Cisco Falls on Lackluster Sales Forecast Amid Trade Concerns
- CEO Robbins says business in China dropped ‘dramatically’
- Orders from the Asia Pacific region fell 8%, CFO reports
Cisco Systems headquarters in San Jose, California.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Cisco Systems Inc. plummeted the most in almost six years after the company gave a lackluster sales forecast, indicating the U.S.-China trade dispute and a slowing global economy are leading customers to delay updates of their computer networks.
Chief Executive Officer Chuck Robbins is trying to turn Cisco into more of a software and services company, but the transformation is being stymied by the trade war and its impact on corporate spending. The company still gets the majority of sales from machines that are the backbone of the internet, making it an economic bellwether. The CEO said some customers are showing more caution because of escalating trade tensions.