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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JGoren who wrote (12759)	7/22/1998 12:51:00 PM
From: 2brasil	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

qcom shines on a dull day! Nortel to build 1900 MHZ cdmaOne Fixed/Mobile Network in Utah DALLAS, July 22 /PRNewswire/ - South Central Utah Telephone has awarded Nortel (Northern Telecom) (NYSE: NT, TSE: NTL) a three-year, $US 6.5 million contract that includes the planning, construction and implementation of a 1900 MHz cdmaOne (IS-95 CDMA) network. This contract marks the continuation of a strong relationship between the two companies. South Central Utah, an independent telco with more than 13,000 lines, and Nortel have worked together on numerous projects since the late 1980s. South Central Utah Telephone, which already utilizes a Nortel DMS-100 digital switch for its wireline network, will use that same flexible switch for its CDMA network. Through software and additional wireless elements, the switch will be upgraded to Nortel's DMS-100 Wireless system. The DMS-100 Wireless system integrates not only switching, \023but also wireline and wireless services. This includes simultaneous and sequential ringing at multiple phones, and sharing of common voice mailboxes between wireless and wireline phones. As a result, switching costs are spread among wireless and wireline applications creating the opportunity for operational savings. Nortel will supply South Central Utah Telephone with CDMA base stations, a Base Station Controller and a Base Station Manager. ''The ability to deploy a wireless network off our existing Nortel switch and bring excellent voice quality and advanced features to wireless customers is a major advantage,'' said Dan Spencer, general manager, South Central Utah Telephone. ''The deployment of a digital wireless network with fixed and mobile capability will allow us to continue to serve our customers with the offerings they desire.'' Nortel CDMA digital networks are in service or under construction in more than 80 cities around the world, serving more than a million subscribers. In 18 months of production, Nortel has shipped more than 5,000 CDMA base stations. SOURCE: Northern Telecom Limited

To: JGoren who wrote (12759)	7/22/1998 12:52:00 PM
From: Ron M	Respond to of 152472

Story from San Diego Union follows: Qualcomm posts strong sales, weak profits By Deborah Solomon STAFF WRITER July 22, 1998 Qualcomm Inc. reported record revenues for the third quarter, but saw earnings drop as a result of a $20 million write-off of an equity investment and a $6 million loss from a pending spinoff venture. The wireless phone equipment manufacturer reported record sales of $875 million for the third quarter, compared with $520 million for the same period last year. But earnings totaled only $6 million or 8 cents a diluted share, compared with $35.9 million or 50 cents a diluted share last year. Without the charges, earnings beat Wall Street expectations, but were still down at $25 million or 33 cents a diluted share. Officials attributed the weakened earnings to structural problems with handsets and additional investments in foreign wireless ventures. "We had significant costs due to connector and plastic quality problems," said Irwin Jacobs, Qualcomm's chairman and CEO. "This problem has been corrected and our dual-mode Q 800 phone will be shipping in volume this month." Jacobs said the company would assume a loss of $20 million for its investment in NextWave Telecom Inc., a San Diego-based wireless company whose subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy last month. The company also said it expects equity losses of $6 million associated with its proposed spinoff of Qualcomm's wireless infrastructure investments. That venture, known as SpinCo, is awaiting regulatory and board approval. Demand for Qualcomm's wireless products continued to be strong, however, and the company saw an 81 percent increase in sales of its handsets, infrastructure and other communications systems products. Total communications systems sales were $759 million for the third quarter, compared with $418 million last year. Much of that growth was fueled by the company's first shipments of gateways for Globalstar, a low-earth-orbit satellite communications system. Qualcomm has a $300 million contract to build the equipment that allows the satellites to communicate with Earth. The company said it shipped its first four gateways this quarter. It also shipped about 1.3 million Code Division Multiple Access, or CDMA, handsets. The company's performance exceeded Wall Street's expectations; most had expected earnings of about 26 cents per share, according to an IBES International Inc. survey of analysts. Brian Modoff, who follows Qualcomm for BT Alex. Brown, said Qualcomm was smart to write off NextWave, and he predicted stronger quarters down the road. He said the company still has too much exposure in Asia, however, and needs to minimize its risk there. "Korea has been better than they thought, but Korea is a shaky economy," Modoff said. Jacobs agreed and said although royalties in Korea were strong this quarter, the company is not out of the woods yet. "Demand would clearly be greater without the financial crisis there," he said. This quarter's decline in earnings was caused by problems at home, rather than Korea. The company discovered flaws in its "Q" phone earlier this year, and Sprint PCS pulled the handsets from its shelves. Qualcomm had to fix the phones and shipments of additional phones were delayed. Jacobs said the company has fixed the problems and put new quality measures in place to ensure it does not happen again. "As a result of running into these problems we have worked much more closely with suppliers of these parts to make sure they are doing the proper testing," Jacobs said. The company also has started its own internal testing of parts. While Qualcomm took a charge of $6 million for SpinCo, officials said they expect to break even on overseas wireless investments by the end of this year. The company recently signed its largest infrastructure contract with Pegaso Telecommunicaciones, its joint wireless venture in Mexico. "Our wireless infrastructure made progress toward our profitability goal," Jacobs said. Analysts said once the spinoff venture is approved it's likely that Qualcomm will see a positive impact on earnings. "The quarter indicates trends are going in the right direction," Modoff said. Qualcomm ended the day up $2.44 at $60 in trading after the Nasdaq Stock Market closed.

To: JGoren who wrote (12759)	7/22/1998 2:03:00 PM
From: AnnArborQ	Respond to of 152472

JGoren I'm glad to see more upgrades but it's pathetic for H&Q to predict that the price will go to $68 share within 6 months when the stock is already at $65. Furthermore, where was the upgrade prior to the earnings announcement. I cannot respect an analyst that upgrades when it is obvious Q will do well. I think it is amazing that Q is doing so well and the future is so bright in light of all the problems in Asia. It only goes to shows how resilient mobile phones, especially CDMA phones are around the world to economic fluctuations. As I said before, mobile phones are necessity and somewhat a status symbol in many of the Asian countries where it is very congested. Consequently, sales of infrastructure and handsets will continue to be very strong in all of Asia. I am looking and hoping for a stock split soon to keep the momentum toward the $80 level. Good luck to everyone! Go Q! AA