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The week ahead: Cisco up to bat

After lowering sales and earnings estimates and announcing massive layoffs and a $2.5 billion inventory write-off, the company will take center stage when it reports third-quarter results.

6 min read
Following are some of the notable tech-related events scheduled for the week of May 7 through May 11.

After lowering sales and earnings estimates and announcing massive layoffs and a $2.5 billion inventory write-off, Cisco Systems takes center stage this week when it reports its third-quarter results.

First Call consensus now expects the world's largest network-equipment maker to earn 2 cents a share on sales of $4.7 billion.

After missing analysts' estimates in its second quarter, Cisco reduced its already scaled-back targets earlier this quarter. It told analysts to expect sales to fall 30 percent from the $6.75 billion it recorded in the second quarter and earnings per share to be in the low single-digit range.

The information was gathered from First Call, Hoover's Online, CCBN's StreetEvents and CNET Investor.

Other events scheduled this week:

Tech Events
Monday, May 7
  • Key3 Media will host NetWorld+Interop at the Las Vegas Convention Center, May 6-11. The event is for executives and analysts interested in the software and equipment that makes computer networks run. Keynote speakers include Intel CEO Craig Barret, Sycamore Networks Chairman Gururaj Deshpande, and Juniper Networks CEO Scott Kriens.

  • Gartner Dataquest will host US Spring Symposium/ITxpo 2001 in Denver, May 7-10. The conference will focus on how businesses and companies can use information technology. Featured panelists will include Jim Kelly, CEO of United Parcel Service, and Veritas Software CEO Gary Bloom.

  • Sterling Ledet & Associates and Scripting Matters will run sessions for people interested in learning more about AppleScript Pro in Atlanta, May 7-10. AppleScript software allows computer users to program a computer to carry out a series of tasks.

  • As part of its Box Lunch Series, Bear Sterns will hold an analyst panel titled "Technology: Grappling with the Past--Looking Towards the Future" from 12-1:30 p.m. at Bear Stearns headquarters, 245 Park Ave, New York.

  • Adams, Harkness & Hill will conduct a technology services conference at University Park Hotel in Cambridge, Mass., May 7-8. The event will focus on opportunities in the consulting, Internet infrastructure and e-commerce-related services. Participating companies include Digex, NetSolve, StorageNetworks, CyberSource, Forrester Research, Paychex, Proxicom and Sapient.

  • Bill Inmon will host a series of seminars on database and business management software in West Orange, N.J. (May 7), Charlotte, N.C. (May 9), and Chicago (May 11). The seminar will focus on finding the right software to run an organization.

Tuesday, May 8

  • The Michigan IT Summit will take place at Cobo Hall in Detroit. The event will highlight the state's efforts to foster a high-tech industry. Featured speakers will include Mark Andreessen, chairman of Loudcloud, and Lucent CTO Steve Akers.

  • Daman Consulting will host BI Vision at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Francisco. The conference will focus on gathering business intelligence and customer information with technology.

  • Publishing giant Random House will go to a court hearing as part of an effort to win a copyright infringement lawsuit against small electronic publisher RosettaBooks.

  • Key3 Media will kick off 360° Customer at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., May 8-10. The event is intended for business-to-business e-commerce professionals who want to learn about Internet customer-relationship management strategies.

Wednesday, May 9

  • Bear Sterns analyst Robert Fagin will conduct a conference call at 10 a.m. EST that will address what drives technology spending in large corporations. The call will include guest speakers from KPMG Consulting's e-Valuation Services. The call number is 800-683-1535 or (973) 633-6740.

  • Salomon Smith Barney will hold its annual semiconductor conference at the Monterey Plaza Hotel in Monterey, Calif., May 9-11. Keynote speakers will include Atiq Raza, CEO of Raza Foundries. Companies scheduled to present include Motorola, Broadcom, Texas Instruments and Intel.

  • Wit SoundView will host its annual Photonic Conference at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, May 9-11. The event will focus on developments in the telecommunications industry.

