CSCO vs MA vs CALX Stock Comparison

Cisco Systems, Mastercard and Calix Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc.
$111.38 +4.4% 1M +56.0% 1Y
Market cap
$439.51B
P/E
33.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.33B
Div. yield
1.50%
Networking Equipment Technology
4 wins
MA Mastercard Inc
$609.78 +7.4% 1M +6.5% 1Y
Market cap
$530.94B
P/E
33.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$35.08B
Div. yield
0.57%
Payment Networks Financial Services
6 wins
CALX Calix, Inc
$38.33 +15.6% 1M -37.2% 1Y
Market cap
$2.41B
P/E
47.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.11B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Mastercard leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Mastercard 6, Cisco Systems 4, Calix 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCSCOMACALXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $439.51B $530.94B $2.41B MA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.2x 33.1x 47.6x MA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.5x 29.1x 23.7x CSCO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.8% +16.0% +27.8% CALX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.0% 46.3% 4.6% MA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% 59.0% — MA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 0.6x — MA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.50% 0.57% — CSCO
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +56.0% +6.5% -37.2% CSCO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +14.7%/yr +12.9%/yr -8.8%/yr CSCO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.5% 22.7% 41.6% MA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 53/100 76/100 CALX

Percentile Scorecard

CSCOMACALX

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCSCOMACALX
Valuation 32 #76 of 112 14 #809 of 940 60 #45 of 112
Growth 41 #65 of 109 66 #226 of 655 82 #20 of 109
Profitability 87 #14 of 104 99 #8 of 633 64 #38 of 104
Financial Health 30 #82 of 116 49 #363 of 714 76 #29 of 116
Shareholder Returns 79 #18 of 81 36 #457 of 709 98 #3 of 81
Overall 54 53 76
  • CSCO ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • MA ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services
  • CALX ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCSCOMACALXSPY
1 month +4.4%+7.4%+15.6% -0.2%
3 months -3.6%+8.4%+3.3% +3.9%
6 months +28.2%+20.1%-8.8% +8.2%
Year to date +44.6%+6.8%-27.6% +12.9%
1 year +56.0%+6.5%-37.2% +12.3%
3 years +116.0%+67.5%+17.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year +29.3%+18.8%+5.4% +23.3%
5 years +98.0%+83.1%-36.9% +67.9%
5 years, per year +14.7%+12.9%-8.8% +10.9%
10 years +266.6%+488.6%+508.4% +261.1%
10 years, per year +13.9%+19.4%+19.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCSCOMACALXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.5%22.7%41.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.3%22.5%44.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.110.260.88 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.580.29-0.89 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.6%-28.6%-65.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -14.3%-3.6%-44.0% -1.2%
52-week high $130.00$632.81$68.42 $779.14
52-week low $71.04$471.55$33.15 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCSCOMACALX
P/E now vs peer median 33.2xmedian 33.2x 33.1xmedian 13.0x 47.6xmedian 33.2x
P/S now vs peer median 6.9xmedian 2.8x 15.1xmedian 3.2x 2.2xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 25.3xmedian 20.0x 22.6xmedian 7.4x 28.0xmedian 20.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 34.4xmedian 29.8x 31.8xmedian 10.8x 28.3xmedian 29.8x
P/B now vs peer median 8.7xmedian 3.0x 94.6xmedian 1.2x 3.4xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 12.32median 1.17 1.69median 0.87 6.72median 1.17

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCSCOMACALX
Revenue $63.33B $35.08B $1.11B
Gross profit $40.86B – $628.73M
Operating income $15.37B $20.47B $61.25M
Net income $13.27B $16.26B $51.19M
Free cash flow $12.77B $16.70B $85.42M
R&D $9.56B – $207.99M
EPS (diluted) $3.33 $18.41 $0.78
Cash & equivalents $7.22B $11.29B $68.91M
Total debt $29.53B $81.59B –
Shares (diluted) 3.99B 883.00M 65.51M
Enterprise value $375.43B $490.85B $1.25B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCSCOMACALX
P/E 33.2x 33.1x 47.6x
P/FCF 34.4x 31.8x 28.3x
P/Operating cash flow 31.0x 30.4x 22.0x
P/S 6.9x 15.1x 2.2x
P/B 8.7x 94.6x 3.4x
P/Tangible book 10.3x 3,662x 3.4x
EV/EBITDA 25.3x 22.6x 28.0x
EV/EBIT 29.5x 26.6x 36.2x
EV/Revenue 7.2x 15.5x 2.0x
EV/FCF 35.5x 32.6x 26.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 32.0x 31.2x 20.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 12.32 1.69 6.72

