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SAN JOSE — Cisco Systems Inc.’s fiscal first-quarter earnings beat Wall Street expectations Wednesday despite the weak economy and soft demand for networking gear. 

But the company, which has managed to outperform competitors in recent quarters, predicted a soft fiscal second quarter with sales remaining flat or falling slightly. 

For the three months ended Oct. 26, Cisco earned $618 million, or 8 cents per share, on sales of $4.85 billion. For the comparable period last fiscal year, the company lost $268 million, or 4 cents a share, on revenues of $4.45 billion. 

Excluding special items, Cisco earned $1 billion, or 14 cents per share, compared with a profit of $332 million or 4 cents a share in the same period last fiscal year. 

Analysts were expecting a first-quarter profit of 13 cents per share on sales of $4.81 billion, according to a survey by Thomson First Call. 

“Despite the challenging market, we continued to execute ahead of our competitors, resulting in another solid quarter for Cisco,” said John Chambers, the company’s chief executive. 

In August, the company said first-quarter sales would range from flat to a slight percentage increase from the $4.83 billion reported in its fiscal fourth quarter. 

“They’re really driving the operational execution of the company to a very high tempo,” said Barry Jaruzelski, managing partner of the global technology practice at Booz Allen Hamilton, a consulting firm. 

Cisco has been particularly hard hit by the meltdown in spending by telecommunications companies, which drove much of its growth in the late 1990s. To compensate, the company has dramatically cut costs and focused more attention on other business opportunities. 

Chambers told analysts he remains optimistic about the company’s long-term prospects, saying Cisco’s results will quickly follow improvements in its customers’ sales and profits. 

“It is no surprise given our customers’ visibility is limited that our own visibility is limited,” he said. 

The company expects its fiscal second-quarter revenues to be flat to down as much as 4 percent over the first quarter, said Larry Carter, Cisco’s chief financial officer. 

In the worst-case scenario, Cisco’s second-quarter sales would be $4.6 billion. The consensus analyst estimate for the period was $4.9 billion. 

“It would not be a big surprise if factors increased or decreased,” Chambers said. “As our customers’ business improves, so will our business with a slight lag time.” 

Cisco, the leading maker of routers, switches and other network equipment, has managed to continue posting profits even as rivals Lucent Technologies, Alcatel and Juniper Networks Inc. post losses. 

Jaruzelski compared Cisco’s performance to Dell Computer Corp. in the personal computer business. 

“It’s a flat, not attractive marketplace with penny-pinching customers,” he said. “They’re getting more than their fair share ... at the expense of others. They’re not doing it by giving their products away.” 

In the past month, Cisco’s shares have risen about 50 percent. 

On Wednesday, shares closed up 27 cents, to $12.96, in trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. After the company released its earnings, shares gained 10 cents in extended-session trading.