Cisco's management score of 97 lines up with an 11.7% return on invested capital, a 64.9% gross margin, and debt to equity of just 0.6x, which together describe a business that uses capital efficiently and carries little leverage. The moat score of 37 sits well below that, suggesting the durability of its competitive position is judged weaker than its current profitability would imply.
At $120.43 the shares trade at 40.1 times earnings, far above the consensus buy price of $31.95 and the margin of safety price of $3.92. That valuation gap holds even though the model already used a growth rate of 2.8%, below the 3.0% Cisco has actually achieved historically, a deliberately conservative assumption. The 10-cap and payback time prices, both near $31 to $32, point the same direction.
The tension is between a balance sheet and capital efficiency score near the top of the range and a margin of safety score of 3, meaning the price is asking for confidence in Cisco's competitive staying power that the moat score, at 37, does not fully support.
| Price | $120.43 |
| Market cap | $474.7B |
| P/E ratio | 40.1x |
| Return on invested capital | 11.7% |
| Gross margin | 64.9% |
| Debt to equity | 0.60x |
| Free cash flow yield | 4.9% |
| Growth rate used | 2.8% |
| Growth rate measured | 3.0% |
| Exit multiple assumed | 8.0x |
Every number above is built on assumptions that can be changed. In Moatly you can move the growth rate, the exit multiple and the margin of safety and watch every figure recalculate, so you are testing your own view of Cisco rather than accepting ours.