Overall, President and Chief Executive John Chambers said he was pleased the "very solid, well-balanced" quarter.
Cisco, of San Jose, Calif., is growing faster than any of its competitors and now holds the No. 1 or No. 2 market-share position in each of its 20 key product categories, Chambers said on a conference call.
In the rapidly growing market for sales to Internet service providers, Cisco logged an 80% increase in sales, Chambers said, while sales to large businesses and institutions rose 33% -- well above the industry growth rate of about 10%. Small business customers, who Chambers said have the most to gain from getting on the Internet, showed a 34% sales growth, he said.
Cisco's use of its own products in its business helped the company cut days sales outstanding -- a measure of receivables -- to 32 days from 40 in the third quarter, Cisco Chief Financial Officer Larry Carter said.
Gross margins fell slightly to 64.7% from 65% sequentially due to product-mix shifts and competition, Carter said. He said the company continues to expect gross margins to decline over time.
Cisco has now shown accelerating year-over-year revenue growth for six straight quarters....
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