Thursday, May 10

  • The New York Society of Securities Analysts will hold a meeting at 3:00 p.m. at One World Trade Center, Suite 4447, in New York about the financial situation of Amazon.com. The group held a meeting April 26 to draw up questions to ask the five board members of Amazon who are running for another term, and this gathering will give the board members an opportunity to speak if they chose to attend. Amazon holds its shareholders meeting May 23.

  • The Insurance Online conference will take place at the Sheraton Hotel in Boston, May 10-11. The event will cover how to market, sell and sustain insurance products over the Internet as well as legal and regulatory issues. Featured speakers will include Roy Schwartz, vice president of information systems at Prudential.

Friday, May 11

  • Market Access International will run a customer-relationship management seminar at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. The class is geared toward government employees who wish to learn about the technology, federal agency plans, new initiatives and pilots all directed at improving a government agency's ability to provide customer service.

Earnings

Monday, May 7

  • VoiceStream Wireless operates a wireless phone network in the United States and is in the process of being acquired by Deutsche Telekom. Per-share consensus estimate for the first quarter: loss of $2.55.

  • Consulting firm Luminant Worldwide develops Internet software and Web sites for businesses. Per-share consensus estimate for the first quarter: profit of 1 cent.

Tuesday, May 8
  • Comcast provides Internet access and cable service in the United States. Per-share consensus estimate for the first quarter: loss of 32 cents.

  • Cisco Systems makes networking equipment for communications service providers. Per-share consensus estimate for the fiscal third quarter: profit of 2 cents.

  • WebMD operates a number of Internet-based health care services. Per-share consensus estimate for the first quarter: loss of 11 cents.

  • TMP Worldwide runs the job search Web site Monster.com. Per-share consensus estimate for the first quarter: profit of 15 cents.

Thursday, May 10
  • StarMedia Network owns a network of Spanish- and Portuguese-language Web sites. Per-share consensus estimate for the first quarter: loss of 51 cents.

  • Electronic Arts designs and sells computer games. Per-share consensus estimate for the fiscal fourth quarter: loss of 14 cents.

  • NetZero provides Internet access. Per-share consensus estimate for the fiscal third quarter: loss of 32 cents.

  • OmniSky offers wireless Internet access services for handheld devices. Per-share consensus estimate for the first quarter: loss of 67 cents.

  • Pixar makes computer-animated films for wide release. Per-share consensus estimate for the first quarter: profit of 12 cents.

  • Western Wireless offers mobile phone services in the Western United States. Per-share consensus estimate for the first quarter: profit of 7 cents.

Economic Reports

Monday, May 7

  • The Consumer Credit report by the Federal Reserve shows the monthly debt assumed by consumers for purposes other than home mortgages. This number is expected to fall to $8 billion in March from $13.5 billion in February.

Tuesday, May 8
  • Productivity refers to the change in non-farm business productivity at annual and quarterly percentage rates as reported by the Labor Department. Economists expect preliminary productivity to grow 2.2 percent in the first quarter, the same as the previous quarter's rate.

  • Wholesale Inventories represents the percentage change in the amount of goods in wholesale inventories in the United States. This number is expected to fall 0.1 percent for the month of March, the same as the drop in February.

Thursday, May 10
  • Initial Claims refers to the number of people who filed for unemployment benefits each week as reported by the Department of Labor. Analysts expect claims to fall to 410,000 for the week of May 5 from the previous week's 421,000.

  • The Import and Export Price Index from the Department of Commerce indicates the percentage change in import and export prices for April. No estimates were available, but in March, import prices, excluding oil, fell 0.9 percent from the previous month. Export prices, excluding agriculture, dropped 0.1 percent.

Friday, May 11
  • The Producer Price Index is expected to rise 0.2 percent in April from last month's drop of 0.1 percent. The core PPI, which excludes food and energy prices, is expected to rise 0.1 percent, the same increase from the previous month. This Labor Department index tracks the cost of what manufacturers pay for raw goods to make products.

  • Retail Sales for April are expected to rise 0.3 percent from March's decline of 0.2 percent as reported by the Commerce Department. Excluding automobile sales, Wall Street expects retail sales to climb 0.5 vs. the previous month's drop of 0.1 percent.