Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) is expected to report Q3 earnings on May 15. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
 Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Cisco Systems's revenues will increase 5.1% and EPS will grow 2.1%.

The average estimate for revenue is $12.18 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.49.

Revenue details
 Last quarter, Cisco Systems reported revenue of $12.10 billion. GAAP reported sales were 5.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $11.53 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.51. GAAP EPS of $0.59 for Q2 were 48% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.40 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
 For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 60.7%, 60 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 23.2%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 26.0%, 710 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $48.66 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.99.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 10,509 members out of 11,031 rating the stock outperform, and 522 members rating it underperform. Among 1,936 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,857 give Cisco Systems a green thumbs-up, and 79 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Cisco Systems is outperform, with an average price target of $22.11.

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