Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) shares were trading down Thursday after a late-afternoon Aug. 5 earnings report that showed the company’s profits fell by 46 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter.
The Silicon Valley-based gear maker posted net income of $1.1 billion, down from $2 billion a year earlier. Sales dropped 18 percent to $8.5 billion.
Still, the results beat Wall Street’s expectations; even better, they could signal a tipping point, Cisco CEO John Chambers said in a prepared statement.
“We saw a number of positive signs this quarter in the economy and in our business,” he said.
Chambers said month-to-month sales changes are regaining momentum and starting to match normal seasonal patterns. For that reason, he is predicting a small jump in current-quarter sales.
