Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins speaking on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22, 2025.
Gerry Miller | CNBC
Cisco shares climbed about 6% in extended trading on Wednesday after the networking hardware maker reported fiscal second-quarter results and guidance that topped Wall Street’s expectations.
Here’s how the company did against LSEG consensus:
Earnings per share: 94 cents adjusted vs. 91 cents expectedRevenue: $13.99 billion vs. $13.87 billion expected
Revenue increased 9% in the quarter, which ended on Jan. 25, from $12.79 billion a year earlier, according to a statement. The growth follows four quarters of revenue declines. The company said it had orders for artificial intelligence infrastructure that exceeded $350 million in the quarter.
Cisco now sees adjusted earnings of $3.68 to $3.74 for the 2025 fiscal year, with $56 billion to $56.5 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG had been looking for $3.66 in adjusted earnings per share and $55.99 billion in revenue. In November, the forecast was $3.60 to $3.66 in earnings per share and $55.3 billion to $56.3 billion in revenue.
Net income in the latest period slid almost 8% to $2.43 billion, or 61 cents per share, from $2.63 billion, or 65 cents per share, a year ago.
Revenue from the networking division totaled $6.85 billion, down 3% but more than the $6.67 billion consensus among analysts surveyed by StreetAccount.
The security unit contributed $2.11 billion. That is a 117% increase from a year earlier, thanks to the addition of Splunk. Analysts expected $2.01 billion, according to StreetAccount.
Splunk, which Cisco bought in March 2024 for $27 billion, was accretive to adjusted earnings per share sooner than planned, Scott Herren, Cisco’s finance chief, was quoted as saying in the statement. Cisco’s total revenue would have been down 1% year over year if not for Splunk’s contribution, according to the statement.
Many technology companies have been trying to predict the effects from President Donald Trump’s newly established Department of Government Efficiency. But three-quarters of Cisco’s U.S. federal business comes from the Defense Department, while most of the headcount cutting thus far has occurred in other agencies, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said on a conference call with analysts.
“Everything seems to be progressing as we expected,” he said.
Customers do not appear to be pulling up orders before tariffs go into effect, Herren said on the conference call.
As of Thursday’s close, Cisco shares were up 5% so far in 2025, while the S&P 500 index had gained about 3%.
WATCH: Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins on impact of tariffs, AI innovation and future of DEI
