MV TELEGRAPH

Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco Technologies Inc., speaks during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, January 17, 2017. World leaders, influential executives, bankers and policymakers attend the 47th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos from January 17th to 20th.

Jason Alden | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Cisco stock fell 6% in extended trading Tuesday after the company posted second-quarter earnings that featured ongoing issues in its top-tier product segment. However, the company’s results and quarterly projections exceeded analyst estimates.

This is how the company did it:

• Merits: Adjusted for 79 cents per share compared to 76 cents per share, as analysts expected, Refinitiv said.
• Revenue: According to Refinitiv, $ 11.96 billion versus $ 11.92 billion as analysts expected.

Cisco’s revenue declined slightly on a yearly basis for the quarter ended January 23, according to a statement. Sales declined for the fifth quarter in a row. The weaker economy has dampened the company’s growth prospects, as has the decision by some customers to use cloud services to keep employees working efficiently and staying away during the coronavirus pandemic.

In the company’s leading product segment, Infrastructure Platforms, which includes sales of switches and routers for data center networks, Cisco had sales of $ 6.39 billion, down 3% year over year and above the consensus of 6, $ 23 billion below the analysts surveyed by FactSet.

“The corporate market remains weak, fueled by some extended sales cycles and a prolonged hiatus in spending from some customers caused by the pandemic,” Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins told analysts on a conference call. While switch revenue was flat, router and server revenue declined.

The application unit, including Webex video calling products, had sales of $ 1.35 billion, unchanged year over year, just below the FactSet consensus estimate of $ 1.40 billion. Webex had an average of 600 million users in the quarter, according to Robbins.

“I think you will actually see us next year – this portfolio will keep improving and I think we have a chance to buy back stocks,” said Robbins. Webex competes with Google, Microsoft and Zoom, among others.

Robbins pointed to the dynamism of web-scale customers running large data centers. About a quarter of Cisco’s sales to service providers for the quarter came from web-scale customers.

During the quarter, Cisco increased its bid to purchase network hardware company Acacia Communications from $ 2.6 billion to $ 4.5 billion. The company also announced that it plans to acquire cloud communications software maker IMImobile for $ 730 million and is rolling out third-party tool integration for Webex.

In relation to the forecasts, Cisco expects adjusted earnings per share of 80 to 82 cents with revenue growth of 3.5 to 5% in the third fiscal quarter. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected adjusted earnings per share of 81 cents and revenue of $ 12.35 billion, which would represent a 3% increase in revenue. The quarter includes an additional week.

Cisco has concerns about its supply chain, reflecting greater concerns about chip shortages, said Scott Herren, the company’s chief financial officer.

“At this point we will get in touch with all important suppliers,” said Herren. “We’re taking advantage of the type of bulk buying we have and are continuing to expand this supply chain to make sure we can protect customer shipments. Hence, there is little headwind on these lines from the current supply chain.” The company’s sales and gross margin forecast reflects supply chain fears, Herren said.

Excluding the after-hours move, Cisco stocks are up 9% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 index is up 4%.

Nominations are open to the 2021 CNBC Disruptor 50, a list of private startups that are leveraging breakthrough technology to become the next generation of large public companies. Post through Friday, February 12th at 3 p.m. EST.

CLOCK: Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco, ponders how to lead through difficult times

Tykerra Wilson, a medical receptionist at a doctor’s office in Cambridge, receives her second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on February 5, 2021 at the Talbot County Community Center in Easton, MD.

Will Newton | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Confidence in the coronavirus vaccine increased According to a new federal study released Tuesday, nearly half of Americans said they would likely get vaccinated once the sting became available.

Before Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine shipments hit the arms of millions of Americans in the United States in December, national surveys indicated that many adults were reluctant to get vaccinated for the disease.

According to the new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 39.4% of adult Americans surveyed in September said they were completely safe or very likely to be vaccinated. However, that number rose to just over 49% by December as the drugs received emergency approval from the federal government, the CDC found.

