Cisco (CSCO) Shares Down On Slight January Quarterly Beat

On Wednesday after the close, Cisco (CSCO) reported January quarter revenue of $12.01 billion (down 4% annually) and non-GAAP EPS of $0.77, topping consensus analyst estimates of $11.97 billion and $0.76.

The company also guided for revenue to be down -1.5% to -3.5% annually during its April quarter, and for EPS to be in a range of $0.79 to $0.81. That’s in line with a consensus for revenue to drop -2.6% to $12.62 billion, and for EPS to come in at $0.80.

Cisco also hiked its quarterly dividend by a penny to $0.36 per share. The forward yield now stands at 3%.

Cisco shares are down -4.6% in after-hours trading to $47.62, leaving it 18% below a 52-week high of $58.26.

Some key points from the earnings call:

1. Cisco disclosed that its closely-watched product orders fell 6% annually last quarter, after dropping 4% in the October quarter.

2. Cisco’s Applications segment, which covers many of its software businesses, saw product revenue drop -8% annually to $1.35 billion, missing a $1.43 billion consensus. Applications revenue had been up +6% in the October quarter.

3. Cisco’s Infrastructure Platforms segment, which covers its core hardware franchises and related software sales, saw revenue drop 8% to $6.53 billion, following a 1% drop in the October quarter.

4. Cisco’s total product revenue fell -6% to $8.67 billion, however its services revenue, which covers both standalone services and maintenance/support services for products, rose +5% to to $3.33 billion. Security product revenue rose +9% to $748 million, topping consensus by $6 million.

5. Following $768 million worth of buybacks in the October quarter, Cisco spent $870 million in the January quarter to repurchase about 18 million shares at an average price of $46.71. The company has $11.8 billion left on its buyback authorization, which of course can be expanded whenever it wishes.

6. Cisco is seeing DRAM prices, which fell sharply in 2019 and boosted Cisco’s margins in the process, start to edge higher again.

Cisco (CSCO) shares are up +5.1% over the past 12 months. The broader S&P 500 index SPX, is up +22.8% over those same 12 months.

Cisco (CSCO)

At Wednesday’s close, Cisco (CSCO) was up +4.11% year-to-date. As noted above Cisco is currently down -4.6% in after hours, essentially wiping out the year-to-date gain.

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