Qualcomm Beats, Raises Guidance

SAN DIEGO, Calif., (TheStreet) -- Qualcomm(QCOM) sailed past Wall Street's estimates in its first-quarter results and raised its guidance as the chip maker continues to ride the smartphone and tablet wave.

The Apple(AAPL) partner brought in revenue of $4.68 billion after market close on Wednesday, a hike of 40% on the prior year's quarter, and well above the average analysts' forecast of $4.58 billion.

Excluding items, Qualcomm earned 97 cents per share in the quarter, an increase of 18% on the same period last year. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were looking for earnings of 90 cents per share.

Qualcomm reported its first-quarter results after market close.

Qualcomm raised its fiscal 2012 guidance to a range between $18.7 billion and $19.7 billion, above a previous projection of $18 billion to $19 billion. Analysts were looking for $18.48 billion.

The company also hiked its earnings guidance for the fiscal year. Excluding items, Qualcomm now expects to earn between $3.55 and $3.75 per share, compared to its prior forecast of $3.42 to $3.62. Wall Street expects earnings of $3.59 per share.

"We are raising our revenue and earnings guidance as our broad licensing partnerships and extensive chipset roadmap, led by our integrated Snapdragon processors, position us well for strong growth in fiscal 2012," explained Paul Jacobs, the Qualcomm CEO, in a statement. "We continue to invest in innovative wireless technologies, products and services, and we are excited about the opportunities ahead as 3G and 4G continue to expand across new device types and geographies."

For the second quarter, Qualcomm expects revenue between $4.6 billion and $5 billion, and earnings between 91 and 97 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect sales of $4.51 billion and earnings of 89 cents per share in the March-ending period.

Investors responded positively to the numbers, pushing Qualcomm's shares up $3.11, or 5.22%, to $62.67 in extended trading.

--Written by James Rogers in New York.

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