Cisco reported a strong start to its fiscal year, with revenue in the first quarter to October rising 8 percent year-on-year to USD 12.9 billion. Earnings increased 37 percent to USD 0.70 per share, better than Cisco's guidance, and were up 8 percent on an adjusted basis. The company forecast slightly slower revenue growth in Q2, but increased its outlook for annual earnings growth.
Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said the company saw robust growth and continued strong demand in Q1 "despite the very dynamic supply environment". Product orders increased 33 percent year-on-year in the period, and Cisco reached USD 21.6 billion in annualized recurring revenue, up 10 percent.
Revenue growth was strongest in Asia, up 15 percent, while the EMEA region grew 11 percent and the Americas 5 percent. Product revenue performance was led by growth in Secure, Agile Networks up 10 percent, Internet for the Future up 46 percent, End-to-End Security up 4 percent, and Optimized Application Experiences up 18 percent. Hybrid Work was down 7 percent.
For fiscal Q2, Cisco forecast revenues up 4.5-6.5 percent from a year earlier, less than recent quarters, suggesting the supply-chain problems are starting to have an impact. Quarterly EPS is forecast at USD 0.64-0.68. The company maintained its outlook for full-year revenue growth of 5-7 percent and increased the guidance for annual EPS to USD 2.77-2.89 from a forecast in August of USD 2.72-2.84.
