For the quarter ended July 2024, Cisco Systems (CSCO Quick QuoteCSCO - Free Report) reported revenue of $13.64 billion, down 10.3% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $0.87, compared to $1.14 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13.52 billion, representing a surprise of +0.90%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +2.35%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $0.85.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how Cisco performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO) - Total

  : $41.05 billion compared to the $42.31 billion average estimate based on two analysts.

• Revenue- Product- Networking

  : $6.80 billion compared to the $6.76 billion average estimate based on eight analysts. The reported number represents a change of -16.3% year over year.

• Revenue- Product- Observability

  : $248 million versus $243.65 million estimated by eight analysts on average.

• Revenue- Services

  : $3.78 billion versus $3.73 billion estimated by eight analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +6.5% change.

• Revenue- Product- Security

  : $1.79 billion versus the eight-analyst average estimate of $1.64 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +81.1%.

• Revenue- Product

  : $9.86 billion compared to the $9.66 billion average estimate based on eight analysts. The reported number represents a change of -15.4% year over year.

• Revenue- Product- Collaboration

  : $1.02 billion versus $1.02 billion estimated by eight analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -0.4% change.

• Non-Gaap Gross Margin- Service

  : $2.66 billion compared to the $2.55 billion average estimate based on six analysts.

• Non-Gaap Gross Margin- Product

  : $6.61 billion versus the six-analyst average estimate of $6.34 billion.

View all Key Company Metrics for Cisco here>>>

Shares of Cisco have returned -4.3% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -3.2% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), indicating that it could outperform the broader market in the near term.