Cisco Earnings Preview: Near-Term Picture Tough, Long-Term Better

Networking giant Cisco Systems will report earnings today after markets close in New York. Still wrestling with a market where demand is uncertain and profit margins are on the decline, and following a year of retrenchment and restructuring, analysts expect Cisco to report a 46 cents per-share profit on sales of $11.8 billion.

Credit Suisse analyst Paul Silverstein, in a Nov. 9 note to clients, says he expects near-term weakness in Cisco’s results today, but has a more positive view looking ahead.

“We expect relatively soft results and outlook based on the quarter’s operating results and outlook from other communications equipment suppliers, tech peers and our own industry checks,” Silverstein wrote. “In particular, we expect a relatively soft U.S. enterprise to be the primary issue. At this point, however, we think shares already discount this outlook.”

Cisco is managing the things it has under its own control relatively well, Silverstein says. It has, he writes, improved its position in enterprise switching and in selling routers to service providers, though demand is still weak. Trading at $16.82 this afternoon with about an hour to go before today’s close, the shares are down about 10 percent this year.