3Com Corporation (COMS) reported better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter profit late last week, which brought about higher earnings estimates for this fiscal year and a spot on the Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers List.

On Mar 19, the computer network equipment company announced non-GAAP earnings per share of 13 cents in the quarter, beating the consensus by more than 62%. The result also marked a solid year-over-year advance.

Of course, the company is grappling with the economic environment, and sales declined 3.5% to $324.7 million from $336.4 million.

All things considered though, COMS is performing rather well under difficult conditions. The company was able to offset weaknesses in some geographies through a strong performance from its China business, record revenue in its TippingPoint segment and “stringent” cost management.

For this fiscal year, ending May 2009, earnings estimates have improved 12.5% over the past 7 days, which is the big reason for its Zacks #1 Rank. However, expectations for next fiscal year have declined a bit in the past week, so it’s uncertain how long the positive business momentum will last.

But for now, shares of the company are up approximately 6.2% on Friday, which is enough to make COMS a top-performing Zacks #1 Rank.

COMS is 1 of 2 companies from the Computer-Networks industry on today’s Zacks #1 Rank List, which includes 200 stocks. Network Equipment Technologies, Inc. (NWK) is the other company.

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