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCSCOMACALX
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.8% 16.0% 27.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.6% 14.1% 3.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.1% – 30.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.6% – 7.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 30.7% 21.3% 273.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.7% 16.1% 3.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 30.3% 19.7% 290.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.7% 16.7% 4.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 30.7% 23.2% 287.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 19.5% 7.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -0.1% 2.9% 24.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -10.7% 14.6% 41.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -3.9% 0.9% 19.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.5% 14.4% 62.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCSCOMACALX
Gross margin 64.5% – 56.6%
EBITDA margin 28.3% 68.6% 7.1%
Operating margin 24.3% 58.3% 5.5%
Pretax margin 25.3% 57.5% 6.5%
Net margin 21.0% 46.3% 4.6%
FCF margin 20.2% 47.6% 7.7%
Operating cash flow margin 22.4% 49.7% 9.9%
Return on equity 26.8% 263.6% 7.1%
Return on assets 10.4% 29.5% 5.4%
Return on invested capital 15.9% 59.0% –
Return on capital employed 17.9% 68.1% 8.2%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.6x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 1.1x 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue 6.0% 1.8% 7.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCSCOMACALX
Debt / assets 22.8% 42.7% –
Debt / equity 0.6x 4.4x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 0.6x –
Debt / FCF 2.3x 1.5x –
Liabilities / assets 61.2% 90.3% 25.6%
Equity / assets 38.8% 9.7% 74.4%
Interest coverage 10.5x 27.4x –
Current ratio 0.9x 1.1x 2.8x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.7x 1.6x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.5x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 4.19 10.15 7.28

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCSCOMACALX
Dividend yield 1.5% 0.6% –
Net buyback yield 1.3% 3.0% 7.9%
Shareholder yield 2.8% 3.5% 7.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCSCOMACALX
Forward P/E 23.5xFY2027 29.1xFY2026 23.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.74FY2027 $20.99FY2026 $1.62FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.5%FY2027 +23.4%FY2026 +20.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +20.7% +14.7% +48.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $74.93BFY2027 $38.99BFY2026 $1.11BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.3%FY2027 +18.9%FY2026 +11.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.6% +0.4% +18.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCSCOMACALX
Held by institutions 80.1% 87.5% 94.5%
Institutions holding 4,046 3,583 288
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.0% +0.6% +0.5%
Institutions buying 1,847 1,588 148
Institutions selling 1,817 1,527 111
Buyers to sellers 1.02 1.04 1.33

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CSCOMACALX
CSCO 1.00 -0.05 0.22
MA -0.05 1.00 0.02
CALX 0.22 0.02 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CSCO, MA and CALX?

Mastercard (MA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cisco Systems (CSCO) $439.51B, Mastercard (MA) $530.94B, Calix (CALX) $2.41B.

Which stock is cheaper, CSCO, MA and CALX?

Mastercard (MA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 33.2x, Mastercard (MA) 33.1x, Calix (CALX) 47.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cisco Systems (CSCO) is cheapest (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 23.5x, Mastercard (MA) 29.1x, Calix (CALX) 23.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Calix (CALX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cisco Systems (CSCO) +11.8%, Mastercard (MA) +16.0%, Calix (CALX) +27.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mastercard (MA) has the highest net margin (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.0%, Mastercard (MA) 46.3%, Calix (CALX) 4.6%). On return on invested capital, Mastercard (MA) leads (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 15.9%, Mastercard (MA) 59.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cisco Systems (CSCO) returned the most: Cisco Systems (CSCO) +56.0%, Mastercard (MA) +6.5%, Calix (CALX) -37.2%. Over five years, Cisco Systems (CSCO) compounded fastest (Cisco Systems (CSCO) +14.7%/yr, Mastercard (MA) +12.9%/yr, Calix (CALX) -8.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) has the highest dividend yield: Cisco Systems (CSCO) 1.50%, Mastercard (MA) 0.57%. Calix (CALX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mastercard (MA) has been the steadiest (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 35.5%, Mastercard (MA) 22.7%, Calix (CALX) 41.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CSCO, MA and CALX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Mastercard (MA) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.