Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO): The Recap

It’s also a sign of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s current pricing power. Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) scrapes along with a trailing operating margin of a mere 8%. Ciena Corporation (NASDAQ:CIEN) and Alcatel Lucent SA (NYSE:ALU) suffer under negative operating margins. None of these competitors has the massive economies of scale that Cisco boasts. Juniper can nearly match Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) in terms of market history and proven performance. Ciena Corporation (NASDAQ:CIEN) and Alcatel Lucent SA (NYSE:ALU) still know how to cook up a high-performance router for long-distance service providers, but there’s no integrated package there. Alcatel Lucent SA (NYSE:ALU) is fighting for its corporate life with financing deals and a leaseback of its own headquarters. In short, these rivals can only hope to beat Cisco at its own game if they’re willing to undercut its prices. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is the only place to go for end-to-end networking — now with an integrated server solution to boot.

Cisco’s shares have delivered on that promise, beating all of these rivals over the last one- and five-year periods. And if Chambers’ team keeps executing like this, I don’t see any reason why this trend would reverse anytime soon.

So maybe you missed last night’s Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) jump, but it’s not too late to invest in this stock yet. The long-term story is still developing.

The article Why Cisco Lifted the Dow Today originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Anders Bylund holds no position in any company mentioned. Check out Anders’ bio and holdings or follow him on Twitter and Google+. The Motley Fool owns shares of Cisco Systems. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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