Shares of Cisco Systems (up or down by 1.56% to $27.35 per share in after-hours trading after tonight’s earnings report
Cisco Systems released its latest earnings report after closing bell tonight, posting non-GAAP earnings of 53 cents per share on $11.9 billion in revenue, a 7% year over year increase. Analysts had been expecting earnings of 51 cents per share on $11.8 billion in revenue for the second fiscal quarter of 2015.
In the same quarter a year ago, Cisco Systems reported non-GAAP earnings of 47 cents per share on $11.2 billion in revenue. Analysts from multiple firms have noted that the networking equipment manufacturer had one of the easiest comparisons it has had since 2009. They also expected great things because Cisco is probably still seeing benefits from its recent product refresh.
Key metrics from Cisco Systems’ earnings report
GAAP earnings were 46 cents per share for the quarter.
For the first six months of the 2015 fiscal year, Cisco reported $24.2 billion in revenue, compared to $23.2 billion in the same time frame last year. GAAP net income for the first six months was 82 cents per share or $4.2 billion, compared to last year’s 64 cents per share or $3.4 billion. Non-GAAP net income for the period was $1.08 per share or $5.5 billion, compared to $1 per share or $5.4 billion in the first six months of last year.
Cisco raises quarterly dividend by 2 cents
Cisco also announced today that it is increasing its quarterly dividend to 21 cents per share. It will be paid on April 22 to shareholders of record as of April 2.
“The momentum in the business feels good and we are excited about the opportunities ahead,” said executive vice president and chief financial officer Kelly Kramer in a statement. “Our revenue growth and increased EPS allows us to continue to give back to shareholders as we returned $2.2 billion to shareholders in Q2 and remain committed to returning at least 50% of our free cash flow annually.”
