Jefferies analyst George Notter said rivals may have out-performed Cisco.
"Frankly, it's a bit hard to accept that Cisco is the 'canary in the coal mine' on the China/Covid lockdown supply chain issues, which cropped up in April," he said in a report.
He added: "We're wondering if Cisco's isn't executing crisply with its supply chain team. Based on our analysis, Cisco was slow to ramp inventories and purchase commitments while other equipment vendors – such as Arista Networks (ANET)– reacted several quarters before Cisco."
At Needham, analyst Alex Henderson said in a report: "Cisco is blaming its outlook primarily on supply chain, particularly power supplies. Its guidance is substantially weaker than any other company in the category."