Cisco Rallies on AI: C-Level Executives Sell Shares Immediately After Stock Surge

Gaurav I. Patel, President and Chief Product Officer of U.S. networking equipment maker Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), disclosed that on May 15 he sold several thousand shares of the company’s common stock in the open market under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sales generated approximately $1.19 million (about KRW 1.8 billion) in proceeds, and he continues to hold over 240,000 shares outright.

On the same day, Cisco’s Vice President of Global Sales and its General Counsel also disposed of several thousand shares under their respective 10b5-1 plans, realizing roughly $310,000 and $770,000 (approximately KRW 500 million and KRW 1.2 billion). All three executives still retain substantial Cisco equity positions and dividend-linked restricted stock units.

Two days earlier, on May 13, Cisco reported fiscal 2026 third-quarter revenue of $15.8 billion and earnings per share of $1.06, both ahead of analysts’ expectations. Buoyed by strong AI infrastructure demand, the company raised its full-year guidance. At the same time, Cisco announced a restructuring that will eliminate about 4,000 positions—roughly 5% of its global workforce—with the goal of reallocating savings into high-growth areas such as AI, security, silicon and optical networking. The announcement propelled Cisco’s share price to near all-time highs.

Cisco is a leading provider of routers, switches, security appliances and collaboration software that connect the world’s internet and enterprise networks. The company has recently accelerated its expansion into data-center AI networking as well as security and subscription-based software services.

All insider sales were executed under predetermined 10b5-1 plans, and the public filings emphasize that each executive maintains a significant equity stake and dividend-linked RSUs following their transactions.