Cisco Systems Inc. provided positive numbers in its fiscal fourth-quarter results Wednesday, and there’s a story behind those numbers. The networking giant posted a modest revenue beat of $13.64 billion, $100 million more than consensus estimates. Gross margin, boosted by the acquisition of Splunk Inc., came in at a whopping 67.5%, the highest number for Cisco in 20 years. Product order growth rose 14% year over year, 6% excluding Splunk.

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Five takeaways from Cisco’s fourth quarter

With its fiscal first-quarter earnings reported Wednesday, networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. started off the year with a bang.

Cisco’s numbers are always an important industry litmus test because it’s the biggest networking vendor and has the broadest portfolio. How their quarter goes is a general indicator for the direction of the network, collaboration, service provider spending and security.

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Top takeaways from Cisco’s ‘beat and raise’ first-quarter earnings