Cisco CFO: One Quarter at a Time

Cisco(CSCO) may have pleased investors with its first-quarter results on Wednesday, but the revitalized tech giant's not getting carried away with long-term guidance, according CFO Frank Calderoni.

"Understanding the uncertainty [in the macro environment] and, trying to be cautious about that, we think it's appropriate, as we're forecasting our business, to take it one quarter at a time," he told TheStreet. "It's really hard to predict with that uncertainty -- many factors, whether economic or political, are outside of Cisco's control."

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"Our longer-term model of 5% to 7% long-term revenue growth, we're comfortable with that, but as it pertains to forecasting quarters beyond the quarter we are in, it gets a bit challenging," he added. "We had a solid quarter in Q1 and gave good guidance for the second quarter." After undergoing a major corporate overhaul earlier this year, Cisco continued its turnaround story after market close on Wednesday, comfortably beating Wall Street's estimates.The tech bellwether brought in revenue of $11.3 billion, up from $10.75 billion in the prior year's quarter. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were looking for sales of $11.03 billion.Excluding items, the networker earned 43 cents a share on net income of $2.3 billion, up from 42 cents a share and net income of $2.4 billion in the same period last year. Wall Street was looking for earnings of 39 cents a share.For the second quarter, Cisco expects revenue between $11.13 billion and $11.23 billion, at the high end of the average analysts' projection of $11.14 billion.The numbers offer clear evidence that Cisco's rebounding after a spell on the ropes, building on the company's solid fiscal fourth-quarter results. Emboldened by the latest financials, investors pushed Cisco's shares up 47 cents, or 2.67%, to $18.08 in extended trading.Cisco exited its first quarter with $44.4 billion in cash and investments, down slightly from $44.6 billion in the prior quarter, although some participants in TheStreet's liveblog were keen to see Ciscodevote a chunk of this cash to rewarding investors. The switch maker paid its first-ever dividend, a quarterly payment of 6 cents a share, earlier this year, and already there have been calls for the company to beef up its dividend. Calderoni told TheStreet that the company will "continue to evaluate" its dividend and share buyback strategies, but did not say whether a dividend boost is in the cards.Instead, the CFO reiterated his company's frustration with U.S. tax laws, which force Cisco to keep much of its cash overseas. Cisco CEO John Chambers, for example, has been a vocal proponent of a cash-repatriation holiday."The key thing for us is tax legislation," said Calderoni. "Whether through repatriation or tax reform, that's a major issue for us."--. >To submit a news tip, send an email to: tips@thestreet.com

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