When people who said they were likely to be vaccinated were included in the count, confidence rose to 68% in December. Confidence in the drugs grew most in adults 65 and over, who were among the first Americans to receive the shots.

Between September and December, fewer people said they did not intend to get a vaccine once it became available. “Unintentional vaccine” decreased from 38.1% to 32.1%, according to the study.

However, trust between the population groups varied. Younger adults, women, blacks, people who live in non-urban areas, and people with lower levels of education were more likely to say they didn’t want the vaccine. People on lower incomes and people without health insurance also didn’t say they didn’t want to be vaccinated, according to the study.

“Although confidence in COVID-19 vaccines increased in the US from September to December 2020, additional efforts are required to adjust messages and implement strategies to further increase public confidence at large and within specific subpopulations,” said the Researchers in the study.

The CDC surveyed more than 3,500 adults in September and more than 2,000 adults in December. According to the study, only 123 people completed both surveys in September and December.

So far, the US has dispensed more than 59 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines and has given just over 42.4 million doses, according to recent data from the CDC. A separate study published February 1 found that most of the nearly 13 million people who were given at least one shot of a Covid-19 vaccine within the first month after the drugs were distributed were women who were 50 Years or older and probably not Spanish and white.

Scientists have warned that new and highly contagious variants of the virus may need more people to be vaccinated to achieve what is known as herd immunity. Dr. Jay Butler, CDC’s assistant director on infectious diseases, previously told the Infectious Diseases Society of America that current models require 70% to 75% of people to be vaccinated in order for the population to achieve herd immunity.

However, if a faster-spreading virus became the dominant strain, it would likely push that percentage down to as high as 85%, he said.

Earlier Tuesday, White House Task Force Covid-19 officials announced that they would begin delivering doses of Covid-19 vaccines directly to community health centers for fair access to the shots.

The program, which, in addition to doses sent directly to states and pharmacy chains, aims to expand vaccine supplies to some of the hardest-hit communities, such as: B. on the homeless, agricultural migrant workers, residents of social housing and those with Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, chair of the White House’s Covid-19 Health Equity Task Force, said English skills were limited.

“Justice is our north star here,” Nunez-Smith said during a press conference. “These efforts, which focus on direct referral to community health centers, are really about connecting with hard-to-reach populations across the country.”

A man waits for pharmacist Joe Borge in Danvers, MA on February 1, 2021. On the first day of Phase 2 of the COVID-19 rollout, seniors 75 and older will be vaccinated at the Walgreens pharmacy on 107 High Street. in Danvers.

Pat greenhouse | Boston Globe | Getty Images

Walgreens and Uber are working together to make it easier for people who don’t have a car or nearby pharmacy to get a Covid-19 vaccine.

The companies announced Tuesday that Uber would offer free trips to Walgreens stores and clinics for those who book an appointment and live in underserved communities. Uber will work with nonprofit partners like the National Urban League to identify people who need the rides.

The pilot program starts in Chicago, Atlanta, Houston and El Paso, Texas. A Walgreens spokeswoman said free rides would be offered in Atlanta as early as next week and then rolled out to the other cities.

The partnership is part of a promise Uber made in December to offer 10 million free or discounted trips to ensure transportation doesn’t stop people from getting the Covid vaccine.

Walgreens, the second largest pharmacy chain in the country, will take on an expanded role in introducing vaccines later this week. Walgreens give vaccines to priority groups – such as older Americans or those with pre-existing conditions – starting Friday in some stores in 15 states and two cities, Chicago and New York.

The Biden government last week announced plans to ship cans nationwide directly to around 6,500 retail stores. It is planned to eventually expand this program to 40,000 pharmacies.

The introduction of the vaccine was slowed by a limited supply. It has also reflected wider health inequalities. The majority of the nearly 13 million people who were given at least one vaccine dose within the first month after distribution were older, white, and female, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many vaccine websites have relied on online systems that can be difficult to navigate for older Americans or inaccessible to those without cell phones or reliable internet access.

