Industry players struggle with post-Covid hangover

  • Networking stocks slump on signs of soft demand
  • Extreme Networks provides weak financial guidance
  • Juniper Networks misses targets in December quarter
  • High customer inventories and delayed product implementation cited as reasons
  • Pending acquisition of Juniper by Hewlett Packard Enterprise raises concerns

The networking-hardware sector is facing challenges due to soft demand and disappointing earnings. Extreme Networks shares are plummeting after the company provided financial guidance that fell short of expectations. The shortfall is attributed to high customer inventories resulting from a surge in shipments following the Covid-19 pandemic. Cisco and Juniper Networks also faced similar issues, with Cisco reporting a slowdown in new product orders and Juniper missing its financial targets for the December quarter. The pending acquisition of Juniper by Hewlett Packard Enterprise adds further concerns. As a result, networking stocks, including Cisco and Arista Networks, have declined.

Public Companies: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Juniper Networks (JNPR), Extreme Networks (EXTR), Cisco (CSCO), Arista Networks (ANET)
Private Companies:
Key People: David Paul Morris (Unknown), James Fish (Piper Sandler analyst)


Factuality Level: 7
Justification: The article provides information about the financial performance of Extreme Networks and Juniper Networks, including their revenue, guidance, and product orders. The information is based on the companies’ financial reports and analyst comments. However, the article does not provide a comprehensive analysis of the networking-hardware sector or the reasons behind the post-Covid hangover. It also does not provide a balanced perspective by including opinions or comments from other sources.

Noise Level: 3
Justification: The article provides relevant information about the networking-hardware sector and the financial performance of Extreme Networks and Juniper Networks. It includes details about revenue projections, product orders, and the impact of high customer inventories. The article also mentions the pending acquisition of Juniper Networks by Hewlett Packard Enterprise. However, the article lacks in-depth analysis, scientific rigor, and actionable insights. It mainly reports on the financial results and stock performance of the companies without exploring the long-term trends or consequences of these events.

Financial Relevance: Yes
Financial Markets Impacted: The networking-hardware sector, including companies like Extreme Networks, Cisco, Juniper Networks, Arista Networks, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, is being impacted by the post-Covid hangover and the alarming earnings news.

Presence of Extreme Event: No
Nature of Extreme Event: No
Impact Rating of the Extreme Event: No
Justification: The article discusses the financial performance and guidance of several networking-hardware companies, indicating the relevance to financial topics. However, there is no mention of an extreme event or its impact.

Reported publicly: www.marketwatch.com