CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. PP&E Disclosure
| Asset Category | Period | |||||||
| Buildings | 25 years | |||||||
| Building improvements | Up to 15 years | |||||||
| Leasehold improvements | Shorter of remaining lease term or up to 15 years | |||||||
| Production, engineering, computer and other equipment and related software | Up to 5 years | |||||||
| Operating lease assets | Based on lease term | |||||||
| Furniture and fixtures | 5 years | |||||||
| July 26, 2025 | July 27, 2024 | |||||||||||||
| Gross property and equipment: | ||||||||||||||
| Land, buildings, and building and leasehold improvements | $ | 4,045 | $ | 4,247 | ||||||||||
| Production, engineering, computer and other equipment and related software | 5,178 | 5,160 | ||||||||||||
| Operating lease assets | 51 | 115 | ||||||||||||
| Furniture, fixtures and other | 316 | 351 | ||||||||||||
| Total gross property and equipment | 9,590 | 9,873 | ||||||||||||
| Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization | (7,477) | (7,783) | ||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 2,113 | $ | 2,090 | ||||||||||
About PP&E Disclosures
The PP&E disclosure details a company's physical asset base — land, buildings, machinery, and equipment — along with the depreciation methods and useful life assumptions that determine how these costs flow through the income statement. Capitalization policy thresholds reveal management's judgment on the boundary between expense and asset, directly affecting both reported earnings and asset values.
Key signals: changes in estimated useful lives or depreciation methods can materially shift reported earnings without any operational change. Compare capital expenditures against depreciation expense — when capex consistently trails depreciation, the asset base may be aging and underinvested. Watch for large asset impairments or write-downs that signal overvalued carrying amounts. Asset retirement obligations reveal future environmental or decommissioning costs that are often underappreciated. Compare PP&E intensity (PP&E-to-revenue) against industry peers to assess capital efficiency and competitive positioning.