigorously. While we believe there is no legal basis for the alleged liability, due to the complexities and uncertainty surrounding the judicial process in Brazil and the nature of the claims asserting joint liability with the importer, we are unable to determine the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome against our Brazilian subsidiary and are unable to reasonably estimate a range of loss, if any. We do not expect a final judicial determination for several years.

Centripetal Centripetal Networks, Inc. (“Centripetal”) filed various patent litigations in the U.S., Germany, and France. These cases have either concluded with findings of non-infringement or invalidity or are in various stages of appeals. In the U.S., there is an appeal from our win in the Eastern District of Virginia that is pending in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, and one Patent Trial and Appeal Board ("PTAB") inter partes review decision that was remanded to the PTAB for further proceedings. In Germany, there is an infringement hearing on one patent set for April 2, 2026, and an appeal hearing in a related invalidity proceeding set for November 10, 2026. In France, Centripetal also filed an infringement case alleging infringement of the French counterpart to U.S. and German patents previously found to not be infringed. Those proceedings are ongoing and a final hearing date has not been set.

Ramot On June 12, 2019 and on February 26, 2021, Ramot at Tel Aviv University Ltd. (“Ramot”) asserted patent infringement claims against Cisco and Acacia in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (“E.D. Tex.”) and in the District of Delaware (“D. Del.”), respectively. Ramot is seeking damages, including enhanced damages, and a royalty on future sales. Ramot alleges that certain optical transceiver modules and line cards infringe three patents. We challenged the validity of the patents in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) and the pending District Court cases have been stayed. On September 28, 2021 and May 24, 2022, Cisco and Acacia filed two declaratory judgment actions of noninfringement against Ramot in D. Del. on other Ramot patents. The Court rescheduled the trial date in the D. Del. cases for December 1, 2025. Prior to trial, the D. Del. Court granted our motion for summary judgment of non-infringement of all patents-in suit. Ramot appealed that decision to the Federal Circuit and those proceedings are ongoing.

While we believe that we have strong non-infringement and invalidity arguments in these litigations, and that Ramot’s damages theories in such cases are not supported by prevailing law, we are unable to reasonably estimate the ultimate outcome of these litigations at this time due to uncertainties in the litigation processes. If we do not prevail in court in these litigations, we believe any damages ultimately assessed would not have a material effect on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

In addition to the above matters, we are subject to other legal proceedings, claims, and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business, including intellectual property litigation. While the outcome of these matters is currently not determinable, we do not believe that the ultimate costs to resolve these matters will have a material effect on our Consolidated Financial Statements.