--- title: "Cisco puts the memory bill on the price list, and Arista's quarter decides if the stack can pay" description: "Cisco raised published list prices for the first time since the memory shortage began squeezing its margins. The pass-through that partners absorbed deal by deal all year now sits in the catalog, and Arista's November 3 print shows whether the whole networking stack can charge for it." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Chips" published: 2026-10-26T15:49:00.280Z modified: 2026-10-26T15:49:00.280Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/cisco-puts-the-memory-bill-on-the-price-list-and-arista-s-quarter-decides-if-the-stack-can-pay language: en keywords: "Cisco, Arista Networks, Memory Chips, Networking, Pricing" --- # Cisco puts the memory bill on the price list, and Arista's quarter decides if the stack can pay > Cisco raised published list prices for the first time since the memory shortage began squeezing its margins. The pass-through that partners absorbed deal by deal all year now sits in the catalog, and Arista's November 3 print shows whether the whole networking stack can charge for it. The notice went out Saturday, October 24, from Tim Coogan, [Cisco](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/cisco)'s senior vice president of global partner sales: [list prices rise on networking and security software, averaging mid-single-digit percentages, and on a small set of hardware products](https://www.crn.com/news/networking/2026/exclusive-cisco-to-raise-prices-on-software-select-hardware-in-portfolio-rebalancing) effective November 7 [1]. Splunk is excluded, and standard price protection applies with no exceptions [1]. The letter landed two days before Partner Summit opened in Vancouver, so every partner arrived holding the price change and next to nothing else new [1]. ## The margin math behind the word 'rebalancing' Coogan called the move "a rebalancing across the portfolio" [1]. The record tells a blunter story. Cisco spent 2026 defending compute margins against a global memory shortage: it canceled compute promotions and deal-registration incentives in February, then reinstated deal registration in April after partner feedback [1]. Until now those were private adjustments to deal terms. November 7 is the first time the pass-through reaches the published price list, which every customer and rival can read [1]. The pressure is real and dated. [Memory chip contract prices rose nearly 20% quarter over quarter in the third quarter of 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/memory-chip-prices-rise-nearly-110000379.html), Bernstein reports, with further increases projected for the fourth quarter and supply shortages extending into 2027 as AI demand outruns supply [3]. ## Who pays, and who says otherwise Partners pay first. Coogan's own memo flags deals in flight: quotes must be refreshed and put back in front of clients before pricing expires, on roughly two weeks' notice [1]. Enterprise buyers running fixed IT budgets absorb the rest. The counterpoint is fair: mid-single-digit software increases with hardware changes limited to a small number of unspecified products is restraint, and price protection leaves existing commitments whole [1]. ## Two dated tests of pricing power The sector's first independent read comes November 3, when [Arista Networks](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/arista-networks), Cisco's closest rival in data-center networking, [reports third-quarter results](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/vorboerse/arista-networks-stock-results-on-november-3-ahead-of-the-xetra-open/70411985), a date listed on the company's own site [2]. Arista traded pre-market at EUR 153.10 on October 26 [2]. Cisco's own fiscal first quarter lands in the same window, with [analysts noting guidance of 21% revenue growth](https://seekingalpha.com/article/4955327-cisco-dont-throw-in-the-towel-just-yet-earnings-preview) [4]. If Arista shows comparable pricing moves, memory inflation is passing through the whole networking stack. If not, Cisco is testing pricing power its closest rival has not claimed. Seven days tell. ## Takeaway Cisco's November 7 list-price increase turns a year of private memory-cost pass-through into published pricing, and Arista's November 3 results show whether the whole networking stack can charge for it. ## Sources 1. [CRN, Exclusive: Cisco To Raise Prices On Software, Select Hardware In Portfolio 'Rebalancing', 24 October 2026](https://www.crn.com/news/networking/2026/exclusive-cisco-to-raise-prices-on-software-select-hardware-in-portfolio-rebalancing) 2. [ad-hoc-news.de, Arista Networks stock: results on November 3 ahead of the Xetra open, 26 October 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/vorboerse/arista-networks-stock-results-on-november-3-ahead-of-the-xetra-open/70411985) 3. [Yahoo Finance, Memory Chip Prices Rise Nearly 20% in Third Quarter as Supply Shortages Persist, Bernstein Says, 10 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/memory-chip-prices-rise-nearly-110000379.html) 4. [Seeking Alpha, Cisco: Don't Throw In The Towel Just Yet (Earnings Preview), 19 October 2026](https://seekingalpha.com/article/4955327-cisco-dont-throw-in-the-towel-just-yet-earnings-preview) --- Cisco puts the memory bill on the price list, and Arista's quarter decides if the stack can pay — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/cisco-puts-the-memory-bill-on-the-price-list-and-arista-s-quarter-decides-if-the-stack-can-pay