Cisco Beats Quarterly Expectations As Product Sales Grow

Cisco Systems Inc. reported stronger-than-expected earnings and sales for the third quarter, its last quarterly earnings with long-time Chief Executive Officer John Chambers at the helm. The network equipment provider reported net income of $2.4 billion, or 47 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $2.2 billion, or 42 cents. Excluding one-time items, the company reported earnings per share of 54 cents, beating average analyst estimates in a FactSet poll by one penny. Revenue for the three-month period increased to $12.14 billion from $11.5 billion last year, ahead of the consensus estimate of $12.06 billion. Product sales, the company's largest business segment, increased to $9.33 billion from $8.8 billion in the year-earlier period. Shares of Cisco increased slightly following the results. The company did not provide an update to its full-year earnings outlook, but said it planned to discuss guidance on the company's conference call at 4:30 ET.