Why Qualcomm Is Uber Confident

by Tom Taulli | March 6, 2012 1:06 pm

[1]So far this year, tech has posted standout gains. But the bull run is hitting a wall today. Top companies like Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL[2]), Dell (NASDAQ:DELL[3]) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG[4]) have lost anywhere from 1% to 3%.

But there’s still some good news. Just take a look at Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM[5]). The company announced a 16% increase in its dividend as well as a $4 billion share buyback. How about that for confidence?

A key reason for Qualcomm’s strength is Apple. Consider that it’s the sole supplier of baseband chips for the iPhone 4S.

It certainly helps that Qualcomm’s CDMA technology is a global standard and is protected with thousands of patents. All in all, it would be extremely difficult and expensive for a competitor to come up with an viable alternative.

Qualcomm has also been investing in next-generation technologies, such as the so-called Long-Term Evolution (LTE) version of 4G. This is supposed to be a key feature in Apple’s new iPad, set for public launch tomorrow.

In light of all this, it should be no surprise that Qualcomm has been growing at a hefty rate. For fiscal 2012 (ending September), the company expects to generate revenues of $18.7 billion to $19.7 billion. This represents a ramp of 25% to 32% over 2011.

True, Qualcomm’s stock has already rallied 14% for 2012. Yet it still has a reasonable valuation, at 23 times earnings — which is in line with its growth rate.

But Qualcomm isn’t only about Apple. The company is also seeing lots of traction in China and India, which should provide long-term growth. There may also be a lift from the aggressive push from the Lumia devices of Nokia (NYSE:NOK[6]) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT[7]).

As for today, Qualcomm’s stock is off about 0.6% to $61.72 in midday trading. But for investors looking to participate in the mobile revolution — which shows no signs of slowing down — this stock looks like a good opportunity.

Tom Taulli runs the InvestorPlace blog IPO Playbook[8], a site dedicated to the hottest news and rumors about initial public offerings. He also is the author of “All About Short Selling”[9] and “All About Commodities.”[10] Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli[11]. As of this writing, he did not own a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books. They include Artificial Intelligence Basics and the Robotic Process Automation Handbook. His upcoming book is called Generative AI: How ChatGPT and other AI Tools Will Revolutionize Business.

Endnotes:

  1. [Image]: https://investorplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/qualcomm.jpg
  2. AAPL: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=AAPL
  3. DELL: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=DELL
  4. GOOG: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=GOOG
  5. QCOM: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=QCOM
  6. NOK: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=NOK
  7. MSFT: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=MSFT
  8. IPO Playbook: https://investorplace.com/ipo-playbook/
  9. “All About Short Selling”: http://www.amazon.com/All-About-Short-Selling/dp/0071759344/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302184310&sr=1-1
  10. “All About Commodities.”: http://www.amazon.com/All-About-Commodities/dp/0071769986/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_10
  11. @ttaulli: https://twitter.com/ttaulli

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2012/03/why-qualcomm-is-uber-confident/