Chasing Value: Cisco Shmisco -- It's Nothing

The market is down and the headlines are blaming Cisco Systems CSCO, in part because they reported tepid earnings and somber growth projections. This once again underscores the fact that stock prices are always determined at the margins. Most folks could care less, and this is reflected by the big silent yawn of the majority of investors. Cisco is not the bell-weather it has been in the past. Some of its business is down because there are more alternatives from competitors, "the cloud" keeps growing, and also many products have become commodities. There are many other companies I would consider better measures of how the economy is doing. These include Johnson and Johnson JNJ diversified into consumer care products, health care, pharmaceuticals and extensively diversified globally; General Electric GE a conglomerate with major diversification, having divisions in aerospace, water, health care, power generation, and entertainment, and Procter and Gamble PG, having similar characteristics to JNJ and GE. Continue reading the article.