New Delhi, May 14 -- Shares of Cisco, the largest maker of networking equipment, surged a whopping 20% in after-market trade on Thursday after the company announced laying off nearly 4,000 employees as part of a restructuring aimed at shifting funds towards artificial intelligence (AI) related growth areas. The company also delivered a better-than-expected revenue forecast.

Shares of the California-based firm rose 19.76% in extended trading to $122. The stock has risen 34% in 2026 so far, as demand for AI-related stocks remains high in the global markets.

Cisco projected that its fourth quarter revenue will be $16.7 billion to $16.9 billion, which beat Bloomberg analysts' estimates of $15.8 million, underscoring growing orders from hype...