Cisco Moves Higher On Top And Bottom Line Beats

announced the results of its third quarter earnings after the close Wednesday. Revenue for the quarter was $11.5 billion, beating the analyst consensus by 1.05 percent. This is, however, a 5.89 percent reduction from the previous year, although shares have risen 8.1 percent. Earnings were also better than expected. Analysts predicted EPS of just $0.48, but Cisco recorded a $0.51 profit. There was no earnings growth when comparing results to the same quarter of the previous year; EPS is up $0.04 from the previous quarter. In the conference call Cisco gave forward guidance. Fourth quarter sales are expected to decline by one to three percent year-over-year, but grow four to six percent quarter-over-quarter. Ninety million shares were purchased under the company's stock repurchase program. $10.1 billion remains on the program. Cisco shares are up more than eight percent at $24.42 in after-hours trading and are trending higher.