Cisco’s half-full outlook

By Scott Moritz, writer

Cisco (CSCO) eased slowdown anxieties slightly by setting its sales target below its long-range forecast, but in line with expectations.

The San Jose networking gearmaker posted better than expected adjusted earnings of 38 cents a share up from 34 cents in the year-ago period. Sales for the quarter were $9.79 billion, up from $8.86 billion last year.

Analysts were looking for pro forma earnings of 36 cents on $9.75 billion in sales, according to Yahoo Finance.

Looking ahead, CEO John Chambers told analysts on an earnings call that he expected sales in the fourth quarter ending in July to grow in the range of 9.5% over year-ago levels. That is in line with the 9.2% year-over-year growth expected by analysts.

Chambers said the company still expects its long term growth to be in the 12% to 17% range, but the current quarter was coming in below that pace due to cautious spending in the United States and Europe.

Chambers called the spending caution and sluggish economy a “relatively short-term challenge going forward.”

In March, Cisco fed slowdown fears with a belt-tightening move, asking managers to limit travel expenses and use accumulated vacation time. Those moves may have help contribute to the 2 cent expectation-beating bottom line performance.

Cisco’s solid results helped send the stock up 2% in after-hours trading Tuesday.