Short answer
Cisco had approximately 82,400 employees on July 25, 2026, the end of its fiscal 2026, according to its Form 10-K filed September 2, 2026. That is 3,800 fewer than a year earlier and 8,000 below the 90,400 peak of July 2024. About 46% work in the US. Sales and marketing (30.8%), cost of sales (29.3%) and research and development (29.2%) each account for about 30% of the workforce, and general and administrative for 10.8%.
- Latest figure: about 82,400 employees at July 25, 2026, from the fiscal 2026 10-K.
- Headcount is down 8,000 (8.8%) from the July 2024 peak of 90,400, reached after the Splunk acquisition.
- Cisco has announced three restructuring plans since February 2024: about 5% of the workforce, about 7%, and up to $1 billion of charges in May 2026.
- Sales and marketing has stayed between about 25,000 and 28,000 people in every 10-K since 2019.
- Revenue per employee was about $768,500 in fiscal 2026 (our calculation from the 10-K).
On this page
This page is for sellers sizing Cisco as an account, analysts comparing tech employers and anyone who needs a headcount they can cite. Every figure comes from Cisco's annual report on Form 10-K, which gives the number of employees at the end of each fiscal year. Cisco's fiscal year is the 52 or 53 weeks ending on the last Saturday in July, so fiscal 2026 ended on July 25, 2026.
Cisco employees by year
| Fiscal year end | Employees | In the US | Change on prior year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 25, 2026 | 82,400 | about 38,200 (46.3%) | -3,800 (-4.4%) | FY2026 10-K, filed September 2, 2026 |
| July 26, 2025 | 86,200 | about 40,800 (47.3%) | -4,200 (-4.6%) | FY2025 10-K, filed September 3, 2025 |
| July 27, 2024 | 90,400 | about 43,500 (48.1%) | +5,500 (+6.5%) | FY2024 10-K, filed September 5, 2024 |
| July 29, 2023 | 84,900 | about 40,400 (47.6%) | +1,600 (+1.9%) | FY2023 10-K, filed September 7, 2023 |
| July 30, 2022 | 83,300 | about 39,900 (47.9%) | +3,800 (+4.8%) | FY2022 10-K, filed September 8, 2022 |
| July 31, 2021 | 79,500 | about 38,100 (47.9%) | +2,000 (+2.6%) | FY2021 10-K, filed September 9, 2021 |
| July 25, 2020 | 77,500 | 38,900 | +1,600 (+2.1%) | FY2020 10-K, filed September 3, 2020 |
| July 27, 2019 | 75,900 | 39,000 | FY2019 10-K, filed September 5, 2019 |
Cisco gives each total as "approximately", to the nearest hundred. The 2019 and 2020 filings state the US count directly. Since 2021 the 10-K shows the split only as a percentage in a chart, so the US counts for those years are our arithmetic (total times the US share). The changes are also ours.
Cisco doesn't report headcount in its quarterly 10-Qs or earnings releases. The July 2026 figure stays the latest until the fiscal 2027 10-K, due around September 2027.
Where Cisco employees work
The 10-K splits employees by the line of the income statement their cost falls in, which is close to a split by function.
| Function | July 25, 2020 | July 25, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of sales (manufacturing support, services and training) | 22,100 | about 24,100 (29.3%) |
| Research and development | 22,200 | about 24,100 (29.2%) |
| Sales and marketing | 25,800 | 25,400 (30.8%) |
| General and administrative | 7,400 | about 8,900 (10.8%) |
| Total | 77,500 | 82,400 |
The 2020 counts are as reported. For 2026 the 10-K gives percentages, so the counts are our arithmetic, except sales and marketing, which the filing states: "our worldwide sales and marketing functions consisted of approximately 25,400 employees, including managers, sales representatives, and technical support personnel."
That sales figure barely moves. It was 26,200 in 2019, 25,800 in 2020, 25,000 in 2021, 26,000 in 2022 and 2023, 28,000 in 2024 (the Splunk year), 25,600 in 2025 and 25,400 in 2026. Growth since 2020 has come in engineering, services and administration, not in the sales force.
What the number includes
- Employees, worldwide, at year-end. The fiscal 2026 10-K says: "As of July 25, 2026, we had approximately 82,400 employees." The 2021 and 2022 filings said "full-time employees"; since 2023 the word "full-time" has gone, and the filing doesn't say whether part-time or temporary staff are now counted.
- Contractors aren't addressed. The 10-K gives no contractor figure, so don't add or subtract one.
- Acquired companies count once they close. The fiscal 2025 10-K refers to "employees who joined Cisco during fiscal 2024 through the Splunk acquisition," so Splunk's staff are in the total from July 2024.
- Partners' staff are not. Cisco sells "both directly and indirectly through a variety of channels"; people at resellers and distributors work for those companies.
What changed and why
2019 to 2023: slow growth
Headcount rose from 75,900 to 84,900 in four years, about 2% to 5% a year. In fiscal 2022 Cisco began an orderly wind-down of its business in Russia and Belarus and recorded $91 million of charges, including severance and personnel costs, but the total still grew.
2024: Splunk and the first plan
- Restructuring. In the third quarter of fiscal 2024 (February 2024) Cisco began a plan under which "approximately 5% of our global workforce would be impacted," at a cost of $654 million. Applied to the 84,900 employees of July 2023, 5% would be about 4,200 people (our arithmetic; Cisco gave only the percentage).
- Splunk. On March 18, 2024 Cisco completed its acquisition of Splunk for about $27 billion. The 10-K doesn't say how many employees came with it, but the total rose by 5,500 to 90,400 despite the cuts.
2025 and 2026: two more plans
- Fiscal 2025 Plan. Announced in August 2024, it was "expected to impact approximately 7% of our global workforce." Cumulative charges were $926 million and the plan was substantially completed in fiscal 2026. Headcount fell 4,200 to 86,200.
