QUALCOMM Posts Upbeat Q4 Earnings, But Issues Weak Profit Outlook

reported better-than-expected results for its fiscal fourth quarter on Wednesday. However, the company issued a weak forecast for the first quarter. For the current quarter, Qualcomm expects a profit of $0.80 to $0.90 per share, on revenue of $5.2 billion to $6 billion. Analysts projected earnings of $1.08 per share on revenue of $5.79 billion. The San Diego, California-based company posted quarterly net income of $1.06 billion, or $0.67 per share, compared to $1.89 billion, or $1.11 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding items, the company earned $0.91 per share. Its revenue slipped 18.5 percent to $5.46 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.86 per share on revenue of $5.21 billion. At the end of the fourth quarter, the company had $30.9 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, versus $32.0 billion a year ago. "Our fiscal fourth quarter revenues and EPS were at the high end of our expectations, with stronger-than-expected MSM chipset shipments offsetting slower than expected progress concluding new license agreements in China. We executed a major increase in our capital return program in fiscal 2015, returning a record $14 billion of capital to stockholders," said Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated. QUALCOMM shares fell 5.33 percent to $57.05 in the after-hours trading session.