Why Cisco Systems Stock Fell Hard on Thursday

Shares of network equipment giant Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) fell hard on Thursday morning. A solid earnings report was undermined by weak guidance for the next fiscal quarter, and Cisco's shares traded 11.3% lower at 10:45 a.m. EDT.

Cisco's fourth-quarter revenue fell 9% year over year to $12.2 billion. Adjusted earnings slid 4% lower, landing at $0.80 per diluted share. The analyst consensus had called for earnings near $0.74 per share on sales of roughly $12.1 billion, so Cisco cleared those bars with some room to spare.

The first-quarter guidance targets were less impressive. Sales are expected to fall by approximately 10% again, stopping in the neighborhood of $11.9 billion. Adjusted earnings were projected to be approximately $0.70 per share, down from $0.84 per share in the year-ago period. Here, your average analyst had been looking for earnings near $0.76 per share on roughly $12.2 billion in top-line sales.

Source Fool.com