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Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is scheduled to release its most recent quarterly results after the markets close on Wednesday. Thomson Reuters consensus estimates are $0.69 in earnings per share (EPS) and $12.77 billion in revenue. The fiscal fourth quarter of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.61 and $12.13 billion in revenue.

This has been one of the top Dow Jones industrials stocks for most of 2018 so far, and while this momentum has been impressive, earnings need to be equally — or even more — impressive to keep investors satisfied. While Cisco did top estimates in its previous quarter, it didn’t seem to be enough for investors at the time.

Cisco issued guidance for the fourth quarter in its prior earnings report. The firm expected to see EPS between $0.68 and $0.70 and revenues growing in the range of 4% to 6% year over year.

Chuck Robbins, board chair and chief executive of Cisco, commented in the most recent earnings report:

We are executing well against our strategy, our innovation pipeline has never been stronger, and we continue to make great progress in transforming towards more software and subscriptions. I am confident with our position in the industry and the impact we will continue to drive with our customers.

Overall, Cisco has outperformed the broad markets, with its stock up about 39% in the past 52 weeks. In just 2018 alone, the stock is up 14%.

A few analysts weighed in on Cisco ahead of the earnings report:

• Morgan Stanley has an Overweight rating and a $48 price target.
• Piper Jaffray has a Buy rating with a $50 price target.
• JPMorgan has a Buy rating.
• Argus has a Buy rating with a $55 target price.
• Credit Suisse has a Hold rating and a $41 target price.

Shares of Cisco were last seen at $43.87, with a consensus analyst price target of $49.56 and a 52-week trading range of $30.36 to $46.37.

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