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Technology Stocks : Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: The Phoenix who wrote (29654)	11/24/1999 2:54:00 PM
From: VFD	Respond to of 77400

Cisco market cap breaks $300 billion Joins Microsoft, GE as only companies above that level By Jeffry Bartash, CBS MarketWatch Last Update: 1:05 PM ET Nov 24, 1999 NewsWatch WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- Cisco Systems joined select company on Wednesday, becoming only the third U.S. corporation to exceed a market value of $300 billion, along with General Electric and Microsoft. Cisco (CSCO: news, msgs), which makes equipment such as routers that allow computer and Internet networks to work, shot up 3 1/2 Wednesday to 92, setting an all-time high. With almost 3.3 billion shares outstanding, the company now has market capitalization of $302 billion. Microsoft (MSFT: news, msgs), with a value of $467 billion, and General Electric (GE: news, msgs), with a market capitalization of $450 billion, are far and away the most highly valued U.S. companies. Still, Cisco's valuation is impressive when compared with other top American companies. The telecom equipment maker's capitalization dwarfs that of Exxon ($190 billion), IBM ($186 billion) and AT&T ($172 billion), all of whose annual sales are at least five times higher than that of Cisco. Today on CBS MarketWatch Net stocks take command AT&T mulling tracking stocks Pfizer takes aim at Warner-Lambert over Lipitor Investors feast on Net sector IPOs: Met Life makes plans More top stories... CBS MarketWatch Columns Updated: 11/24/99 12:00:08 PM ET More to the point, Cisco's value is about 32 percent higher than Lucent Technologies (LU: news, msgs), its biggest rival and a company whose sales are more than double that of Cisco. One of a kind Why is Cisco such a standout? "This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of company," said Patrick Houghton of Sutro & Co. "I can't think of a company in history that has grown this big this fast." Indeed, in fiscal 1999, Cisco sales surged 44 percent to $12.15 billion from the previous year, and they are expected to rise nearly 40 percent to about $17 billion in fiscal 2000. By contrast, Lucent grew at a 27 percent clip in 1999 to reach $38.3 billion in revenue, and the company's rate of growth is expected to slow a bit in 2000. Cisco could catch up to Lucent in several years if it keeps up its current growth rate. More important, Cisco is raising $1 billion in surplus cash each quarter, more than the combined total of Lucent and Nortel, the No. 3 U.S. telecom equipment maker, Houghton said. Cisco will be able to use that money to finance intensive research, marketing or other efforts aimed at boosting sales. Because of its high stock value, Cisco can afford to save its cash and instead use shares to purchase companies whose technology will fill in the gaps in its roster of products.