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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

Cisco Systems vs Keysight Technologies: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Cisco Systems holds the cleaner structural position, with profitability as the main driver and growth adding further support. Keysight Technologies still has the edge on growth, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. The market setup is broadly comparable for both — no clear directional signal from price behavior. The market is not adding a decisive signal either way — the structural read carries the weight.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the S&P 500 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

The clearest score difference appears in profitability, while growth still leans the other way. The overall score gap is 10 points in favour of Cisco Systems, Inc..

Trajectory Similarity
0.73
Similar
Peer-set rank: #1
within Cisco Systems, Inc.'s functional peer set

This comparison is anchored in long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

The pair sits on a clearly comparable long-term path, though it is not a near-twin match.

The strongest overlap appears in capital structure and revenue growth trajectory.

Similarity drivers
capital structurerevenue growth trajectory
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
CSCO
Cisco Systems, Inc.
64
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
KEYS
Keysight Technologies, Inc.
54
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: CSCO vs KEYS Profitability 81 52 Stability 69 63 Valuation 45 32 Growth 61 82 CSCO KEYS
Gap Ranking
#1 Profitability +29
#2 Growth +21
#3 Valuation +13
#4 Stability +6
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for CSCO and KEYS Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer CSCOKEYS Relative valuation Structural strength

Cisco Systems, Inc. and Keysight Technologies, Inc. look relatively close on structure, but the price setup still leans toward Cisco Systems, Inc..

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where CSCO and KEYS each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY CSCO Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 0 pct gap KEYS Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 99th 99th
CSCO (99th percentile) and KEYS (99th percentile) both sit in the upper portion of their own 5-year ranges. The historical entry context is broadly similar for both. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Profitability
Both profiles are strong on profitability, but Cisco Systems, Inc. leads clearly.
Growth
On growth, the edge is clear — both rank well, but Keysight Technologies, Inc. sits noticeably higher.
Profitability — Dominant Gap
CSCO
81
KEYS
52
Gap+29in favour of CSCO

The profitability lead is mainly driven by a 8.7-point operating margin advantage.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Earnings growth also leans toward KEYS, which keeps the score lead from reading as a full growth sweep.

What this means for the comparison

Profitability is the clearest driver of the lead, with growth adding further support — though growth still provides a real counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the CSCO vs KEYS comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

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Other comparisons with conflicting dimension signals

Explore how CSCO and KEYS each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.