Qualcomm reported revenues for its fiscal fourth quarter of USD 8.35 billion, up 73 percent from a year earlier and better than its guidance. Net profit jumped to USD 2.96 billion from USD 506 million a year ago, also better than forecast, and adjusted EPS rose 86 percent to USD 1.45.
The company attributed the growth to the accelerating 5G market, which benefitted both its licensing and product businesses. MSM shipments returned to annual growth of 7 percent for a total of 162 million, at the high end of Qualcomm's forecast.
Over the full fiscal year, Qualcomm's revenues were still down 3 percent to USD 23.53 billion, and pretax profit dropped 24 percent to USD 5.82 billion. Net earnings rose 26 percent to USD 4.52, helped by the share buyback, on which Qualcomm spent USD 2.45 billion last year. With a Q4 dividend of USD 0.65 per share, total dividends for the year will reach USD 2.88 billion.
For fiscal Q1, Qualcomm forecast revenues of USD 7.8-8.6 billion and EPS of USD 1.67-1.87. The company said it would stop reporting on MSM shipments, but start providing a product revenue breakdown based on Handsets, RF front-end, Automotive and IoT for the QCT segment. Historical figures released with the report show handsets accounted for over 63 percent of QCT revenues in the past fiscal year. QCT is expected to show strong sequential growth in Q1, with revenues estimated at USD 6.2-6.8 billion compared to USD 4.97 billion in the fourth quarter.
