Cisco Systems Inc which, for now, continues to dominate the networking equipment world, reported another quarter of outstanding results in meeting the lofty expectations of Wall Street. Third-quarter net income jumped 54% to $378.3m on revenue up 52% at $1.65bn. Earnings per share for the quarter rose 49% to $0.55. Excluding a pretax gain of $32.3m from the sale of a minority stock investment, net income was still $0.52 – exactly what First Call wanted. For the first nine months of fiscal 1997, Cisco’s net income increased 41% at $897.7m – or $1.31 per share – on revenue up an amazing 67% at $4.68bn. These figures include a write off of $217.8m from the acquisitions of Telebit Corp (CI No 2,961) and Netsys Technologies Inc (CI No 3,021). Without the charges, net income for the year-to-date would be $1.50 per share. The company is enjoying its 29th consecutive quarter of revenue and earnings growth, but how long the streak can continue, nobody knows. The evolution of network computers and Windows NT will make things clear in time.
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