Cisco reports fourth straight quarter of declining revenue

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 the market 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.”

For now, enterprises are updating data center infrastructure to prepare for AI and the widespread deployment of AI applications, Robbins said.

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.

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