What to Look For in Cisco Earnings

By Chris Lange Published Aug 11, 11:25AM EDT

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Networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is set to release its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results after the markets close 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.

Note that 24/7 Wall St. has Cisco picked as one of the 10 stocks to own for the next decade.

The company is trading at a low 13.0 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.

Earlier in 2015, Cisco won a pivotal contract for the Verizon build-out of its 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.

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Apart from this, Cisco needs storage. Some would suppose that the company is also looking at cybersecurity software. A rumor came up last spring that FireEye was under consideration, but Cisco denied this. Still, Cisco now has a new CEO, and he has already been redirecting the company.

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:

Deutsche Bank reiterated a Buy rating with a $35 price target.
Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a Buy rating with a $36 price target.
Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating with a $30 price target.
Wells Fargo reiterated a Buy rating.
Oppenheimer reiterated a Buy rating with a $32 price target.

Shares of Cisco were down 1.5% at $28.16 Monday morning. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $31.17 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.