PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ), a large exchange traded fund tracking Nasdaq tech stocks, was down fractionally in after-hours trade Wednesday following quarterly results from Cisco (NasdaqGS: CSCO).
Cisco shares fell nearly 3% in after-hours dealings after the tech giant said its fiscal third-quarter net income fell about 18% from the year-ago period.
The stock slipped after Chief Executive John Chambers on the conference call said the company expects the fourth quarter “will continue to show weakness.”
Cisco represents about 4% of PowerShares QQQ, an ETF tracking the Nasdaq-100 Index.
“This quarter played out as we expected,” said Chambers in the earnings release. “We have acknowledged our challenges. We know what we have to do. We have a clear game plan.”
“We expect the focus to be on the changes being made at Cisco and not so much on the quarter itself. Expectations for the quarter are low,” said analysts at BMO Capital Markets in a note.
“Regardless, we expect the shares to remain range-bound in the near term as Cisco attempts to execute on its new refined strategy, and the Street gets a sense of how it will all play out,” they added. “We believe any recovery in sales and especially margins will take time.”
PowerShares QQQ
