Bellweather pleases investors

Wednesday, May 12, 2004 | 8:48 a.m.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Cisco Systems, the multibillion-dollar maker of Internet networking equipment that is considered a technology bellwether, reported a quarterly profit on Tuesday that narrowly exceeded investor expectations. But the company gave Wall Street a broader reason for optimism by suggesting that corporate spending on technology appears to be gaining momentum.

Cisco reported net income of $1.2 billion, or 17 cents a share, up 23 percent from $987 million, or 14 cents a share, in the period a year earlier.

Sales rose 22 percent, to $5.62 billion from $4.62 billion in the quarter a year earlier.

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