Economics
Cisco Jumps After Forecast Signals Success in Business Shift
- Security, conferencing help make up for tepid hardware demand
- Acquisitions begin to pay off; shares jump after upbeat report
Why Cisco Is Shifting Its Focus to Software Sales
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Cisco Systems Inc. jumped the most in three months after quarterly sales and profit forecasts exceeded analysts’ estimates, an early sign that it’s staying ahead of shifts in the networking industry that threaten its lucrative hardware business.
Growth is being driven by newer units such as security and conferencing, divisions that Cisco has built up in recent years through acquisitions. The company late Wednesday projected sales growth of as much as 3 percent in the current period, while analysts had predicted revenue would decline. Fiscal third-quarter results also topped estimates.