Cisco Misses Earnings Mark Again, CEO Chambers in Trouble

Cisco Misses Earnings Mark Again, CEO Chambers in Trouble (MercuryNews)

John Chambers is the elder-statesman in Silicon Valley. In his 18 years as CEO of Cisco, he’s run afoul of investor sentiment only one time. That was in 2011, when the company diversified too far astray of its core competencies under his direction. Chambers was able to return the company to profitability; however, it came at the cost of several thousand jobs. Fast-forward to today, and Chambers again finds himself on the hot-seat. Only this time, Cisco’s poor earnings have turned the heat up on its CEO. The San Jose-based company reported sales of $12.1 billion for the quarter (for 37 cents a share), while Wall Street analysts had thought sales would hit the $12.36-billion mark and earn 41 cents per shares. Depending upon who you ask, blame for the underperformance ranges from the government shutdown to a drop in orders to Obamacare. Regardless of who you blame, the result’s the same: Investors are down, and they want answers.