Little Change Seen for 3Com Earnings

3Com Corp. is expected to report Monday that its fiscal third-quarter profit was little changed as falling sales of computer networking equipment canceled out gains from Palm Inc. electronic organizers, analysts said. Profit in the quarter ended Feb. 25 was 25 cents a share, compared with 24 cents a year earlier, according to First Call/Thomson Financial. Analysts expect revenue of $1.4 billion to $1.46 billion at the No. 2 networking company, compared with $1.41 billion a year ago. Santa Clara-based 3Com may time its earnings release with a second announcement at an analyst meeting Monday. Network World, a trade magazine, said this week that 3Com may spin off more pieces to focus on its most profitable units. 3Com will be left with networking equipment, modems and adapter cards for personal computers after the planned spinoff of Palm is completed. Shares rose $3.50 to close at $68 on Nasdaq.