Cisco Systems Inc.: 10-K Risk Factor Changes

The fact that we do not own or operate the bulk of our manufacturing facilities and that we are reliant on our extended supply chain could have an adverse impact on the supply of our products and on our business and results of operations. Financial problems of either contract manufacturers or component suppliers, reservation of manufacturing capacity at our contract manufacturers by other companies, and industry consolidation occurring within one or more component supplier markets, such as the semiconductor market, in each case, could either limit supply or increase costs.

A reduction or interruption in supply, including disruptions on our global supply chain, caused in part by geopolitical tensions; public health emergencies; significant natural disasters (including as a result of climate change); tariffs or other trade barriers or disruptions; a significant increase in the price of components (including as a result of inflation); a failure to adequately authorize procurement of inventory by our contract manufacturers; a failure by suppliers to deliver on our contracts; IT-related failure or disruption; a failure to appropriately cancel, reschedule, or adjust our requirements based on our business needs; or a decrease in demand for our products could materially harm our business, results of operations, or financial condition and could materially damage customer relationships. Furthermore, as a result of binding price or purchase commitments with suppliers, we may be obligated to purchase components at prices that are higher than those available in the current market or in quantities that exceed our actual requirements if customer demand is lower than anticipated, delayed or shifts to different products or technologies. If we are committed to purchase components at prices in excess of the current market price when the components are actually used, or in quantities in excess of our needs, our gross margins could decrease and we could incur excess or obsolete inventory, losses on purchase commitments or other charges. In addition, vendors may prioritize other customers for business, regulatory, or political reasons or demand price adjustments as a condition of supply. Although we have generally secured additional supply or taken other mitigation actions when significant disruptions have occurred, if similar situations occur in the future, they could materially harm our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Our growth and ability to meet customer demands depend in part on our ability to obtain timely component deliveries from our suppliers and contract manufacturers. We have experienced past component shortages, including those caused by manufacturing process issues, that have affected our operations, including extended lead times. Additionally, we may in the future experience a shortage of certain component parts as a result of our own manufacturing issues, manufacturing issues or capacity problems at our suppliers or contract manufacturers, including cost problems resulting from industry consolidation or otherwise, or strong demand for those parts. Growth in the economy is likely to create greater pressures on us and our suppliers to accurately project component demand and optimize component levels and manufacturing capacity, especially for labor-intensive components, components for which we purchase a substantial portion of the supply, or the re-ramping of manufacturing capacity for highly complex products. During periods of shortages or delays, including delays resulting from us not accurately forecasting our needs, component prices may increase, or components may not be available at all. For these or other reasons, we may not be able to secure enough components at reasonable prices or of acceptable quality to build new products in a timely manner in the quantities or configurations needed. Accordingly, our revenue and gross margins could suffer until other sources can be developed.

Although in many cases we use standard parts and components for our products, certain components are presently available only from limited or single sources, and a global economic downturn and related market uncertainty could negatively impact the availability of components from one or more of these sources, especially during times when there are supplier constraints based on labor and other actions taken during economic downturns. We may not be able to diversify sources in a timely manner, which could harm our ability to deliver products to customers and seriously impact present and future sales.

We believe future supply chain challenges may include: rapid growth in new markets in which we participate, which may make it difficult to quickly obtain significant component capacity; dependency on unfamiliar supply chains or relatively small supply partners for the companies and new technologies we acquire; and competition for certain components that are supply-constrained from existing competitors and companies in other markets.

Manufacturing capacity and supply constraints, such as the memory shortages experienced in fiscal 2026, remain significant risks, and we expect to continue to be adversely impacted by the rising costs of currently constrained memory components. We purchase components from a variety of suppliers and use several contract manufacturers to provide manufacturing services for our products. During the normal course of business, in order to improve manufacturing lead-time performance and to help ensure adequate component supply, we enter into agreements with contract manufacturers and suppliers that either allow them to procure inventory based upon criteria as defined by us or that establish the parameters defining our requirements. In certain instances, these agreements allow us the option to cancel, reschedule, and adjust our requirements based on our business needs prior to firm orders being placed. In recent periods, we have increased our efforts in procuring components to meet customer expectations, as we have historically done due to supply constraints, which has contributed to an increase in inventory and purchase commitments. For example, in fiscal 2025 and 2026, we entered into additional purchase commitments with contract manufacturers and suppliers related to manufacturing Cisco Silicon One, memory components and other products to meet expected demand from hyperscalers and other customers. We expect to continue entering into these additional purchase commitments in fiscal 2027. We have also increased inventory deposits and prepayments with certain contract manufacturers and suppliers in connection with these arrangements. These past efforts and additional purchase commitments and prepayments significantly increased our supply chain exposure, which resulted in negative impacts to our product gross margin in recent periods and may result in further negative impacts in future periods. These supply chain exposures include potential material excess and obsolete inventory, losses on purchase commitments or other charges if product demand significantly decreases or is delayed for a sustained duration, we are unable to generate demand for certain products planned for development, customer requirements or technology architectures change or we are otherwise unable to mitigate these supply chain exposures. Product demand conditions for future periods can be difficult to predict, particularly in rapidly evolving sectors such as AI infrastructure. For additional information and a further discussion of impacts and risks related to our inventory commitments and our purchase commitments with contract manufacturers and suppliers, see “Results of Operations—Product Gross Margin—Supply Chain Impacts and Risks”, “Liquidity and Capital Resources—Inventory Supply Chain” and Note 13 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.