Weak Outlook for Cisco as Sales Forecasts Miss Analyst Estimates

Cisco's sales forecast missed analyst estimates on Thursday as major U.S. phone carriers cut spending. The network communications giant also posted lower-than-expected profit and revenue forecasts that fell short of Wall Street predictions. Phone companies have been steadily moving away from Cisco's expensive hardware, shifting more towards software-based networking systems. Cisco President Rob Lloyd told the Street: 'At our scale and size, we can't insulate ourselves entirely from a very large customer base changing their spending patterns. I would tell you that the offset to that is some other customers who are increasing their spending.' Cisco first quarter earnings beat estimates as the company reported revenue of $12.2 billion, a 1.3% increase from last year's figures. Cisco also posted higher-than-expected profit of 54 cents per share. CEO John Chambers spoke out against Obama's plans for net neutrality. He warned that new rules proposed by the White House would badly damage investment in communications.