Compare · Networking equipment
Cisco vs Ericsson
Cisco vs Ericsson: which one is bigger, grows faster and keeps more of each dollar of revenue?
Cisco’s gross margin is 17 points higher
Method and sources
- Revenue growth (1 year): Cisco 11.8% (FY2026), Ericsson −4.5% (FY2025)
- Revenue growth (3-year CAGR): Cisco 3.6% (FY2026), Ericsson −4.5% (FY2025)
- Operating margin: Cisco 24.3% (FY2026), Ericsson 16.3% (FY2025)
- Gross margin: Cisco 64.5% (FY2026), Ericsson 47.6% (FY2025)
- Net margin: Cisco 21.0% (FY2026), Ericsson 12.0% (FY2025)
- FCF margin: Cisco 20.2% (FY2026), Ericsson 12.8% (FY2025)
Latest fiscal year per company: Cisco FY2026, Ericsson FY2025. Fiscal years end on different dates, so years are not calendar-aligned.
Cisco reports in USD and Ericsson in SEK. Amounts are never converted between currencies, so revenue and free cash flow are shown in each filing currency and their size is not compared; margins, growth and percentages of revenue are ratios within one filing and are comparable.
Why this pair: Network infrastructure equipment; reported in USD and SEK, so revenue size is not compared. Peer groups are curated by hand from each company's business as described in its own 10-K/20-F (what it sells, not its SIC code). A company can sit in more than one group. Within a group, a pair is listed when both companies report in the same currency and the larger company's latest fiscal-year revenue is at most 4x the smaller one's; each company keeps its 4 nearest peers by revenue ratio. Companies reporting in different currencies are never size-matched (amounts are not converted); a short list of obvious same-industry pairs across currencies is added by hand, with the reason, as are two direct competitor pairs outside the size rule (AMD vs NVIDIA, Intel vs NVIDIA).
Derived = calculated by Hollsteen from reported SEC values; reported = as tagged in the filing. SEC filings only, no market data.
Side by side: all values with filing links
| Metric | Cisco FY2026 | Ericsson FY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $63.3B10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | SEK 236.7B20-F · Mar 12, 2026 |
| Revenue growth (1 year) | 11.8% derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | −4.5% derived20-F · Mar 12, 2026 |
| Revenue growth (3-year CAGR) | 3.6% derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | −4.5% derived20-F · Mar 12, 2026 |
| Gross margin | 64.5% derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | 47.6% derived20-F · Mar 12, 2026 |
| Operating margin | 24.3% derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | 16.3% derived20-F · Mar 12, 2026 |
| Net margin | 21.0% derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | 12.0% derived20-F · Mar 12, 2026 |
| Free cash flow | $12.8B derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | SEK 30.3B derived20-F · Mar 12, 2026 |
| FCF margin | 20.2% derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | 12.8% derived20-F · Mar 12, 2026 |
| R&D as % of revenue | 15.1% derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | 20.6% derived20-F · Mar 12, 2026 |
| Stock-based compensation as % of revenue | 6.0% derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | n/a |
Definitions: Revenue = Total revenue; Revenue growth (1 year) = Revenue FYt ÷ revenue FYt−1 − 1; Revenue growth (3-year CAGR) = (Revenue FYt ÷ revenue FYt−3)^(1/3) − 1; Gross margin = Gross profit ÷ revenue; Operating margin = Operating income ÷ revenue; Net margin = Net income ÷ revenue; Free cash flow = Operating cash flow − capital expenditures (one formula for all companies); FCF margin = Free cash flow ÷ revenue; R&D as % of revenue = Research and development expense ÷ revenue; Stock-based compensation as % of revenue = Stock-based compensation ÷ revenue.
More on each company
Cisco
Ericsson
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