Qualcomm Surges 8% on Strong Earnings and Promising Outlook

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) rallied more than 8% in pre-market today after posting stronger-than-anticipated fourth-quarter results and providing robust guidance, signaling an upturn in smartphone chip demand. The company also announced a substantial $15 billion stock buyback program.

For the quarter, Qualcomm reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.69 on revenue of $10.24 billion, surpassing Wall Street expectations of $2.56 EPS on $9.9 billion revenue. The outperformance was largely fueled by its core handset chip division, which recorded a 12% sales increase to $6.10 billion year-over-year.

Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter, Qualcomm projected adjusted EPS between $2.85 and $3.05, with anticipated revenue ranging from $10.5 billion to $11.3 billion. This guidance at the midpoint exceeded analyst estimates of $2.87 EPS on $10.61 billion in revenue.