To: slacker711 who wrote (250 ) 7/27/1999 9:21:00 AM From: slacker711 Respond to of 13582
Lehman Brother's analysis of last week's earning's report....part 1lehman.com Headline: QUALCOMM: 3Q99 Beats, Excellent Outlook, Ests & Target Increased Again, I Author: Tim Luke, Mark Sue (212)526-4993 Rating: 1 Company: QCOM Country: SEO CUS Industry: TELECM Ticker : QCOM Rank(Old): 1-Buy Rank(New): 1-Buy Price : $158 1/4 52wk Range: $160-19 Price Target (Old):$165 Today's Date : 07/20/99 Price Target (New):$200 Fiscal Year : SEP ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ EPS 1998 1999 2000 QTR. Actual Old New Old New 1st: 0.29A 0.33A 0.33A - -E - -E 2nd: 0.13A 0.41A 0.41A - -E - -E 3rd: 0.17A 0.68E 0.75A - -E - -E 4th: 0.27A 0.76E 0.88E - -E - -E ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Year:$ 0.85A $ 2.18E $ 2.37E $ 3.02E $ 3.80E Street Est.: $ 2.05E $ 2.06 $ 2.77E $ 2.79 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Price (As of 7/16): $158 1/4 Revenue (1999): 3.6 Bil. Return On Equity (99): N/A Proj. 5yr EPS Grth: 35.0 % Shares Outstanding: 148.0 Mil. Dividend Yield: N/A Mkt Capitalization: 23.42 Bil. P/E 1999; 2000 : 72.6 X; 52.4 X Current Book Value: $6.86 /sh Convertible: YES Debt-to-Capital: 99.8 % Disclosure(s): C, A ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Post close yesterday wireless equipment leader QUALCOMM reported very strong third quarter 1999 EPS of $0.75 (excluding one-time charges) coming in comfortably ahead of both our high-end estimate of $0.68 and consensus estimate of $0.63. * Excluding operating expenses and one-time charges related to the infrastructure business now sold to Ericsson, EPS would have reached $0.86 indicating QUALCOMM's substantial EPS leverage going forward. Based on our confidence in QUALCOMM's earnings outlook, we are once again taking our high-end estimates sharply higher. Our estimates for fiscal 1999 and fiscal 2000 increase from $2.18 and $3.02 to $2.37 and $3.80, respectively (calendar 1999 and calendar 2000 EPS are now $3.00 and $4.00). * Third quarter 1999 revenues of $911 million (excluding royalties) were broadly in line with our estimate of $934 million. ASICs drive growth was up 110% to an estimated $305 million, with impressive ASIC book-to-bill of 1.2. Royalties were also strong at $93 million versus our estimate of $83 million. Handset sales of approximately $420 million, versus our $450 million estimate, were impacted by some component issues (1.7 million units flat with second quarter 1999) with management suggesting that some shortages may continue in fourth quarter 1999 -- however, we maintain our conservative handset estimate of $470-480 million for fourth quarter 1999. * QUALCOMM's gross margins surged to 35.3% versus 28.3% in second quarter 1999 while operating expenses moved sharply lower reflecting infrastructure wind down and lower handset advertising. Operating income increased to 14% versus 5% in second quarter 1999. Meanwhile, balance sheet strengthened with cash increasing and receivables and inventories moving lower. * With CDMA clearly gaining rapid momentum around the world, visibility continuing to strengthen for second half 1999 and Street estimates moving sharply higher, QUALCOMM remains a top pick in wireless equipment. Our new price target increases to $200 from $165, or 40 times our new calendar 2001 EPS estimate of $5.00. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Strong Third Quarter 1999, Impressive Earnings Leverage, Estimates Go Sharply Higher Once More Post close yesterday, CDMA innovator QUALCOMM reported very strong third quarter 1999 EPS of $0.75 versus $0.14 in third quarter 1998 coming in comfortably ahead of the consensus estimate of $0.63 and our high-end estimate of $0.68. Excluding one-time charges related to the sale of the company's infrastructure business to Ericsson and operating expenses related to the business now sold to Ericsson, EPS for the quarter would have been an impressive $0.86. This impressive figure now provides a clear indication of QUALCOMM's earnings leverage going forward. We