Cisco reports fourth straight quarter of declining revenue

Cisco reports fourth straight quarter of declining revenue


Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins speaks at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival in New York on May 21, 2024.

Dia Dipasupil | Getty Images

Cisco reported a fourth straight quarter of declining revenue even as results topped analysts’ estimates.

Here’s how the company did in comparison with LSEG consensus:

  • Earnings per share: 91 cents adjusted vs. 87 cents expected
  • Revenue: $13.84 billion vs. $13.77 billion expected

Cisco’s revenue dropped 6% in the quarter ended Oct. 26, from $14.7 billion a year earlier, according to a statement. Net income fell to $2.71 billion, or 68 cents per share, from $3.64 billion, or 89 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Networking revenue plunged 23% to $6.75 billion, slightly below the $6.8 billion consensus of analysts surveyed by StreetAccount.

Security revenue doubled to $2.02 billion, topping the StreetAccount consensus of $1.93 billion. Cisco’s revenue from collaboration was $1.09 billion, a bit below the $1.04 billion consensus estimate.

Chuck Robbins, Cisco’s CEO, said on a Wednesday conference call that orders from large-scale clients for artificial intelligence infrastructure exceeded $300 million in the quarter. Server makers such as Dell and HPE have also focused on sales of hardware that can help clients implement generative AI.

“We have earned more design wins and remain confident that we will exceed our target of $1 billion of AI orders this fiscal year from web-scale customers,” Robbins said.

Cisco has announced hardware containing Nvidia graphics processing units, which are widely used for training AI models, Robbins said.

“Over time, you’ll see us support other GPUs as uh the market uh demands,” he said. “But that partnership is still going fine. It’s still early. And I think 2025 is when we’ll start to see enterprise real deployment of some of these technologies.”

U.S. government agencies have delayed deals with Cisco, rather than scrapping them altogether, Robbins said. The dynamic stems from the passing of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which has limited U.S. government spending, said Scott Herren, Cisco’s finance chief.

“It looks like the Republicans will carry both houses of Congress and the White House, and so I would expect to get a budget in place relatively soon,” Herren said.

During the quarter, Cisco acquired security startups DeepFactor and Robust Intelligence.

Cisco lifted its full-year guidance to $3.60 to $3.66 in adjusted earnings per share on $55.3 billion to $56.3 billion in revenue, up from a prior forecast of $3.52 to $3.58 in EPS and $55 billion to $56.2 billion in revenue. Guidance would indicate projected revenue growth of 3.3% at the middle of the range.

Analysts expected adjusted earnings for the year of $3.58 per share on $55.89 billion in revenue.

As of Wednesday’s close, Cisco’s stock was up 17% year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up around 26% over that stretch.

WATCH: The Earnings Setup: Cisco Systems, Applied Materials and Disney

The Earnings Setup: Cisco Systems, Applied Materials and Disney



Source

Pinterest shares rise 15% on better-than-expected guidance
Technology

Pinterest shares rise 15% on better-than-expected guidance

Bill Ready, CEO of Pinterest, rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on May 15, 2024. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Pinterest shares rose 15% in extended trading Thursday after the company reported first-quarter earnings and provided better-than-expected guidance. Here’s how the company did, compared to analysts’ consensus estimates from LSEG: Revenue: $855 […]

Read More
Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky sentenced to 12 years in multi-billion-dollar crypto fraud case
Technology

Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky sentenced to 12 years in multi-billion-dollar crypto fraud case

Alex Mashinsky, former chief executive officer of Celsius Network Ltd., arrives at court in New York, US, on Thursday, May 8, 2025. Yuki Iwamura | Bloomberg | Getty Images Alexander Mashinsky, the former CEO of Celsius Network, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to two counts of fraud, a […]

Read More
Affirm drops 10% on weaker-than-expected guidance for current quarter
Technology

Affirm drops 10% on weaker-than-expected guidance for current quarter

PayPal Inc. co-founder and Affirm’s CEO Max Levchin on center stage during day one of Collision 2019 at Enercare Center in Toronto, Canada. Vaughn Ridley | Sportsfile | Getty Images Affirm, the provider of buy now, pay later loans, gave a revenue forecast for the current quarter that trailed analysts’ estimates even as profit for […]

Read More