Cisco Earnings Fall Flat

Shares of Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) declined Thursday, a day after the company reported flat sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2009 and projected a revenue drop for the second quarter, which ends in January.

CEO John Chambers, normally an optimistic guy, called the upcoming months “the second most difficult time in my career in terms of the forecast.”

The California-based networking giant recently laid off more than 100 people in its Texas division. Those cutbacks gave analysts reason to fear a slowdown in the VoIP sector.