Covid has taken a disproportionate toll on black and Hispanic Americans. According to the COVID Tracking Project, black Americans have died from Covid 1.5 times as often as whites.

Walgreens and Uber said they plan to work together in other ways too. Uber said it will add in-app features that will make it easier for Uber drivers, delivery drivers, and freight workers to book a vaccine appointment when it becomes generally available. The companies are developing an educational program with the National Urban League to reduce hesitation about vaccines.

A representation of the broadband constellation in Telesat’s near-earth orbit

Telesat

Canadian telecommunications satellite operator Telesat announced Tuesday that Franco-Italian space hardware maker Thales Alenia Space will build its next-generation broadband satellite network called Lightspeed.

Lightspeed will focus on delivering high-speed fiber-like Internet to Telesat’s customers around the world. The network, known in the industry as the Constellation, will consist of 298 next-generation satellites orbiting the Earth at an altitude of approximately 1,000 kilometers, or just over twice the altitude of the International Space Station.

“We’re not a start-up. This is not a new business for us. It’s the same old customers and the same old markets, but with an architecture that is better and more disruptive,” said Dan Goldberg, CEO of Telesat, to CNBC.

The company is primarily focused on business-to-business customers and expects the Lightspeed constellation to cost $ 5 billion, including the cost of the satellites, the purchase of rocket launches, the construction of the ground infrastructure and development of software platforms for the operation of the network. The cost of the satellites makes up most of that figure, as Goldberg said the contract with Thales Alenia Space is worth about $ 3 billion.

In particular, Goldberg made it clear that Telesat’s Lightspeed constellation is not designed to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink or Amazon’s Kuiper direct-to-consumer networks.

“This is not a broadband game for consumers,” Goldberg said. “We’re one of the largest satellite operators in the world today, and we’ve been for 50 years. But we’ve always been a service provider to businesses … we know this customer base, we know this customer base. We worked with these customers when we imagined this opportunity and designed this constellation. “

The headquarters of the company.

Telesat

Goldberg stated that Telesat Lightspeed’s customers include cruise lines, airlines and rural communities. The network’s anchor customer, according to Goldberg, will be the Canadian government, which has committed to using Lightspeed to “create a capacity pool that is being sold at very attractive prices to local authorities and truly rural broadband providers.”

“It’s orders of magnitude better than what exists today and even what a lot of people are planning,” said Goldberg. “This is about delivering a low cost per bit to the market.”

Telesat plans to begin launching the first speed of light in 2023. The first satellites will be launched by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin on his New Glenn rocket. Goldberg said he has been “following” the development of New Glenn as the rocket is scheduled to launch next year, but is confident that “it will be ready” when Telesat launches in two years. Telesat will also “announce other launch providers in the coming months”.

Telesat has selected our powerful New Glenn rocket to launch Telesat’s innovative LEO satellite constellation into space.

Telesat

One of the key technologies that Goldberg says Lightspeed satellites will use is intersatellite links, which allow satellites to establish data links with one another rather than individually connecting to points on the ground.

“We are basically running a large space-based mesh IP network, which means that all of our satellites are always online and generating revenue and can be connected to a user,” said Goldberg.

Inter-satellite links are key to reducing the number of points on the ground that the satellite constellation must connect to, as well as increasing the overall speed of the global network. Goldberg said Telesat plans to deploy around 30 ground stations around the world “because we don’t need that many” and it will help “minimize capital investments and on-site expenses”.

Telesat also worked to reduce the reflectivity of its Lightspeed satellites after SpaceX’s Starlink was hit by a public outcry from astronomers that hundreds of satellites were appearing as bright streaks on images captured by telescopes. Goldberg noted that the Lightspeed satellites will be about twice the height of the Starlink satellites, while also being a fraction of the number in the overall constellation. Telesat’s Lightspeed satellites are also designed to last 10 to 12 years each, so the company doesn’t have to replace them too often.

“We have been using space for 50 years – we are a responsible industrial user of space. We were very careful to ensure that it did not have such negative externalities,” said Goldberg.

Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis as well as live business day programs from around the world.