Cisco CEO pay, 2021–2025
Cisco's CEO received total compensation of $52.8 million in the fiscal year ended Jul 26, 2025, as reported in the Summary Compensation Table of the company's 2025 proxy statement. Compensation actually paid, the SEC's pay-versus-performance measure, was $94.1 million for the same year. The other named executive officers averaged $22.7 million in Summary Compensation Table pay in the fiscal year ended Jul 26, 2025, so the CEO's total was 2.3 times that average (our arithmetic).
Cisco CEO compensation by fiscal year
| Fiscal year ended | CEO (as tagged) | Total compensation (SCT) | Compensation actually paid | Other executives, average (SCT) | CEO ÷ others | Proxy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 26, 2025 | name not shown | $52,838,751 | $94,076,610 | $22,675,991 | 2.3× | DEF 14A (Oct 2025) ↗ |
| Jul 27, 2024 | Mr. Robbins | $39,202,654 | $16,581,418 | $16,879,167 | 2.3× | DEF 14A (Oct 2024) ↗ |
| Jul 29, 2023 | Mr. Robbins | $31,843,708 | $74,562,431 | $13,576,781 | 2.3× | DEF 14A (Oct 2023) ↗ |
| Jul 30, 2022 | name not shown | $29,283,936 | $6,127,283 | $12,122,712 | 2.4× | DEF 14A (Oct 2023) ↗ |
| Jul 31, 2021 | name not shown | $25,446,695 | $32,079,813 | $10,298,861 | 2.5× | DEF 14A (Oct 2023) ↗ |
- SCT = Summary Compensation Table. "Other executives" is the average for the company's other named executive officers that year, as reported in the pay-versus-performance table.
- CEO ÷ others is our arithmetic: the CEO's Summary Compensation Table total divided by the other executives' average. Shown only when both figures exist.
- Names are as tagged in the proxy's XBRL data. Where a total is reported, a name is shown only if it appears next to that total in the proxy's own compensation table; where the proxy reports no total, or a total of $0, the name is shown as tagged, without that check. "Name not shown" means no name was tagged for that year, or our automated check could not find the tagged name next to that total in the proxy's compensation table — for example because the filer tagged another executive, or because a former CEO no longer appears in that proxy's Summary Compensation Table. We do not fill names in. "$0" means the proxy tagged zero; its printed table may show a dash.
Total compensation vs. compensation actually paid
Total compensation is the bottom line of the Summary Compensation Table: salary, bonus, stock and option awards valued on the day they were granted, non-equity incentive pay, changes in pension value and all other compensation. A stock award counts in full in the year it is granted, even if it vests over several years.
Compensation actually paid comes from the SEC's pay-versus-performance rule (adopted in 2022). It starts from the same total, removes the grant-date value of equity awards and replaces it with their value at year-end or at vesting, plus the change in value of awards granted in earlier years that had not yet vested, and it swaps the change in pension value for the pension cost of that year's service. Because it follows the share price, it can be far above the table total in a year the stock rose and negative in a year it fell. Despite the name, it is not the cash the CEO took home.
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FAQ
Q How much was Cisco's CEO paid in the latest fiscal year?
A Cisco's CEO received total compensation of $52.8 million in the fiscal year ended Jul 26, 2025, as reported in the Summary Compensation Table of the company's 2025 proxy statement. Compensation actually paid, the SEC's pay-versus-performance measure, was $94.1 million for the same year.
Q What is the difference between total compensation and compensation actually paid?
A Total compensation in the Summary Compensation Table counts stock and option awards at their value on the grant date. Compensation actually paid, required by the SEC's 2022 pay-versus-performance rule, instead values equity awards at year-end (or vesting) and adds or subtracts changes in the value of earlier unvested awards, so it moves with the share price and can be negative.
Q How does Cisco's CEO pay compare with its other top executives?
A The other named executive officers averaged $22.7 million in Summary Compensation Table pay in the fiscal year ended Jul 26, 2025, so the CEO's total was 2.3 times that average (our arithmetic).
Q Where do these Cisco CEO pay figures come from?
A From the pay-versus-performance table in Cisco's proxy statements (Form DEF 14A) on SEC EDGAR, as tagged in XBRL. Each year's figure comes from the first proxy whose pay-versus-performance table reported it (for the earliest years, the company's first such table), and each row links to that filing. Later proxies sometimes restate earlier years.
Source: Cisco's proxy statements (Form DEF 14A) on SEC EDGAR, pay-versus-performance table as tagged in XBRL (SEC executive compensation disclosure taxonomy), updated Oct 15, 2026. The SEC rule's term is principal executive officer; this page calls that person the CEO. The total for the CEO in that table is, by rule, the Summary Compensation Table total. For each fiscal year the first proxy that reported it is used; the earliest years come from the company's first pay-versus-performance table. Names are shown as the company tagged them. Figures are as tagged in the pay-versus-performance table, which a few companies round (for example to the nearest $0.1 million). Financial data, not investment advice.