Cheery Comments Lift Cisco

Cisco (CSCO Quote) shares jumped 3% Friday after the company's No. 2 executive said sales were running toward the high end of its forecast.

Chief Operating Officer Charlie Giancarlo said that Cisco's customers were at the early stages of a new upgrade cycle, according to a Bloomberg report. Giancarlo pointed to Europe, developing markets and small and medium-sized businesses as the sources of strong demand for data networking gear.

Cisco has previously forecast top line growth of 10% to 15% for its fiscal year, which ends in July, and Giancarlo said the sales are toward the top end of that view.

Fans see Cisco taking business from smaller players as it expands its dominance of the office Internet equipment market to new areas such as data storage and video-over-Internet protocol.

Cisco shares were up 91 cents to $26.88 in late-afternoon trading Friday.