Go Ahead, Own Cisco - Barron's

Cisco Systems may have shocked markets last week when CEO John Chambers said orders from the U.S. enterprise sector were down slightly and warned that corporate spending could be "lumpy," but that hasn't necessarily turned Barron's off from the networking giant. Barron's says the news was just the latest in a series of signals of slowing corporate technology spending following similar indications from IBM, SAP, Symantec and Cognizant, highlighting the fact that IT spending isn't immune to the financial services crisis, and that technology won't be immune to a significant business slowdown. Nevertheless, with $24B in cash in a world where bandwidth requirements are skyrocketing, Barron's says no company is better positioned than Cisco if you have a long-term perspective. Given the company's broad exposure, Barron's says the company could outperform many other tech stocks if there really is recession in the U.S.

Sources: Barron's
Commentary: Network Earnings Mollify Market Fears • Cisco Optimism Was Punished; A Lesson for the Rest of Tech? • Be Patient, Market Volatility Creates Opportunity
Stocks to watch: csco. Competitors: ALU, JNPR, NT. ETFs: IAH, ROM
Earnings call transcript: Cisco Systems F1Q08

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