What to Expect From Cisco Earnings

By Chris Lange Published Aug 9, 9:05AM EDT

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Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is scheduled to report its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters call for $0.56 in earnings per share (EPS) on $12.65 billion in revenue. In the same period of the previous year, the networking giant posted EPS of $0.55 and $12.36 billion in revenue.

First and foremost, 24/7 Wall St. has Cisco picked as one of the 10 Stocks to Own for the Next Decade.

This company needs storage, and for years the chatter all over Wall Street is which company would the networking giant consider taking a shot at. Some also think the company is also looking at cybersecurity software as well, and FireEye was said to be under consideration back in the spring, a rumor that Cisco denied. Still, Cisco is now under a new CEO and he has already been redirecting the company.

This is the top mega-cap technology stock pick on Wall Street, and perhaps a surprising defensive pick. Cisco Systems is trading at a low 12.9 estimated 2015 earnings. The networking giant also seems to have fought through numerous headwinds, including up and down demand from telecom carriers, weakness in emerging markets and threats to its very lucrative switching business.

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Cisco earlier this year won an important contract for the Verizon build-out of the company’s next-generation 100G metro network. While Cisco’s optical business is small as a part of total revenue, this win is seen by Wall Street as a significant endorsement of the investments Cisco has made into its optics business.

Analysts across Wall Street point to an estimated double-digit bookings momentum for Cisco’s Meraki Cloud Services. Many think that Meraki is likely to be a $1 billion plus run-rate business this year, with an incredible 50% to 70% compounded annual growth rate. A jump from 40 GE to 100 GE data center switching and next generation security also are adding to the total sales profile and product mix.

A few analysts weighed in on Cisco ahead of earnings:

Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating with a $30 price target.
Wells Fargo reiterated a Buy rating.
Needham initiated coverage with a Buy rating.
Macquarie initiated coverage with an Underperform rating and a $26 price target.
Oppenheimer reiterated a Buy rating with a $32 price target.

Shares of Cisco were down 0.2% at $28.15 on Friday’s close. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $31.15 and a 52-week trading range of $22.49 to $30.31.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.