SAN JOSE, Calif., May 13, 2004 - Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced that at a regularly scheduled meeting of its board of directors, the board authorized up to $5 billion in additional repurchases of its common stock. Cisco's board had previously authorized up to $20 billion in stock repurchases. There is no fixed termination date for the repurchase program.

"We evaluate our cash requirements on a regular basis and believe continuing our strategy of combining stock repurchases, acquisitions and targeted investments, while maintaining a strong cash balance, optimizes the value to our shareholders," said Dennis Powell, CFO, Cisco.

Between September 2001 and September 2003, the board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to $20 billion of Cisco's outstanding common stock. During the first nine months of fiscal 2004, Cisco repurchased and retired 318 million shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $7 billion. As of May 1, 2004, Cisco had repurchased and retired 866 million shares of common stock at an average price of $17.22 per share for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $15 billion since inception of the stock repurchase program. The remaining authorized amount for stock repurchases under this program including the additional authorization is approximately $10 billion.

Under the Cisco stock repurchase program, purchases may be made in the open market, through block trades or otherwise. Depending on market conditions and other factors, purchases may be commenced or suspended at any time or from time-to-time without prior notice.