8-KEarnings & Results

CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. 8-K Report, Financial Results (Aug 5, 2008)

Filed August 5, 2008For Securities:CSCO

Summary

This 8-K filing from Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) on August 5, 2008, announces the company's financial results for its fourth fiscal quarter and full fiscal year ended July 26, 2008. The report primarily serves to furnish the press release detailing these results as an exhibit. Investors should note that Cisco is presenting both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures, and the company provides a detailed explanation of the adjustments made to arrive at the non-GAAP figures. These adjustments aim to exclude items such as employee share-based compensation, acquisition-related costs, and gains/losses on equity securities, which Cisco believes do not reflect its ongoing operating results.

Key Highlights

  • 1Cisco Systems reported its financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter and full fiscal year ended July 26, 2008.
  • 2The filing includes a press release (Exhibit 99.1) detailing these results.
  • 3Cisco is presenting both Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and non-GAAP financial measures.
  • 4The company provides a detailed breakdown of items excluded from its non-GAAP measures, including employee share-based compensation expense.
  • 5Adjustments also exclude costs related to acquisitions, such as purchase accounting adjustments to inventory, in-process R&D, and amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets.
  • 6Significant gains or losses on publicly traded equity securities are also excluded from non-GAAP calculations.
  • 7Cisco believes these non-GAAP measures offer useful insights into financial and business trends when viewed alongside GAAP results.

Frequently Asked Questions

The main purpose of this 8-K filing is to officially announce and provide access to Cisco Systems' financial results for its fourth fiscal quarter and full fiscal year ended July 26, 2008, through an accompanying press release.

Cisco provides non-GAAP financial measures because management believes they offer a more useful perspective to investors and management on underlying business trends by excluding certain expenses and gains/losses that are not considered reflective of ongoing operational performance, such as stock-based compensation and acquisition-related costs.

Cisco excludes several items from its non-GAAP reporting, including employee share-based compensation expense, impacts to cost of sales from purchase accounting adjustments to inventory, payroll tax on stock option exercises, compensation expense related to acquisitions and investments, in-process research and development, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, significant gains and losses on publicly traded equity securities, and various related income tax effects.

Investors should view non-GAAP results as supplementary information to the official GAAP results. The non-GAAP figures are intended to provide insight into operating performance by removing the impact of specific, often non-recurring or non-cash, items. However, these non-GAAP measures are not a substitute for GAAP and may differ from how other companies calculate their non-GAAP metrics.