Cisco Systems, reporting Wednesday, said revenue fell 17 percent to $8.2 billion while net income plunged 21 percent to $1.3 billion.

Cisco said it expects revenue to fall in the current quarter between 17 percent and 20 percent from a year earlier, though CEO John Chambers said the company is sticking to its long-term plan for 12 percent to 17 percent year-over-year revenue growth.

Chambers also said Cisco should be able to trim annual costs by $1 billion by the end of this year, and possibly even cut $1.5 billion.

Barclays increased estimates on the company, including raising its share forecast to $20, to reflect operating expense controls.

Meanwhile, even though the chip market is getting hit hard by the drop in demand for PCs, Credit Suisse Thursday added Intel to its Focus List of stocks, giving it an "outperform" rating and an $18 price target, saying that the company is positioned to grow along with a recovery in PC demand.