Cisco 2012 Annual Report Download - page 150

Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and our future results that are
subject to the safe harbors created under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
each as amended. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about
the industries in which we operate and the beliefs and assumptions of our management. Words such as “expects,”
“anticipates,” “targets,” “goals,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “continues,”
“endeavors,” “strives,” “may,” variations of such words, and similar expressions are intended to identify such
forward-looking statements. In addition, statements that refer to the following are forward-looking statements:
our strategy of delivering intelligent networks and technology architectures built on integrated products, services
and software platforms as enabling our customers’ and our success; our degree of relevance in the marketplace;
the market transition towards more programmable, flexible and virtual networks, the extent to which customers
understand that the benefits of solutions that optimize the combination of hardware and software elements in
networks, and our expertise with respect to this market transition; our ability to drive innovation and sustainable
differentiation in our industry, and our intent to respond to challenges as well as to adjust and re-invent as
necessary to ensure our success; our intent to continue investing in our emerging markets segment and our belief
about the economic importance of such markets; the industry’s transition to a post-personal computer (PC)
world, the accompanying requirement of ubiquitous video and the potential beneficial effect of this transition on
a segment of our business; whether some of our partners will also become competitors of ours, and our strategy
in such situations; our ability to gain market share across all of our key product categories, to continue to deliver
profitable growth and generate long-term shareholder value, and to win in our customer and geographic
segments; and other characterizations of future events or circumstances. Readers are cautioned that these
forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results
due to a variety of factors, including: business and economic conditions and growth trends in the networking
industry, our customer markets and various geographic regions; global economic conditions and uncertainties in
the geopolitical environment; overall information technology spending; the growth and evolution of the Internet
and levels of capital spending on Internet-based systems; variations in customer demand for products and
services, including sales to the service provider market and other customer markets; the return on our
investments in certain priorities, including our foundational priorities, and in certain geographical locations; the
timing of orders and manufacturing and customer lead times; changes in customer order patterns or customer
mix; insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory; variability of component costs; variations in sales channels,
product costs or mix of products sold; our ability to successfully acquire businesses and technologies and to
successfully integrate and operate these acquired businesses and technologies; increased competition in our
product and service markets, including the data center; dependence on the introduction and market acceptance of
new product offerings and standards; rapid technological and market change; manufacturing and sourcing risks;
product defects and returns; litigation involving patents, intellectual property, antitrust, shareholder and other
matters, and governmental investigations; natural catastrophic events; a pandemic or epidemic; our ability to
achieve the benefits anticipated from our investments in sales, engineering, service, marketing and manufacturing
activities; our ability to recruit and retain key personnel; our ability to manage financial risk, and to manage
expenses during economic downturns; risks related to the global nature of our operations, including our
operations in emerging markets; currency fluctuations and other international factors; changes in provision for
income taxes, including changes in tax laws and regulations or adverse outcomes resulting from examinations of
our income tax returns; potential volatility in operating results; and other factors listed in Cisco’s most recent
report on Form 10-K contained in this Annual Report. Our results of operations for the year ended July 28, 2012
are not necessarily indicative of our operating results for any future periods. We undertake no obligation to revise
or update any forward-looking statements for any reason.