Qualcomm Boosts Guidance

Qualcomm (QCOM Quote - Cramer on QCOM - Stock Picks) raised current-quarter guidance on strong mobile phone demand.

The San Diego wireless tech shop says it now expects fiscal first quarter adjusted profit to be about 52 to 53 cents a share. That forecast is above the 51-cent prior guidance and slightly higher than the 52 cents analysts are looking for.

These profit projections do not include disputed royalty payments from Nokia (NOK Quote - Cramer on NOK - Stock Picks). Qualcomm and Nokia are deadlocked over a licensing agreement that is now in the hands of an arbiter.

Sales for the quarter ending Dec. 30 are now expected to be $2.3 billion to $2.4 billion. That is above the $2 billion mark a year ago and roughly in line with analysts' expectations for $2.4 billion.

Qualcomm says its chip shipments are likely to hit 78 million units, the high end of its prior guidance.

Qualcomm revised its CDMA phone shipment estimates for the fiscal fourth quarter ended in September. There were 95 million phones shipped at an average selling price of $211 in the quarter. That is slightly below the target of as many as 98 million phones at an average selling price of $212.

"Demand for CDMA-based devices and services continues to accelerate at a rapid pace," CEO Paul Jacobs said in a press release. "Our updated guidance reflects stronger than anticipated demand across all tiers of CDMA2000 chipsets with particular strength in the low end."

The company also says it does not expect to take any charges related to its investments. The crash in mortgage market and asset-back securities has caused some companies, particularly those that sank cash into these investment vehicles, to have to adjust their books to account for investment losses.

Qualcomm shares jumped $1.24, or 3%, to $39.52 in premarket trading Thursday.