Shares of Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) surged more than 15% in pre-market trading on Thursday after the company raised its artificial intelligence infrastructure outlook and delivered quarterly results that topped Wall Street expectations. The move reinforces a growing narrative that AI winners are expanding beyond the Magnificent Seven.

Cisco reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $15.84 billion, ahead of analyst estimates of $15.56 billion, while adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.06 versus expectations of $1.04. More importantly for investors, the company said AI infrastructure and hyperscaler orders have already reached $5.3 billion this fiscal year, prompting Cisco to lift its annual AI orders forecast to $9 billion from $5 billion.

The results mark a major turnaround for a company long viewed as a laggard in the AI race. Cisco shares are now up around 34% this year, outperforming the broader Nasdaq's roughly 14% gain and trading near record highs more than two decades after the dot-com crash.

For ETF investors, the rally highlights how AI spending is increasingly benefiting networking, cloud, and enterprise infrastructure providers rather than remaining concentrated in chipmakers like Nvidia Corp (NVDA) and megacap software names.

Equal-weight and diversified technology ETFs could particularly benefit if the AI trade broadens further across legacy tech companies.

ETFs In Focus

Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Technology ETF (RSPT) — Offers exposure to a wider group of technology companies beyond megacap leaders. The fund is up 19% over the past month.

First Trust Nasdaq-100 Select Equal Weight ETF (QQEW) — Reduces concentration risk tied to the largest AI stocks. The fund has gained 9% in the past 30 days.

Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ) — Tracks companies tied to AI deployment, infrastructure, and enterprise adoption. The fund is up almost 20% in the past month.

ROBO Global Artificial Intelligence ETF (THNQ) — Includes exposure across AI hardware, networking, and automation ecosystems. Growing demand for a variety of AI players has pushed the fund up by more than 22% in the past month.

First Trust Cloud Computing ETF (SKYY) — Could benefit from accelerating hyperscaler and enterprise cloud spending. The fund is up around 15% over the last 30 days, highlighting growing interest in companies that directly monetize surging AI demand through cloud infrastructure and compute services.

Cisco's rebound may also signal a broader shift in investor sentiment. Rather than rewarding only companies building AI models or chips, markets are increasingly favoring firms generating measurable revenue from the infrastructure needed to deploy AI at scale.