Cisco’s recent stock highs don’t signal a breakthrough so much as a long-delayed re-rating. Cisco Systems, Inc. hasn’t reinvented itself or unlocked a new category; it’s doing what it has always done well—selling essential networking infrastructure—at a moment when AI-driven data center spending has reminded the market how indispensable that role is. The business model, margins, customers, and innovation cadence remain fundamentally unchanged, and the AI narrative positions Cisco as connective tissue, not a category creator.

The June consumer price index (CPI) data revealed a significant shift in the economic landscape, with core inflation cooling more than anticipated. This decline in core inflation, particularly driven by a moderation in services inflation, including housing costs, marked a notable departure from recent trends. The easing of services inflation suggests that the pressures which had been driving prices higher are starting to abate, providing some relief to consumers and policymakers alike.