Cisco Shares Plunge 11% on Annual Guidance Cut

Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) announced a reduction in its annual forecast on Wednesday, despite reporting fiscal first-quarter results that exceeded expectations. This adjustment comes in the wake of indications that demand for new orders of network hardware is decelerating. The company's shares experienced a significant of more than 11% intra-day today.

Despite expectations of order growth resuming in the second half of the year, the California-based firm has revised its full-year 2024 guidance. Cisco now projects adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to be between $3.87 and $3.93, with revenue forecasts ranging from $53.8 billion to $55.0 billion. This updated guidance contrasts with the previous forecast, which predicted per-share earnings of $4.01 to $4.08 and revenue between $57 billion and $58.2 billion.

The company attributes the slowdown in new product orders to customers currently prioritizing the installation and implementation of products, following a period of exceptionally strong product delivery in the past three quarters. For the first quarter, Cisco reported an adjusted EPS of $1.11 on revenue of $14.7 billion, surpassing the analysts' expectations of $1.03 in EPS and $14.62 billion in revenue.