Qualcomm Earns 99 Cents per Share

It was an ugly quarter for Qualcomm (QCOM). Still, they made 99 cents per share which was four cents better than very low estimates. The company also announced major job cuts and the possibility of a break-up. It’s tough news but not unexpected.

Qualcomm Corp. said Wednesday that it would consider changes to its corporate structure and cut $1.4 billion in spending, moving to appease investors amid problems that triggered a 47% drop in its fiscal third-quarter profit.

The company said the review would include possibilities such as separating its businesses, capital return opportunities and other alternatives.

Qualcomm has studied a breakup before and rejected the idea, but the possibility re-emerged after activist investor Jana Partners in April bought a major stake in the company.

Qualcomm said it also has reached an agreement with Jana to add Mark McLaughlin, chief executive of Palo Alto Network, and Tony Vinciquerra, a senior adviser to TPG, to its board.

For the current quarter, which is their fiscal Q4, QCOM sees earnings ranging between 75 and 95 cents per share. That comes to full-year earnings of $4.50 to $4.70 per share. Wall Street had been expecting $1.08 for the quarter and $4.79 for the year.

Posted by on July 22nd, 2015 at 4:31 pm


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