SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: JGoren who wrote (25541)3/29/1999 11:57:00 PM
From: Morgan Drake  Respond to of 152472
 
ERICY probably has pictures of Cabi w/sheep.



To: JGoren who wrote (25541)3/30/1999 2:03:00 AM
From: SteveG  Respond to of 152472
 
CSFB Cabi on QCOM - BUY
MID CAP
Qualcomm (QCOM)

Qualcomm Upgrading to BUY; New Focus Provides Opportunity For
Success

Summary

Qualcomm's move to divest itself of its infrastructure
business is likely to help the company improve on its
historically lackluster margins.

We are upgrading the stock to reflect that Qualcomm has
several strong businesses that are likely to do better as the
company focuses on them for its core growth.

With the elimination of the losses from infrastructure and
the expectation that the company will show improving margins,
we are raising our estimates, on a preliminary basis, to $3.
50 from $3.35 for FY:00.

Price Target Mkt.Value 52-Week
3/26/991 (12mo.) Div. Yield (MM) Price Range
111.56 $125 $0 None $8,277.8 $0
Annual Prev. Abs. Rel. EV/ EBITDA/
EPS EPS P/E P/E EBITDA Share
9/00E $3.42 3.35 33.3X 9% 13.0 $8.24
9/99E 2.71 41.2 9% 15.9 6.78
9/98A 1.63 68.4 9% 21.3 5.16
Dec. March June Sept. FY End
2000E $0.79 $0.80 $0.90 $0.93 Sept.
1999E 0.65 0.60 0.71 0.74
1998A 0.58 0.25 0.27 0.54

ROIC (12/97)
Total Debt (12/98) 3116
Book Value/Share (12/98) 13.67
WACC (12/97)
Debt/Total Capital (12/98) 22.5
Common Shares 74.2
EP Trend2
Est. 5-Yr. EPS Growth 15%
Est. 5-Yr. Div. Growth NA

1On 3/29/99 DJIA closed at 9822.2 and S&P 500 at 1282.6.
2Economic profit trend.

Qualcomm, the innovator of CDMA, manufactures infrastructure
and handsets, as well as licenses its patented technology to
major wireless handset and infrastructure manufacturers. In
addition, it designs and develops CDMA chipsets, email
software, 2-way mobile satellite systems and supplies
equipment to the Globalstar network.

Investment Summary

We applaud Qualcomm on its move to divest itself of its
wireless infrastructure business, a business that has
contributed to margin degradation for the past two years. As
a small player in the wireless market, we were amazed that
Qualcomm continued to compete amongst large brutal
competitors including Ericsson, Lucent and Nortel. With the
sale of its infrastructure business, we believe Qualcomm
management has affirmed its commitment to becoming a
profitable, focused player in the wireless industry. As a
result we are upgrading the shares to a BUY from HOLD to
reaffirm our satisfaction of the company's decision.
Although the stock has moved substantially over the past two
trading days, Qualcomm is now in a position, in our view, to
move its profitability closer to industry average margins,
thus a substantial earnings upgrade is feasible over the next
two years. We are currently revising our FY 2000 estimate to
reflect this change. Our preliminary estimate range is $3.50
for fiscal 2000. Our previous estimate was $3.35. We expect to
publish our detailed model after a further review with
management.

Sale of Infrastructure business key to expanding margins

Qualcomm's move to divest itself of its infrastructure
business is likely to help the company improve on its
historically lackluster margins. We estimate the
infrastructure business generated approximately $500-600
million in revenues for FY:98 and potentially could have lost
as much as $80 million. We now expect that the company can
eliminate the management distraction of a business segment
plagued with challenges as an independent entity and move
forward with its corporate plan to show improving margins toward
industry averages.

Focus on core businesses translates into solid returns

We upgraded the stock to reflect the fact that Qualcomm has
several strong businesses that are likely to do better as the
company focuses in them for its core growth. Qualcomm has
proven it can be a very solid player in the CDMA chip set
business and continues to garner a substantial market share
position in that market. We anticipate that with the CDMA
market growing at a solid near 100% rate the next two years,
the company can demonstrate solid revenue growth despite the
onset of price erosion. With a more focused organization
free of conflict with its customers, the company may even
manage the erosion factors to continue to show solid returns from
that business segment.

In handsets, Qualcomm has demonstrated that it can develop
consumer friendly products. With a renewed focus on
profitability in this segment, the company could make
substantial gains in this business. Importantly, with a
focus on improving quality, which was problematic last year,
the company could eliminate a substantial amount of reworking
expenses that were required on its products. Industry
average operating margins for the handset business are well
into the double digits while Qualcomm remains in the low
single digits. Although challenges remain, we expect that
the company is committed to improving on this metric. With
pricing for CDMA eroding at a rate over 20%, the company will
be required to take aggressive steps to reduce costs and
exploit scale volume benefits through growth. We believe
that free of the infrastructure influence, the company can free
capital resources to fund the growth of this business.

