TB,
<< nobody's bothered to post a brilliant QCOM CC summary >>
Perhaps that's something that should be done, and it doesn't need to be "brilliant".
I usually take pretty good notes.
I really tuned out, however, right at the beginning last evening when Irwin immediately got to the (unexpected) Q4 bottom line, and concurrently I was reading a news release about Qualcomm implementing SEC SAB 101 which decreased pro forma earnings before taxes for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2001 by a net of $32 million and $51 million, respectively.
I'll go back and listen another time.
I'm not sure how others reacted, but the whole CC seemed unusually flat, rushed, and disjointed to me, irrespective of the numbers. I came away with the impression that the executives participating did not put requisite energy into prep for this important event.
Did anyone get slides (other than a cover slide, Safe Harbor, agenda/speakers, closing?
I just looked again and no slide copy available, and only the slides I referenced above downloaded with systems prep..
This is really sloppy IR, IMO, for a S&P 500 company, particularly for a fiscal ending review.
I compare this to the effort that Nokia puts into quarterly, interim, and fiscal year presentations, and the archiving of same, and their is simply no comparison.
I have always had the impression that Qualcomm is an excellent technology company, but have also felt that they could benefit from considerable improvement in all aspects of marketing (and in this case I'm including IR under the marketing umbrella).
That said, Qualcomm enjoys excellent press from US financial analysts and that is an invaluable asset.
One important aspect of yesterdays CC was realistic expectation setting on China (4 to 8 million handsets in 2001, depending on how cleanly Unicom launches and how they market), since there is a tendency to confuse subscriber lines (capacity) with subscribers.
CDMA handset sales next calendar year were projected to be 85 to 95 million. 95 million is pretty aggressive but 85 million is probably realistic. Qualcomm skated by their last quarter expectation of 75 million handsets this year, leaving it unchanged. I think the actual number will be in the 68 million to 70 million range.
I've always looked forward to Qualcomm CC's. This was not their best by any means, and I'm not talking about numbers. One difference is that we had a little less Irwin, and a little more "others". I appreciate getting to know the "others", but Irwin is an exceptionally charismatic presenter, and I think his reports need a little presentation practice. They are good, but not great. They'll improve, I'm sure, and all they did a pretty good job in Q&A.
I might add that I have been listening to all (well most) wireless CC's - MOT, ERICY, LU, NOK, QCOM. It is a terribly tough sector to get a grip on right now. Lack of visibility and uncertainty regarding carrier cap ex, and wireless data acceptance, make it very difficult to deliver good clean guidance, and be really upbeat.
All JMHO.
- Eric - |
