His colleague Paul Johnson rates Cisco a buy, and Silverstein says the two analysts agree on the matter. Cisco declined to comment on the letter, saying executives are still reviewing it. Silverstein says his relationship with Cisco is healthy. My sentiments were heartfelt on the issue. Silverstein believes that new bookkeeping standards won't dent Wall Street's high opinion of Cisco.
Most analysts regard Cisco's track record on acquisitions as strong.
Still, the debate is fresh enough that no consensus has emerged on how to handle purchase accounting. Hill with First Call says he is re-examining how different analysts' earnings models treat Cisco. While Silicon Valley is upset about the end of the pooling party, another investment bank agrees with Silverstein that bookkeeping issues don't affect business realities. After that, companies will return to working on growth strategies. Top Read our conflicts and disclosure policy .