Even after the stock market bloodbath today, networking company Cisco Systems Inc. took even more of a beating later after posting weaker-than-expected guidance in its fourth-quarter earnings report.

In the three months just gone, Cisco did surprisingly well. It delivered a profit before certain costs such as stock compensation of 83 cents per share on revenue of $13.4 billion, up 6% from a year ago.

That came in ahead of estimates, as Wall Street was looking for an 82-cent profit on revenue of $13.38 billion.

But the strong performance was overshadowed by Cisco’s forecast for its fiscal first quarter. The company said it expects an adjusted profit of 80 to 82 cents and flat to 2% revenue growth. Analysts had predicted 83 cents on 2.5% revenue growth.

The poor outlook upset already spooked investors. Cisco’s shares, which were already down 4% on a poor day for nearly all stocks, fell by more than 7% in the after-hours trading session.

Cisco’s cause wasn’t helped by the increasingly drawn-out trade war between the U.S. and China either. In a conference call, Cisco Chief Executive Officer Chuck Robbins (pictured) said that had had a “significant impact” on the company’s business in China, where revenue fell more than 25% on an annualized basis.

“What we’ve seen is in the state on enterprises … we’re being uninvited to bid,” Robbins said. “We’re not being allowed to even participate anymore.”

The company’s troubles in China were at least offset by some positive growth with Cisco’s main business units, even if that growth is only going to be temporary. Cisco’s biggest earner is its data center networking products such as switches and routers. Those fall within its Infrastructure Platforms business unit, whose revenue grew 7%, to $7.8 billion. Cisco’s Applications unit revenue grew 11%, to $1.48 billion, while Security revenue rose 14%, to $714 million.

Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller said that despite today’s selloff, Cisco had delivered a solid quarter. He added that the company was most likely erring on the side of caution with regard to its guidance for the upcoming quarter.

“While the potential trade wars on the horizon are a concern, we can’t follow the low 0% to 2% guidance,” Mueller said. “It’s good to see Cisco’s executive management being conservative and potentially overdeliver in the next quarter. Though it may have set the bar a bit too low.”

Charles King of Pund-IT Inc. echoed those sentiments, saying that although there are valid concerns about tech companies’ fortunes in China, today’s stock market volatility was the result of other issues, such as the U.S. Treasuries’ inverted yield bond, which is beyond the influence and control of any company.

“In other words, don’t pay too much attention to what’s happening short-term,” King said. “When the tide coming in or going out is a tsunami, there’s likely to be a great deal of turbulence.”

Cisco hosted its main annual conference Cisco Live during the quarter just gone, announcing several new Wi-Fi products. The company also went on an acquisition spree, announcing plans to buy several companies in the last quarter. They include the networking chipmaker Acacia Communications Inc., which will cost around $2.6 billion, a cybersecurity firm called Sentryo SAS, and an artificial intelligence company called Voicea, which makes voice assistants for business meetings.

Photo: Cisco Pics/Flickr