Chuck Robbins, Cisco CEO & Chairman, at the WEF in Davos, Switzerland on May 25th, 2022.
Adam Galica | CNBC
Cisco said in a statement on Wednesday that it would lay off 5% of its employees. The networking hardware maker has about around 85,000 employees, a spokesperson told CNBC, implying that the job cuts will hit around 4,250 people. Shares were down 4% in extended trading.
Cisco is the latest tech company to announce downsizing plans in 2024, as the industry continues to squeeze out costs following the market downturn that hit two years ago. January was the busiest month for job cuts in the industry since March, as Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and SAP all said they were eliminating positions, as did eBay Unity and Discord. So far this year, 144 tech companies have laid off almost 35,000 workers, according to the website Layoffs.fyi.
In addition to disclosing the job cuts, Cisco reported strong fiscal second-quarter results but gave a light forecast. Here’s how it did in comparison with the consensus from LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: 87 cents, adjusted, vs. 84 cents expected
- Revenue: $12.79 billion, vs. $12.71 billion expected
Cisco’s revenue declined 6% year over year during the quarter, which ended on Jan. 27, according to a statement. Net income declined to $2.63 billion, or 65 cents per share, from $2.77 billion, or 67 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.
With respect to guidance, Cisco called for 84 to 86 cents per share on $12.1 billion to $12.3 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG were looking for 92 cents per share on $13.09 billion in revenue.
For the full year, Cisco sees $3.68 to $3.74 in adjusted earnings per share and $51.5 billion to $52.5 billion in revenue. Analysts had projected $3.86 in adjusted earnings per share, with $54.26 billion in revenue.
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