Broadcom Boosts 4Q Sales View to $1.8 Billion

In the face of a slew of gloomy forecasts from semiconductor companies, mobile chip maker Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCM) boosted its fourth-quarter sales outlook above Wall Street’s view on Wednesday.

The more rosy guidance sent the Irvine, Calif.-company’s stock soaring about 7% in premarket action.

Broadcom said it now sees fourth-quarter revenue of about $1.8 billion, up from $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion previously. Analysts had been calling for sales of $1.76 billion.

Likewise, Broadcom increased its product gross margin view to roughly flat sequentially, up from an earlier forecast of flat to slightly lower.

"Broadcom's Q4 is coming in stronger than expected driven by solid shipments and tight operational management," Broadcom CEO Scott McGregor said in a statement.

Shares of Broadcom were recently up 6.49% to $30.02 ahead of the open.

The Broadcom news stands in contrast with a slew of negative preannouncements in recent days in the tech world, including from chip makers Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) and Altera (NASDAQ:ALTR).

Chemical giant DuPont (NYSE:DD) on Tuesday lowered its 2011 EPS view, but also issued upbeat guidance for 2012.