Cisco Systems (CSCO) has announced that it will cut 5% of its workforce, or about 4,250 jobs, as it reported weaker-than-expected forward guidance.
The technology giant managed to report strong fiscal second-quarter financial results but gave a light forecast for the current quarter and year ahead.
Cisco announced earnings per share (EPS) of $0.87 U.S. versus $0.84 U.S. that was expected on Wall Street.
Revenue came in at $12.79 billion U.S. for the company’s fiscal Q2 compared to $12.71 billion U.S. that was estimated among analysts. The company’s sales were down 6% from a year ago.
Cisco has not yet closed its $28 billion U.S. acquisition of monitoring and security software maker Splunk (SPLK) but plans to do so by this summer.
As for guidance, Cisco forecast a profit of $0.84 U.S. to $0.86 U.S. on $12.10 billion U.S. to $12.30 billion U.S. for the current quarter.
Analysts had expected earnings of $0.92 U.S. per share on $13.09 billion U.S. in revenue.
For all this year, Cisco foresees $3.68 U.S. to $3.74 U.S. in earnings per share and $51.50 billion U.S. to $52.50 billion U.S. in revenue.
That too was lighter than the $3.86 U.S. in earnings per share and $54.26 billion U.S. in sales expected on Wall Street.
Cisco’s stock is down 4% on news of its latest earnings and job cuts. The company’s share price has risen 3% over the last 12 months to trade at $50.28 U.S. per share.
