Sycamore's Uncertain Furture

Optical switch maker Sycamore Networks (Nasdaq: SCMR  ) took another 7% hit to $5 a share in after-hours trading yesterday after the company reported that first-quarter revenues fell short again. Sycamore continues to struggle in the fallout of a telecom nuclear winter that bankrupted its customers, evaporated its revenues, and absolutely decimated a stock that traded as high as $200 a share in 2000.

While revenues climbed 42% year over year to $8.4 million, they were down 23% sequentially and short of the estimate of $9 million. Notably, improved efficiencies helped the company narrow its loss; even as revenues grew, cost of revenue declined 20% year over year to $5.7 million, helping Sycamore reverse an operating loss.

But Sycamore faces an uncertain future.

Its shares have bounced back along with the market, getting a nice pop in September when it was awarded a share of a government contract, along with larger competitors Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO  ) , Juniper Networks (Nasdaq: JNPR  ) , and Ciena (Nasdaq: CIEN  ) . However, revenues have otherwise yet to materialize to the point where they support a $1.4 billion market cap.

On the other hand, Sycamore has a next-generation portfolio of products, built for the transition to optical networks. Moreover, the company is sitting on $650 million in cash with no debt and declining cash burn. Some have suggested that Sycamore's rebound will come after other companies in the industry recover.

Still, while Sycamore might have plenty of cash to weather the storm, that cash and portfolio must be very attractive to potential suitors, a possibility that has been mentioned in the past. And unless things turnaround, it might just make some sense for Sycamore to hook up with a more stable partner.

Think Sycamore will make it on its own? Think otherwise? Tell us on the Sycamore discussion board. Only at Fool.com. Jeff Hwang can be reached at JHwang@fool.com.