Thursday's Market Minute: If You Can't Beat 'Em, Disappoint 'Em

Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. CSCO have lost about three dollars in aftermarket trading since the technology company reported earnings last night. Cisco posted a quarterly profit of $0.77 on revenues of $12.01 billion, both beating analyst expectations. However, Cisco previously lowered guidance for its latest quarter, so analyst expectations were already muted going into the report.

In addition to beating earnings estimates, Cisco raised its dividend, but sales fell four percent compared to the same period last year, and the company issued its next quarter sales guidance as down 1.5 to 3.5 percent year-over-year. It looks like more disappointment from Cisco is still on the horizon. During the past 52-week period, shares of Cisco have severely underperformed the broader Nasdaq-100, which represents mostly technology stocks. Cisco’s weighting in the Nasdaq may be contributing to the fall in futures this morning. /NQ is indicating a negative open for the NDX.

The rest of the U.S. equities futures are also to the downside this morning, having given up some recent gains, after Hubei province in China confirmed an additional 14,840 new cases of the Coronavirus overnight.

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