Cisco has launched a top-of-rack switch with 100G ports, responding to server consolidation that is pushing more traffic out of each rack. The N9348C8D-H2 is a 1U device with 48 100G SFP-DD ports and eight 400G QSFP-DD uplinks. Cisco announced it last week and discussed it at Cisco Live in Melbourne, Australia. Sixth-generation Intel and AMD processors pack dozens or even hundreds of cores, so modern servers often carry two fast network cards. Consolidation ratios of 6:1 are not uncommon when users move from third- or fourth-generation chips. Power bills fall, but data leaving the rack rises. Kevin Wollenweber, Cisco's senior vice president for datacenter and internet infrastructure, said the company had "tons" of 25G switches but a gap for such non-AI uses. He expects AI agents to soon fill the extra capacity.

Cisco became the world's most valuable company on March 27, 2000, when its stock closed at $80.06 and its market value hit $555.5 billion. Buyers at that price waited more than 25 years for a higher close, which came on December 10, 2025. The shares fell 87.11% by October 2002, even as the business kept growing. Revenue has nearly quintupled since 1999, and earnings per share have grown eightfold. Buybacks mean its market value is still about $250 billion below the 2000 peak. Nvidia, now the AI "picks and shovels" leader, trades at roughly 37 times earnings, against Cisco's peak multiple above 200. Its shares have still fallen 21.14% in a month. The lesson: the price paid for growth matters as much as the growth.

A Simply Wall St screen has flagged three large companies as trading below their cash flow value: Cisco Systems, Lockheed Martin, and Oracle. It comes as UK interest rates reach 4% after the Bank of England's first hike in more than three years, which pressures highly valued growth stocks. Cisco, with a market cap of $407.9 billion, earns about $63.3 billion from networking. Its shift to software subscriptions and support services creates steadier, contract-based inflows. Lockheed Martin, valued at $137.5 billion, draws long-term cash from multi-year defence contracts. Oracle, at $385.8 billion, turns long cloud contracts into recurring cash. The screen surfaced 459 more companies.