CSCO vs JNPR Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
CSCO remains the dominant, diversified global networking equipment leader transitioning toward software and subscription revenue, while JNPR was a smaller, AI-networking-focused competitor that has since been acquired by HPE, combining their networking businesses to better compete with Cisco's scale.
CSCO vs JNPR reflects the networking equipment industry's consolidation, contrasting Cisco's continued independent scale and software transition against Juniper's combination with HPE to build a stronger competitive alternative.
CSCO holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. CSCO has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+82.98% vs +11.22%), though JNPR trades at the lower forward P/E (20.18x vs 25.35x). CSCO leads on both revenue growth (12.00%) and operating margin (24.99%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for CSCO (+4.83%) than for JNPR (+0.13%).
- →Want exposure to the largest, most diversified global networking equipment company
- →Value Cisco's growing software and subscription revenue transition
- →Believe Splunk integration will strengthen Cisco's security and observability offerings
- →Juniper Networks has been acquired by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and no longer trades as an independent public company
- →Investors seeking that exposure would now consider HPE shares directly
- →The combination aims to create a stronger combined competitor to Cisco in enterprise networking
| Metric | CSCO | JNPR |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 51.4 | 36.5 |
| AI rank | #373 | #1497 |
| Latest close | $119.54 | $39.95 |
| 1M return | +3.61% | +11.19% |
| 6M return | +57.29% | +7.33% |
| 1Y return | +82.98% | +11.22% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | CSCO | JNPR |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $18.16K (+81.6%) started 2025-06-18 | $11.39K (+13.9%) started 2024-07-03 |
| 5Y ago | $28.81K (+188.1%) started 2021-06-21 | $22.78K (+127.8%) started 2020-07-06 |
| 10Y ago | $75.67K (+656.7%) started 2016-06-20 | $26.14K (+161.4%) started 2015-07-06 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | CSCO | JNPR |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $477.31B | $13.36B |
| Trailing P/E | 40.37 | 38.05 |
| Forward P/E | 25.35 | 20.18 |
| Price/Sales | 4.70 | N/A |
| EV/Revenue | 8.13 | 2.64 |
| Analyst target | $126.95 | $40.00 |
| Target upside | +4.83% | +0.13% |
| Metric | CSCO | JNPR |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 12.00% | 11.40% |
| Earnings growth | 37.10% | N/A |
| EPS growth | +37.10% | N/A |
| FCF margin | +15.29% | +14.09% |
| Operating margin | 24.99% | 8.56% |
| Profit margin | 19.68% | 6.78% |
| ROIC proxy | 25.23% | 7.58% |
| Return on equity | 25.23% | 7.58% |
| Dividend yield | 1.39% | 2.20% |
| Beta | 1.00 | 0.77 |
| Debt/equity | 67.54 | 40.66 |
| Current ratio | 0.93 | 1.49 |
| Quick ratio | 0.70 | 0.99 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | CSCO | JNPR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +81.56% | +11.89% |
| CAGR | +81.72% | +11.92% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.95 | 0.50 | |
| Max drawdown | 13.57% | 12.54% | |
| Max daily drop | 12.32% | 6.08% | |
| Max wkly drop | 11.44% | 11.78% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +153.51% | +97.79% |
| CAGR | +20.48% | +14.65% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.70 | 0.48 | |
| Max drawdown | 36.68% | 30.88% | |
| Max daily drop | 13.73% | 7.46% | |
| Max wkly drop | 13.61% | 12.60% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +448.91% | +98.22% |
| CAGR | +18.57% | +7.09% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.62 | 0.22 | |
| Max drawdown | 41.95% | 41.02% | |
| Max daily drop | 13.73% | 15.37% | |
| Max wkly drop | 16.10% | 13.26% |
| Category | CSCO | JNPR |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Cisco Systems, Inc. | Juniper Networks, Inc. |
| Sector | Technology | Information Technology - Networking Equipment |
| Industry | Communication Equipment | N/A |
| Core business | Cisco Systems is the world's largest networking equipment company, providing switches, routers, security, and collaboration products to enterprises and service providers globally, increasingly bundled with software and subscription services. | Juniper Networks provides networking equipment including routers, switches, and AI-driven network management software (Mist AI), historically positioned as a smaller, more agile alternative to Cisco. Juniper has been acquired by Hewlett Packard Enterprise. |
| Investor focus | Investors track Cisco's transition toward software and subscription revenue, AI-driven data center networking demand, and the integration of its Splunk acquisition. | Following its acquisition by HPE, Juniper is no longer an independent publicly traded comparison; historical investor focus was on Mist AI-driven networking software adoption and service provider router demand. |
- →Largest global scale and installed base in enterprise networking equipment
- →Growing software and subscription revenue improves recurring revenue visibility
- →Splunk acquisition adds observability and security data analytics capabilities
- →Strong reputation for high-performance routing and AI-driven network management (Mist AI)
- →Acquisition by HPE provides combined scale to better compete with Cisco
- →Differentiated software-defined networking technology
- →Faces ongoing competitive pressure from lower-cost networking vendors
- →Enterprise networking equipment demand can be cyclical with IT spending
- →Large size makes high percentage growth rates more difficult to sustain
- →No longer trades as an independent public company following the completed HPE acquisition
- →Historically smaller scale than Cisco limited competitive resources as a standalone company
- →Integration into HPE introduces execution risk for the combined networking business
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