Qualcomm Rises on Increased Guidance; Q3 Earnings In-Line

released its fiscal third-quarter earnings results after the closing bell on Wednesday. The company reported earnings per share that were in-line with consensus and revenue that came in ahead of Wall Street expectations. Qualcomm also lifted its full-year earnings and revenue outlook and provided guidance for the upcoming fourth-quarter. In late trade, the stock had climbed almost 5 percent to $64.25.

"We delivered another strong quarter as our Qualcomm Snapdragon solutions were prominent in a broad set of flagship smartphones, and 3G/4G device average selling prices were stronger than expected. We also focused on return of capital to stockholders and increased our stock repurchases and dividends paid during the quarter," said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm. "This quarter, we continued our technology leadership, with our Snapdragon 800 processor powering the world's first LTE-Advanced smartphone. We see expanding opportunities for growth of 3G/4G devices around the globe, driven by the strong pace of innovation in the industry."

Qualcomm reported net income of $1.58 billion or $0.90 per share, compared to $1.21 billion or $0.69 per share, in last year's corresponding period. On a non-GAAP basis, net income was $1.82 billion or $1.03 per share, versus $1.49 billion or $0.85 per share, in last years third-quarter. This was in-line with Street consensus estimates. Total revenues in the quarter were $6.24 billion from $4.63 billion a year ago. This came in ahead of analysts' consensus revenue expectations of $6.05 billion.

For Q4, Qualcomm said that it expects GAAP earnings of $0.86 to $0.94 per share and non-GAAP earnings of $1.02 to $1.10 per share on revenue of $5.9 billion to $6.6 billion. Currently, analysts expect the company to report EPS of $1.08 on revenue of $6.29 billion for the fiscal fourth-quarter. For the full-year, the company now sees GAAP earnings of $3.90 to $3.98 per share and non-GAAP earnings of $4.48 to $4.56 per share. Previously, Qualcomm had guided for GAAP earnings of $3.78 to $3.93 per share and non-GAAP earnings of $4.40 to $4.55 per share. The company also raised its revenue outlook for fiscal 2013. Qualcomm now expects sales of $24.3 billion to $25.0 billion versus its previous guidance of $24.0 billion to $25.0 billion. Currently, analysts have consensus EPS estimates of $4.54 on revenue of $24.48 billion for the fiscal year.