Bond.az reports that Nokia shares rose more than 7% on Thursday after Cisco reported quarterly results and guidance that exceeded Wall Street expectations, lifting sentiment across the broader networking sector.
Cisco said revenue climbed 12% to $15.84 billion in the quarter ended April 25, while net income rose to $3.37 billion, or 85 cents per share, from $2.49 billion, or 62 cents per share, a year earlier.
Networking revenue jumped 25% to $8.82 billion, ahead of analyst estimates of $8.47 billion. The report sent Cisco shares soaring over 18% in U.S. premarket trading.
The results reflect growing corporate spending on high-speed network infrastructure needed to support artificial intelligence data centers. Cisco’s networking product orders grew more than 50% year-on-year in the quarter, while data-center switching orders rose more than 40%.
Nokia also sells networking and optical equipment used in AI-driven infrastructure buildouts. The company last month raised its growth targets for its AI business, now projecting the addressable market for AI and cloud to expand 27% annually between 2025 and 2028, up from a prior estimate of 16%.
Cisco said it has received $5.3 billion in AI infrastructure and hyperscaler orders so far this fiscal year, and raised its full-year AI order forecast to $9 billion from $5 billion. It also lifted its revenue outlook for that market to $4 billion, up from a prior estimate of $3 billion.
For the fiscal fourth quarter, Cisco guided for adjusted earnings of $1.16 to $1.18 per share on revenue of $16.7 billion to $16.9 billion, well above analyst expectations of $1.07 per share on $15.82 billion in revenue.
Cisco also said it would cut fewer than 4,000 jobs this quarter, representing less than 5% of its workforce, with related severance and restructuring charges expected to reach $1 billion, of which roughly $450 million will be recognized in the fourth quarter.