Raising to BUY

With the elimination of the losses from infrastructure and
the expectation that the company will show improving margins,
we are raising our FY 2000 estimate to $3.50 from $3.35 for
FY:00. We are also upgrading our rating to BUY to reflect
our endorsement of Qualcomm's new management focus on margin
improvement and profitable growth.



To: JGoren who wrote (25541)3/30/1999 2:12:00 AM
From: SteveG  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 152472
 
Cabi again - ERICY:STRONG BUY
LARGE CAP
Ericsson (ERICY)
Ericsson acquires Qualcomm's Infrastructure Business

Summary

Ericsson acquired QCOM's infrastructure business, which we
believe is a net positive for the wireless industry in its
advancement to 3G and also a win win situation for both
companies.

ERICY gains engineering talent a valuable asset that is in
short supply and key to introducing new capabilities on a
timelier basis.

ERICY now has the opportunity to supply a greater portion of
its customers' needs as it will address a greater percentage
of their network.

ERICY will have a full complement of products - essential to
continue to be a top 3 player.
We reiterate our Strong Buy rating with a $35-40 price target.

Price Target Mkt.Value 52-Week
3/24/991 (12mo.) Div. Yield (MM) Price Range
USD 21.06 $35-40 $0.25 1.2% $42,056.8 $34-15
Annual Prev. Abs. Rel. EV/ EBITDA/
EPS EPS P/E P/E EBITDA Share
12/00E $1.30 16.2X !Zero Divide 9.6 $2.46
12/99E 0.95 22.2 !Zero Divide 12.8 1.87
12/98A 0.80 26.3 !Zero Divide 14.9 1.60
March June Sept. Dec. FY End
2000E $0.78 $0.80 $0.95 $1.30 Dec.
1999E 0.07 0.18 0.23 0.47
1998A 0.10 0.21 0.20 0.28

ROIC (12/97)
Total Debt (12/98) --
Book Value/Share (12/98) $3.90
WACC (12/97)
Debt/Total Capital (12/98) NM
Common Shares 1,997
EP Trend2
Est. 5-Yr. EPS Growth 20%
Est. 5-Yr. Div. Growth N/A

1On 3/10/99 DJIA closed at 9772.64 and S&P 500 at 0.
2Economic profit trend.

Ericsson is a leading system supplier for both wired and
wireless telecommunications equipment, including base stations
, mobile phones, equipment for wireless access to
telecommunications networks and mobile data communications;
its wireless handsets and infrastructure are marketed toward GSM,
TDMA and AMPS.

Investment Summary

In a move that has been rumored for weeks, Ericsson acquired
the infrastructure business including R&D resources of
Qualcomm. We believe the transaction is a net positive for
the wireless industry and should also be considered a win win
situation for both companies. With the resolution of all
IPR issues between the two companies the development and
advancement of third generation (3G) wireless systems can
continue without risk of potential litigation. 3G advances
promise the market an opportunity for wireless to become as
ubiquitous as our wireline phones of today. Thus, we believe
the industry opportunity for growth continues to look
brighter as these issues are now put to rest.

For Ericsson specifically, we believe the positive aspects of
the transaction can be summarized in three points:

First, Ericsson gains access to additional CDMA resources
including engineering talent from Qualcomm employees it
acquires as part of this transaction. With Rf engineers in
short supply, the ability to find a group of talented
individuals should be considered valuable. We expect the
integration of these individuals into the Ericsson
development team should provide the company an opportunity to
introduce new capabilities on a timelier basis.

Second, many of Ericsson's largest customers, like Vodafone
and Airtouch have found that they have more than one
technology deployed within their portfolio of networks. It
is the interest of such operators to ensure that there is a
valid and smooth migration path as new standards for 3G emerge
41. With the litigation having been settled the risk of
migration or lack thereof is removed. Additionally, Ericsson
now has the opportunity to supply a greater portion of this
large carrier's needs given that it will address a greater
percentage of their network.

Finally, Ericsson can enter the handset arena with a full
complement of product. We believe this is important as it
will insure that Ericsson maintain a presence in all
standards and that it can continue to be a top 3 player.

We continue to recommend Ericsson with a Strong Buy rating.
Given this transaction, Ericsson can address a greater
percentage of a rapidly expanding market. We expect a
revenue growth and earnings recovery to materialize during H2:
99 and believe that there will be growing enthusiasm for the
shares as the prospects of this phenomenon become visible.
Our twelve-month price target is $35-40.