Cisco Shares Fall After Company Predicts Another Drop In Sales

Shares of Cisco Systems Inc. fell more than 1% late Wednesday after the networking company reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings in line with expectations but predicted another drop in revenue in the next quarter. Cisco said it earned $2.4 billion, or 48 cents a share, in the fiscal fourth quarter, compared with $2.8 billion, or 56 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned $3.1 billion, or 61 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $3.2 billion a year ago. Revenue fell 4% to $12.1 billion in the quarter, from $12.6 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 61 cents a share on sales of $12.1 billion. Cisco said it expects fiscal first-quarter revenue to fall between 3% and 1% year-over-year, and GAAP per-share earnings of 48 cents to 53 cents and adjusted per-share earnings between 59 cents and 61 cents for the quarter. The analysts surveyed by FactSet expect adjusted earnings of 60 cents a share in the fiscal first quarter. Cisco shares ended the regular session up 0.8%.