Despite the upbeat report, Qualcomm shares traded down by 5% in late trading. CEO Cristiano Amon said the results “reflect the strong demand for our products and technologies, with QCT revenues exceeding those of any fabless semiconductor company,” referring to the company’s division that sells chipsets. Added Amon, “We are at the beginning of one of the largest opportunities in our history, with our addressable market expanding by more than seven times to approximately $700 billion in the next decade. “Our one technology roadmap positions us as the partner of choice for both mobile and the connected intelligent edge.” Revenue in the three months ended in December rose 30%, year over year, to $10.7 billion, yielding a net profit of $3.23 a share. Analysts had been modeling $10.47 billion and $3 per share. Qualcomm’s gross profit margin was 40.2% in the quarter, down from 42.4% a year earlier. Total chipset revenue in the QCT division rose by 35% to $8.85 billion, said Qualcomm. Royalty and licensing revenue, the QTL division, rose by 10%, to $1.82 billion. Qualcomm’s chipset revenue from handsets surged by 42% in the quarter, to $5.98 billion, it said. Revenue for chips sold into the Internet of Things, or “IoT,” market, surged by 41% to $1.476 billion. Revenue for RF Front-end chips was up 7% at $1.13 billion. And revenue from the automotive market rose by 21% to $256 million. For the current quarter, the company sees revenue of $10.2 billion to $11 billion, and EPS in a range of $2.80 to $3 per share. That compares to consensus for $9.54 billion and a $2.48 profit per share.
