Cisco reported on Wednesday that its earnings grew 44% during the second fiscal quarter, which ended Jan. 26. Despite ongoing restructuring efforts and the perils of a fragile global economy, the San Jose, Calif.-based networking giant brought in $ 12.1 billion in revenue, a 5% year-over-year increase.
Having slightly exceeded analyst expectations, the company must now maintain momentum as it evolves from a networking hardware company to a supplier of cloud management platforms, video communication tools and other emerging IT services.
In a statement, Cisco CEO John Chambers pointed out that Cisco has achieved record revenue for eight consecutive quarters. “… we are making solid progress towards our goal of becoming the #1 IT company in the world,” he said. “As new markets grow and are created, such as the Internet of Everything, it’s very easy to see how the intelligent network is at the center of that future.”
During the company’s earnings call, CFO Frank Calderoni said data center resources and cloud computing tools were major drivers of growth. The company’s revenue growth retreated 5% in recession-plagued Europe but grew 9% in the Americas and 8.4% in the Asia-Pacific region. The company’s successful Wall Street showing also benefited from a $ 926 million tax settlement with the IRS.