Amid wireless wreck, Qualcomm is still a standout
While the sector stumbles, this company promises continued value and growth. The primary reason: Qualcomm retains licensing rights for the top wireless technology, CDMA.
By Eric C. Fleming
money.msn.com
When the wireless wreck is over, one supplier will surely be still standing: Qualcomm (QCOM, news, msgs).
The San Diego, Calif. company licenses its code division multiple access (CDMA) wireless technology, known for its exceptional call quality and long battery life, to some 115 million CDMA subscribers, according to the CDMA Development Group. (Rival technologies TDMA -- time division multiple access -- and GSM -- Global System for Mobile communications -- totaled 400 million subscribers, or about 70% of worldwide subscribers, according to the Universal Wireless Communications Consortium.)
Right now, wireless looks like a vast wasteland: Providers have huge debt burdens, and subscriber growth is stalling, with no clear path to profits.
And Qualcomm has suffered, too: Its share price has been more than halved from its 52-week high at 81.88 last February and stands just 4% percent off its 52-week low of 34.59 reached earlier this month. |
