What happened Shares of Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) fell 15.5% in August 2019, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Mainly, the stock took a 12.3% haircut in a span of two days around the networking equipment giant's earnings report. So what Cisco's fourth-quarter sales rose 4.5% year over year, landing at $13.4 billion. Adjusted earnings increased 19% to $0.83 per diluted share. Both of these line items edged out the Wall Street consensus, which had been calling for earnings near $0.82 per share on revenues in the neighborhood of $13.39 billion. At the same time, Cisco's management offered somewhat disappointing guidance for the next reporting period. At the midpoint of the provided guidance ranges, first-quarter revenues should stop near $13.23 billion, while adjusted earnings are headed toward roughly $0.81 per share. For this period, analysts had been expecting earnings of approximately $0.83 per share on sales around $13.4 billion. Image source: Getty Images. Now what The computer networking veteran is struggling to make up for slow orders from Chinese telecoms. Order volumes in that subsector came in 21% below their year-ago reading in the fourth quarter. Other sectors provided solid growth, led by a 21% boost to global sales of security products and services. The end of the Chinese-American trade war can't come soon enough for Cisco's investors. That being said, the resulting discount to the share prices makes Cisco a solid buy for long-term investors with enough patience to outlast the international trade tensions. 10 stocks we like better than Cisco SystemsWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has quadrupled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Cisco Systems wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of June 1, 2019 Anders Bylund has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source