- Fiscal 2026 Plan. Announced on May 13, 2026, "to invest in key growth opportunities including silicon, optics, security and AI," with pre-tax charges of up to $1 billion, mostly severance. Cisco recorded $511 million in fiscal 2026 and expects to finish by the end of fiscal 2027, so about half the estimated cost was still to come at the last count. No workforce percentage was given. Headcount fell 3,800 to 82,400.
Revenue per employee
Fiscal 2026 total revenue was $63,325 million. Divided by about 82,400 employees, that's about $768,500 per employee (our calculation).
| Fiscal year | Total revenue | Employees | Revenue per employee (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $63.33 billion | 82,400 | about $768,500 |
| 2025 | $56.65 billion | 86,200 | about $657,200 |
| 2024 | $53.80 billion | 90,400 | about $595,200 |
Revenue rose 12% in fiscal 2026 while headcount fell 4.4%, which is why the figure jumped. Product revenue was $48.30 billion and services $15.03 billion. By region, the Americas brought in $37.80 billion (60%), EMEA $16.61 billion (26%) and APJC $8.91 billion (14%). Headcount is split only US and rest of world, so region-level productivity can't be worked out from the filing. For comparison, see IBM's headcount, a services-heavy company with a very different ratio.
Selling to a company of Cisco's size
General guidance, not a description of Cisco's internal processes.
- Map the product groups. The 10-K groups Cisco's business into Networking, Security, Collaboration and Observability, sold to enterprise, public sector and service provider and cloud customers. Budgets and owners tend to follow those lines.
- Follow the reinvestment. The May 2026 plan names silicon, optics, security and AI as where savings go. Teams in those areas are more likely to be hiring and buying than teams being consolidated.
- Know the sales machine. About 25,400 people work in sales and marketing, much of it selling through partners. Sales tools, enablement, partner programs and data are bought at that scale, with procurement and security reviews to match.
- Plan for the calendar. Cisco's fiscal year ends in late July, and it has announced restructuring in February 2024, August 2024 and May 2026. Expect slower decisions around those points.
Finding the right owner inside an 82,400-person company is the slow part. Bebop researches each account and suggests who to talk to and the angle to open with; check what it finds against the filings. Our guide to finding decision makers covers the rest.
How to check Cisco's headcount yourself
- Open Cisco's 10-K filings on SEC EDGAR and pick the latest one.
- In Item 1, Business, find Human Capital and the sentence starting "As of July". The geography and function splits sit in the two charts below it, which are images, so a text search won't find the percentages.
- For sales headcount, search the same document for "sales and marketing functions".
Next step: if your buyers are IT and networking teams, see selling IT services for how they evaluate vendors.
Sources
- Cisco Systems, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 25, 2026, Cisco Systems, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 2 September 2026
- Cisco Systems, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 26, 2025, Cisco Systems, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 3 September 2025
- Cisco Systems, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 27, 2024, Cisco Systems, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 5 September 2024
- Cisco Systems, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 29, 2023, Cisco Systems, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 7 September 2023
- Cisco Systems, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 30, 2022, Cisco Systems, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 8 September 2022
- Cisco Systems, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2021, Cisco Systems, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 9 September 2021
- Cisco Systems, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 25, 2020, Cisco Systems, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 3 September 2020
- Cisco Systems, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 27, 2019, Cisco Systems, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 5 September 2019
- Cisco Systems, Inc. Form 8-K, Item 2.05 (February 14, 2024 restructuring plan), Cisco Systems, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 14 February 2024
- Cisco Systems, Inc. Form 8-K, Item 2.05 (August 14, 2024 restructuring plan), Cisco Systems, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 14 August 2024
- Cisco Systems, Inc. Form 8-K, Item 2.05 (May 13, 2026 restructuring plan), Cisco Systems, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 13 May 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many employees does Cisco have in the US?
About 38,200 at July 25, 2026, by our calculation: Cisco's fiscal 2026 10-K says 46.3% of its approximately 82,400 employees are in the United States and 53.7% in the rest of the world. The US share has slipped from 51.4% in 2019, when the 10-K reported 39,000 US employees out of 75,900, as more of the workforce has been based outside the US.
How many people has Cisco laid off?
Cisco gives percentages, not head counts. Its fiscal 2024 plan affected approximately 5% of its global workforce and its fiscal 2025 plan approximately 7%. A third plan, announced May 13, 2026, carries up to $1 billion of charges, mostly severance, with no workforce percentage. Total headcount fell from 90,400 in July 2024 to 82,400 in July 2026, a net drop of 8,000 after hiring and acquisitions.
How many salespeople does Cisco have?
About 25,400 in its worldwide sales and marketing functions at the end of fiscal 2026, including managers, sales representatives and technical support personnel, according to the 10-K. That is 30.8% of all employees. The figure has stayed between about 25,000 and 28,000 in every 10-K since 2019, peaking at 28,000 in fiscal 2024, the year Splunk joined.
Did the Splunk acquisition increase Cisco's headcount?
Yes. Cisco completed the Splunk acquisition on March 18, 2024, and its headcount rose from 84,900 in July 2023 to 90,400 in July 2024, even though a restructuring affecting about 5% of the workforce ran in the same year. The 10-K doesn't say how many employees joined from Splunk. Headcount has fallen in both years since.
What is Cisco's revenue per employee?
About $768,500 in fiscal 2026, by our calculation: $63,325 million of total revenue divided by about 82,400 employees at July 25, 2026, both from the 10-K. The same calculation gives about $657,200 for fiscal 2025 and $595,200 for fiscal 2024. Revenue grew while headcount fell, so the ratio rose quickly.