Cisco’s Q3 results show economy bite marks
Sales down by almost 20 per cent at networking giant Cisco.

Cisco has officially has released its latest quarterly financial results, announcing a fall in sales but choosing to remain positive by claiming the company has done well during a difficult time.
In its results, for the third quarter ending 25 April, the firm reported sales of $8.2 billion (5.4 billion), a fall of 17 per cent, and earnings of $1.3 billion, a fall of 21 per cent against the previous quarter.
However, in the current economic climate this was still deemed as good news by Cisco's leader John Chambers. "Cisco delivered solid financial performance despite a challenging global economy and period of evolving market dynamics," its chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Chambers added: "These results demonstrate our ability to drive operational excellence and manage profitability across varying economic cycles. We will use this period of market transition to align and optimise resources, make strategic investments, move into market adjacencies and enhance relationships with our customers. As we exit the quarter with a compelling financial position and an innovation engine from both a products and business model perspective, we believe we are well positioned for the eventual economic recovery."
Net sales for the nine-month period were $27.6 billion, compared with $29.2 billion for the same period last year. Net income for the first nine months of fiscal 2009 was $5.1 billion, compared with $6.0 billion in the first nine months of fiscal 2008. In a conference call with analysts Chambers added that he was seeing a levelling off, or a stabilising, in its falling sales.
Cisco said it expects revenue for the current quarter to be in the region of $8.6 billion. Although, this still represents a fall of roughly 20 per cent against the previous year, it is a smaller drop than analysts were expecting.
Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our Future Focus 2025 report - the leading guidance on AI, cybersecurity and other IT challenges as per 700+ senior executives
-
The race is on for Higher Ed to adapt: Equity in hyflex learning
Hyflex courses can improve student wellbeing and engagement, but only with meeting technology that leaves no one behind
-
Gen Z workers are keen on AI in the workplace – but they’re still skeptical about the hype
News Younger workers could lead the shift to AI, but only think it can can manage some tasks
-
Cisco eyes network security gains for agentic AI
News New network security updates aim to secure AI agents across enterprises
-
Cisco patches critical flaw affecting Identity Services Engine
The networking giant has urged enterprises to update immediately
-
96% of businesses have low cyber-readiness, claims Cisco
The 2025 Cisco Cybersecurity Readiness Index shows a concerning number of businesses globally are unprepared for rising AI-related threats.
-
Cisco takes aim at AI security at RSAC with ServiceNow partnership
News The companies claim Cisco AI Defense and ServiceNow SecOps will help address new challenges raised by AI
-
Cisco claims new smart switches provide next-level perimeter defense
News Cisco’s ‘security everywhere’ mantra has just taken on new meaning with the launch of a series of smart network switches.
-
Cisco is jailbreaking AI models so you don’t have to worry about it
News Cisco's new AI Defense security solution helps organizations shore up LLM security by identifying potential flaws.
-
Cisco dispels Kraken data breach claims, insists stolen data came from old attack
News Cisco has refuted claims it has suffered a data breach after the Kraken threat group posted stolen data online.
-
Cisco patches critical flaws in Identity Services Engine
News Cisco has issued patches for a pair of critical vulnerabilities affecting its Identity Service Engine (ISE).