Ramsey and Thread, two issues here.
First, on the FCC, yes, when the government makes a mistake (as shown by the court decision), it does pay up, eventually. This could be either in the form of cash compensation for lost opportunity or a discount on the purchase of spectrum at some future auction, with interest, in the event the compensation is cash.
Second, on G*, in addition to profits from the sale of handsets and/or ASICs, QUALCOMM has an equity interest in the company by virtue of its share ownership. This will eventually show up on QCOM financial statements as higher assets, or as a one-time addition to earnings. It's one more reason why most analysts, notably those at H&Q, are significantly underestimating QCOM profits, and stock performance. |
