Tracing how Cisco Systems spent $50 billion in revenue over the past 12 months.

1. Cisco Systems' Billions
How the hardware giant spends its revenue

2. $50billionCisco Systems' revenue (ttm)

3. $50.0
billion
$49.6
billion
$49.6
billion
LebanonCisco SystemsSlovenia
If Cisco Systems were a country...

4. The S&P 500 Companies, Ranked by Revenue
53rd
$500
Billion
Cisco:

5. Not all of this falls to the bottom line.

6. 76%
Where does Cisco Systems' revenue go?
$50
Billion
Expenses ate up $37.9 billion.$37.9 billion

7. Where does Cisco Systems' revenue go?
76%
5%
$50
Billion
Taxes accounted for another $2.4 billion.$2.4 billion

8. Where does Cisco Systems' revenue go?
76%
5%
19%
$50
Billion
Leaving net income of $9.4 billion

9. Where does Cisco Systems' revenue go?
76%
5%
8%
19%
$50
Billion
From this, it paid dividends totaling $4.2 billion

10. Where does Cisco Systems' revenue go?
76%
5%
8%
5%
19%
$50
Billion
And bought back common stock worth $2.4 billion

11. Where does Cisco Systems' revenue go?
76%
5%
8%
5%
6%
19%
$50
Billion
And retained the rest…

12. Interesting
observations3

13. 0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
JNJ XOM INTC AAPL CSCO WMT IBM
Dividends Buybacks Retained Earnings
How 7 Companies Allocate Their Earnings (ttm)
First, Cisco allocates its earnings roughly evenly
(compared to other large cap stocks) between
dividends, buybacks, and retained earnings.

14. Second, Cisco enjoys wider profit margins
than the typical large cap stock.
23%
Cisco Systems' pretax
operating margin (ttm)
17%
Median pretax operating
margin of the 100 biggest
S&P 500 companies (ttm)

15. -50,000%
0%
50,000%
100,000%
150,000%
200,000%
250,000%
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
Cisco's
stock
S&P 500
Which, third,
helps explain…

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