We view Q3 in total as a strong quarter, especially given the slower growth that some of our larger peers have been experiencing, chief executive John Chambers said, on a conference call.

Overall, Cisco’s enterprise market grew in the low-teens percentage range, Chambers said.

But the US, where the company saw total order growth of about 20% year-over-year, was a flashpoint for growth. The company’s US enterprise revenue also grew about 20%, with four of its five operations growing in the 15% to 30% range. Chambers characterized Cisco’s quarterly US growth as unusually strong.

When your largest geography that represents almost half of your business is doing well, the results are obvious, Chambers said.

However, the same could not be said for its European business, which drives about 23% of total revenues and saw growth in the low double digit rates, Chambers said.

There was not the same momentum in Europe as there was in the US, Chambers said. We see it as a slower market, he said. But the problem is not a competitive one, according to Chambers. We think we’re gaining market share in most product categories.

He said part of the reason for the difference was that Cisco does not recognize its service provider revenue from some customers, notably BT, in the same ways as in the US. Also, the US is enjoying stronger gross domestic product growth in general, he said.

Also, Chambers said the relative weakness in the region was limited. The only areas we’ve seen a concern in terms of current momentum were in western Europe. Later in the call, Chambers said it was more in central and southern Europe, in areas like Italy, et cetera, where the company faced problems during the quarter.

However, Chambers was upbeat on the prospect for continued growth in the region in the future.

Orders in Cisco’s emerging markets, which drive only about 10% of revenues, surged 40% year-over-year.

Chambers said the company’s investment in its commercial markets continued to pay solid dividends with quarterly order growth in the low-20% range.

San Jose, California-based Cisco earned $1.4bn, or 22 cents a share, for its third fiscal quarter, down from $1.41bn, or 21 cents, a year ago. Had the company deducted stock option expenses last year, its year-ago income would have been just $1.2bn, or 18 cents.

Revenue rose 18% to $7.32bn from $6.19bn last year. Most Wall Street analysts had expected $7.16bn.

Cisco’s results include two months’ worth of Scientific Atlanta business, said Cisco controller Betsy Rafael.

While Cisco makes most of its money by selling its networking equipment to enterprises and telecom operators, it hopes too boost its consumer business, which is why it bought set-top maker Scientific for $6.9bn last November.

Scientific accounted for $407m of Cisco’s total quarterly revenue. Without Scientific, Cisco would have had 12% growth in revenues, not 18%, Rafael said. She also noted that about 5% of Scientific’s revenue was service related.

The company’s total core routing and switching business saw solid order growth in the mid-teens percentage range, Chambers said. IP and unified communications were drivers in its switching business.

As intelligence moves throughout the network, the network becomes the primary driver not only of IT but all forms of communications, Chambers said.

Enterprises, as well as almost all of Cisco’s customer segments, that are upgrading to VoIP systems are beginning to think about quad play, Chambers said. That is, of course, IP voice, video, data and mobility. And I think you’re beginning to see people not make a VoIP decision as much as they are moving toward unified communications, he said.

Obviously, the better we do on the architectural wins the better positioned we are for not just voice but also mobility.

Charles Giancarlo, Cisco’s chief development officer, said the company was seeing a three-to-one enterprise spend on total IP infrastructure versus spending on VoIP infrastructure alone.

We’re seeing upgrades in anticipation of other advanced communication technologies, he said.

Looking ahead, the company forecasted $7.8bn in revenues for the current quarter, which includes revenue of roughly mid-$500m from Scientific. Analysts had hoped for $7.9bn on average.

Cisco shares fell by almost 1% to $21.47 in after-hours trading on the Nasdaq following the announcement.