Cisco’s Chairman and CEO Chuck Robbins speaks to participants during the Viva Technologie show at Parc des Expositions Porte de Versailles in Paris on May 24, 2018.
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Chinese government-controlled enterprises are opting to work with local vendors rather than American-owned companies as the U.S.-China trade war continues, Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins told CNBC on Thursday.
“We certainly saw an impact on our business in China this quarter. A lot of state-owned enterprises, I think where they have options, they’re choosing local manufacturers,” Robbins said on “Squawk on the Street. ” “We don’t know if that’s a short-term thing or a long-term thing.”
Cisco shares tumbled Thursday after the California-based computer networking equipment company issued weaker-than-expected forward guidance, citing macro uncertainty. Revenue in China was down 25% on an annualized basis in its fiscal fourth quarter, Cisco Chief Financial Officer Kelly Kramer said on Wednesday’s post-earnings conference call.
“While it’s a small part of our business, when it falls off that precipitously, it creates a challenge,” Robbins told CNBC on Thursday. “We saw strength in other parts of the business. But during July, we felt a slight change in sort of the overall macro [economic environment] versus what we’d experienced in the prior months.”
If the U.S. and China were able to strike a deal to resolve their trade and technology disputes, Robbins said that he would expect “more robust access” in China.
— CNBC’s Jordan Novet contributed to this report.
