Updated from 6:16 p.m. EST
No doubt, recent earnings results have publicized just how weak business has been over the past few months.
Tonight's latest news, from
Nasdaq Composite Index bellwether
Cisco
(CSCO) - Get Report
, has revealed that even technology giants aren't immune to tough times. (
TSC's
Scott Moritz has been covering the
company's earnings news in a separate story.)
After the closing bell, Cisco reported that it missed Wall Street's earnings and revenue estimates for the fiscal second quarter. The networking equipment manufacturer announced a profit of 18 cents per share, up from the year ago result of 12 cents per share. But analysts had expected Cisco to earn 19 cents per share, according to
First Call/Thomson Financial
. Prior to today's announcement, the tech titan had beaten earnings estimates by a penny for 12 successive quarters.
Second-quarter sales jumped 55%, to $6.75 billion from $4.36 billion a year ago, leaving Cisco more than 6% short of Wall Street's $7.2 billion revenue forecast. The company didn't offer specific forward guidance in its postclose press release, but did say "we remain cautious about the implications of a brief pause in the current 10-year expansion of the U.S. economy." Cisco added that it "has never been better positioned" to help its customers.
Cisco, which has set the mood for tonight's after-hours trading session, was lately down 6.3% to $33.50 on
Instinet
and lower 6.1% to $33.56 on
Island
ECN. In recent action, about 3 million shares of the networking giant had changed hands on each platform.
Networking Stocks Fall In Sympathy
As might be expected, other networking stocks have also captured investors' attention in extended trading. Cisco rival
Juniper Networks
(JNPR) - Get Report
, which has seen volume of close to 500,000 shares on Island and nearly 300,000 shares on Instinet, was behind 2.9% to $99.25 on Instinet and down 3.1% to $99 on Island.
Separately,
PMC-Sierra
(PMCS)
, which manufactures semiconductor networking solutions, was off 4.3% to $63.69 on Instinet and lower 4.2% to $63.75 on Island. And
Sycamore Networks
(SCMR)
, a company that manufactures fiber-optic networking, dropped 3.5% to $64.26 on Island.
Large-Cap Tech Stocks Slide
Large-cap Nasdaq stocks have suffered losses alongside Cisco, a bellwether for the broader technology index, this evening.
Sun Microsystems
(SUNW) - Get Report
shed 1.6% to $27.38 on Instinet and slid 1.6% to $27.37 on Island. Sun
said today that demand in January didn't pick up from a weak December.
Dell Computer
(DELL) - Get Report
lost 1.4% to $26.50 on Instinet and missed 1.9% to $26.36 on Island.
Intel
(INTC) - Get Report
dropped 1.2% to $35 on Instinet and decreased 1.9% to $34.75 on Island. And
Oracle
(ORCL) - Get Report
declined 0.9% to $27.38 on Instinet.
Aether Systems Rocks on Fourth-Quarter Results
In other news, wireless data provider
Aether Systems
(AETH)
reported a fourth-quarter loss that beat analysts' estimates, with revenue up sharply from the year-ago period.
Aether reported a fourth-quarter loss of 90 cents per share, compared with a loss of 18 cents per share in the comparable quarter last year. According to First Call, analysts had called for the company to lose $1 per share in the latest quarter. The company reported quarterly revenue of $25.8 million, up sharply from $4 million in the year-ago period.
On the night watch, Aether gained 7.2% to $46.75 on Instinet and added 6.3% to $46.38 on Island, having dropped 6.8% in the regular session.
Digital Island Pops on Patent News
After the closing bell,
Digital Island
(ISLD)
, which provides Internet infrastructure solutions, announced that it was awarded a patent covering aspects of its broad-based inventions that improve the speed and efficiency of delivering digital content over the Internet.
As a result, postclose patrons bid Digital Island's stock up 12.5% to $5.34 on Island.
Cnet Sinks on Earnings Outcome
Elsewhere, Internet media company
CNet Networks
(CNET) - Get Report
reported fourth-quarter earnings, in line with Wall Street's forecasts, but the company narrowly missed revenue forecasts and said that revenue next year would fall short of estimates.
CNet reported earnings of 9 cents per share, matching Wall Street's targets and reversing the year-ago loss of 21 cents per share. The company reported revenue of $120 million for the fourth quarter, shy of the $122.9 million consensus estimate. What's more, CNet said that it would cut its staff by 10% and discontinue "certain non-growth or unprofitable businesses."
Shares of CNet dropped sharply in extended action, falling 11.4% to $14.06 on Island.
Futures Indicate Ugly Open
On the heels of Cisco's earnings release, the
S&P 500 futures on
Globex
were down 4.3 points at 1352 about 6 points below
fair value and suggesting weakness for Wednesday's start. The
Nasdaq 100 Securities
were behind 39 to 2,451, about 45 points below fair value and suggesting a dismal start for the Nasdaq tomorrow.
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Confused?
TheStreet.com
explains how the rules change when the sun goes down in Investing Basics: Night Owl, a section devoted to after-hours trading.
