Qualcomm ups financial forecast: Business brisk despite legal woes

Qualcomm Inc. is the little engine that could, if such an analogy isn’t out of line for a multi-billion dollar company.
The San Diego-based chip-making and IP-licensing firm today raised its financial guidance for the fourth fiscal quarter and the full fiscal year.
Qualcomm now expects to score revenues at or above its previous guidance of about $2.15 billion to $2.25 billion in fiscal fourth quarter on shipments of 67 million to 68 million units of its MSM chips, based on demand for 3G devices and services, said CEO Paul Jacobs. That’s up from the $2 billion the company earned in the year-ago quarter.
The company expects revenues of $8.72 to $8.82 billion for the fiscal full year, up from the $7.53 billion it recorded in fiscal 2006.
Qualcomm’s stock remained relatively unchanged on the news, hovering around $41.28 per share.
The company said it also spent about $1.2 billion in the quarter now ending on a stock buy-back program, according to Jacobs.
UBS analyst Maynard Um wrote in a note to investors today that, despite Qualcomm’s worldwide handset shipment forecast of 92 million-in line with UBS’ own expectations-for the quarter, the firm is expecting a strong ramp in 3G-related products and, therefore, the company may post stronger-than-expected margins.
Qualcomm noted that it recorded no royalties from Nokia Corp. for the fiscal fourth quarter. The two companies remain at an impasse over a cross-licensing agreement that expired in April; Qualcomm has initiated arbitration to attempt to settle the matter.