Qualcomm Guides Higher; Shares Rise

Qualcomm(QCOM Quote) raised guidance for its fiscal third quarter and full-year 2008, citing the global migration to higher-speed 3G wireless networks.

The San Diego, Calif.-based wireless telecom product maker said it now expects earnings to be 54 cents to 55 cents, compared with prior guidance of 50 cents to 52 cents. Revenue is expected to come in at the high end of Qualcomm's guidance range of $2.5 billion to $2.7 billion, which would mean an increase of 8% to 16% from year-ago levels.

Qualcomm added that as the fundamental drivers of its business remain strong, it has raised its fiscal 2008 earnings guidance range to approximately $2.09 to $2.13 a share, up from the range of $2.04 to $2.09 a share. The company did not provide an update to fiscal 2008 revenue, which it previously said would fall in the range $10 billion to $10.4 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Qualcomm to notch a fiscal third-quarter profit of 52 cents a share on revenue of $2.61 billion. For the full year, Wall Street expects earnings of $2.11 a share on revenue of $10.31 billion. Shares of Qualcomm were lately up $1.88, or 4.1%, to $48.19.

"We are expecting another successful quarter driven by the continued global migration to 3G," said Qualcomm CEO Paul E. Jacobs. "Our updated guidance reflects greater than expected demand for our 1xEV-DO and HSPA chipsets as well as revenues from advanced 3G network upgrades."

At a technology conference one week ago, Qualcomm reminded investors and analysts of the outlook it had provided in its fiscal second-quarter earnings report on April 23. Qualcomm is expected to post fiscal third-quarter results on July 23.