now look for QUALCOMM's earnings to move sharply upwards from these levels in fiscal 2000. We think third quarter highlights included extremely strong chipset sales, the ramp of the new ThinPhone, strong royalty payments and improving gross and operating margins. The improved visibility and strong earnings leverage lead us to raise our high-end EPS estimates once again. Our EPS estimates for fiscal 1999 and fiscal 2000 increase from $2.18 and $3.02 to $2.37 and $3.80, respectively. Our new calendar 1999 and 2000 estimates are $3.00 and $4.00. We believe Street estimates will move substantially higher this morning from current consensus levels of just $2.06 and $2.79 for fiscal 1999 and fiscal 2000. Strong Revenue Growth Continues, Broadly In Line With our Estimates Revenues (excluding royalty payments) in third quarter 1999 came in at $911 million broadly in line with our high-end target of $934 million. Chipset sales were extremely strong during the quarter reflecting very robust demand from handset manufactures in Japan, Korea, the United States, and Brazil. QUALCOMM shipped a record 11 million MSN chipsets (bringing the total to date to 50 million) up from 9 million in second quarter 1999. We estimate that chip sales soared from around $230 million in second quarter 1999 to over $300 million in third quarter 1999. The chip division closed the quarter with an impressive book-to-bill ratio of 1.2 providing strong visibility into the next quarter. QUALCOMM's Omnitracs division also showed good progress in third quarter 1999 reaching $75 million while Contract Services to the GlobalStar project exceeded our estimate of $82 million by $6 million. We look for this line to trend lower going forward as the project nears its launch. While QUALCOMM does not break out its revenues by segment other than for contract services and royalties, we believe sales by division may resemble our estimates below. ($ in Millions) Revenues Forecast Actual OmniTracs $75.0 $75 CDMA Chipsets $285.0 $300 Infrastructure $30.0 $25 Globalstar $10.0 $10 Handset $450.1 $412 Other $3.0 $1 Contract Services $82.4 $88 Total $934.9 $911 Licensing & Royalties $85.0 $93 Concerns Over Component Shortages for Handsets May Be Overdone Management confirmed QUALCOMM shipped over 1.7 million CDMA handsets during third quarter 1999, in line with the second quarter 1999 unit level and bringing the total to date to over 12 million units. During the quarter, handset shipments were impacted by component shortages which have been experienced by numerous handset vendors and which limited revenue growth to around an estimates $410-$425 million versus our estimate of around $450 million. While removing some upside from an otherwise excellent quarter, we believe management's concerted efforts are likely to ensure sequentially higher unit shipments in the fourth quarter in a range of approximately 1.9 million to 2 million with revenues of over $470-$480 million. We are encouraged by management's confirmation that the strength of demand for components in the wireless handset area should be seen as potentially restraining some of the upside of the company's forecasts for the phone division rather than negatively impacting current expectations. The handset unit's profitability has been favorably impacted by the rollout of the new lower cost ThinPhone which is now likely to increase its contribution to overall handset sales from third quarter 1999's 20% level to an estimated 50% in fourth quarter 1999. We believe gross margins are likely to continue to improve looking ahead for the unit from a current estimated level of %-24%. During the conference call, management highlighted that its production goal is for 1 million phones per month by the end of fiscal 1999, which represents an improvement on earlier guidance of 1 million phones by the end of calendar 1999. BUSINESS DESCRIPTION: QUALCOMM provides advanced communications systems and products based on digital wireless technology. These include the OmniTRACS systems and digital wireless telephone systems based on CDMA technology.