They are financed through equity, (Paid in capital and retained earnings) and their debt, (short and long term bank loans and Bonds. By making money they are also reinvesting their earnings to continue funding their business. You can get more information on stockholder's equity and their debt in the notes to the financial statements.
A summary of the Cisco balance sheet, or reference to URL where it may be found, would have been useful.
There was a time when companies grew mainly organically. In the modern world, growth is principally through acquisition and investing in other companies. Google, Cisco, Microsoft etc all do it. They also do this in order to integrate complementary lines of business and products into their existing ones rather than seek to reinvent the wheel. This is the reason why "Investments" would tend to be the largest asset category in the balance sheet of Cisco and others.
With regard to financing, please obtain and read the 'Statement of Cash Flows'. It is a comprehensive report on how funds were sourced and utilized during a reporting period. It is normally divided into funds provided by a) business operations, b) investing activities, and c) financing activities.
Why is Cisco's largest asset is investment, and how is Cisco financed?
I thought the large assets in investment was because Cisco makes a lot of acquisitions and to make acquisitions they have to invest large amounts into a company, so they make a lot of money off their investments. Is that the reason?
As for the financing, I saw that Cisco had short-term and long-term debt. Aside from loans, how are they financed? Where can I find that information?
