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| Cisco Systems: Behind The Internet...All The Way
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There are no safe havens in the stock market. Every stock carries risk. But some less than others. This column features stocks that have shown one or more of the following characteristics: less volatility, better earnings, larger market caps, safe and increasing dividends. In these times of turmoil, our goal is to show readers better opportunities for investing with fewer risks. | | CSCO | $19.12 | Best Features: Unique niche in a growing market.
Watch Out For: Competition; new acquisitions for growth. | Market Cap | $104 bln |
May 4, 2012 - Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO-NASDAQ) designs, manufactures, and sells Internet protocol (IP)-based networking and other products related to the communications and information technology industry worldwide. It offers routers that interconnect public and private IP networks for mobile, data, voice, and video applications; switching products, which provide connectivity to end users, workstations, IP phones, access points, and servers; application networking services; and home networking products, such as adapters, gateways, modems, and home network management software.
It also offers security products comprising span firewall, intrusion prevention, remote access, virtual private network, unified client, Web, and email security and network security products; storage area networking products for data center environments that deliver connectivity between servers and storage systems; collaboration products to integrate voice, video, data, and mobile applications on fixed and mobile networks; video connected home products, including digital video distribution systems and digital interactive set-top boxes; and wireless systems. In addition, it provides optical networking products, Cisco TelePresence systems, Cisco Unified Computing Systems, physical security and video surveillances, and digital media systems. And the company offers technical support services; and responsive, preventive, and consultative support services for its technologies. Cisco Systems, Inc. has strategic alliances with Accenture Ltd; AT&T Inc.; Cap Gemini S.A.; Citrix Systems, Inc.; EMC Corporation; Fujitsu Limited; Intel Corporation; International Business Machines Corporation; Italtel SpA; Johnson Controls Inc.; Microsoft Corporation; NetApp, Inc.; Nokia Corporation; Nokia Siemens Networks; Oracle Corporation; SAP AG; Sprint Nextel Corporation; Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.; VMware, Inc.; Wipro Limited; and Xerox Corporation. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in San Jose, California. - Latest News:
Reinforcing its commitment to the industrialization of the Internet, Cisco announced the Industrial Ethernet (IE) 2000 Switch Series , a cornerstone product for the company's Connected Industries business unit and industrial network offerings. The Cisco IE 2000 industrial switch series will help customers build intelligent networks for industrial automation, delivering highly secure, scalable connectivity from plant floor to enterprise network. The new Series builds on the company's enterprise networking expertise and existing Industrial Ethernet family of switches, delivering reliable and highly secure network connectivity to unique manufacturing environments. With the IE 2000 switch series, Cisco continues its leadership in providing intelligent networks that simplify the deployment of security, video and voice services for machine-to-machine communications on the manufacturing floor and industrial IP networks. According to Cisco's Visual Networking Index (VNI) by 2016, there will be nearly 2 billion machine-to-machine wireless connections -- including GPS systems in cars and asset tracking systems in shipping and manufacturing sectors -- demonstrating the need to more tightly connect and integrate devices, machines and vehicles with traditional enterprise networks. The resulting transition, which Cisco refers to as "The Industrialization of the Internet," will accelerate the networking industry beyond the IT and service provider (SP) networks in industries such as manufacturing and transportation.
Cisco is uniquely positioned to address these new demands on industrial networks, which require a greater need for improved inter-connectivity across industrial equipment and enterprise networks. The Cisco IE 2000 switch series provides consistent network services between industrial networks and enterprise business applications, while also providing integrated security and better manageability -- creating a truly intelligent network. - Earnings Expectations
Third quarter: 47 cents vs 42 cents (ends April, fiscal year ends July)
Earnings announcement will be on May 9
Fourth quarter: 49 cents compared to 40 cents last year in the fourth
Full Year 2012: $1.84
Full Year 2013: $1.98 - Important Numbers:
- Trailing P/E: 15
- Forward P/E: 9.8
- Price to sales ratio: 2.36
- Price to book: 2.15
- Operating margin: 21.64%
- Profit margin: 15.61%
- Return on equity: 14.74%
- Return on assets: 7.09%
- Revenues last 12 months: $44.84 billion
- Total cash: $46.74 billion
- Cash per share: $8.68
- Total debt: $16.90 billion
- Debt to equity: 34.31%
- Current ratio: 3.37
- Beta: 1.35
- 52 week price change: 12.33%
- Shares outstanding: 5.39 billion
- Float: 5.38 billion
- Held by institutions: 68%
- Annual dividend: 32 cents
- Yield: 1.6% - Company Web site: www.csco.com - Ted Allrich |
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