What happened Shares of Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) rose 19.8% in November, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The stock benefited from the broader market's momentum and climbed after the network technologies company posted better-than-expected first quarter results. ^SPX data by YCharts Cisco published first-quarter results on Nov. 12, posting sales and earnings for the period that beat the market's expectations. The company recorded non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share of $0.76 on revenue of $11.93 billion, while the average analyst target had called for per-share earnings of $0.70 on sales of $11.85 billion. Image source: Getty Images. So what Cisco's sales fell 9% year over year in the third quarter, largely due to the company's ongoing pivot to a more software-centric model and enterprises cutting back on spending amid coronavirus-related uncertainty. It was the fourth consecutive quarter in which the tech company posted a year-over-year revenue decline. Adjusted earnings for the period fell 10% year over year. However, management said that it's seeing signs of recovery at the business and delivered better-than-expected guidance -- paving the way for last month's double-digit stock gains. Now what Cisco stock has continued to move higher in December. The company's share price is up 1.8% in the month so far as of this writing. ^SPX data by YCharts Cisco is guiding for second-quarter sales to come in between flat and down 2% compared to the prior-year period. The company expects to post adjusted earnings per share between $0.74 and $0.76, down from per-share earnings of $0.77 in last year's quarter. In addition to this year's tough operating backdrop, Cisco is facing pressure from competitors, including Arista Networks, and a greater number of previously hardware-dependent networking functions being replicated through software applications. Despite these challenges, Cisco still has a great balance sheet to facilitate its push into next-generation networking technologies, and the stock stands out as a potential worthwhile candidate for investors seeking dividend-paying tech stocks. Cisco stock trades at roughly 14 times this year's expected earnings and has a 3.2% dividend yield. 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 tripled 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 November 20, 2020 Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Arista Networks. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source