Qualcomm's Stock Drops After Profit, Sales Outlook Cut

Qualcomm Inc.'s stock dropped 5.1% in after-hours trade Wednesday, after the mobile chip maker beat fiscal first-quarter profit and sales expectations, and cut its full-year outlook because of reduced opportunities for sales of its Snapdragon processors and increased competition in China. For the quarter ended Dec. 28, adjusted earnings per share, which excludes non-recurring items, rose to $1.34 from $1.26 a year ago, but missed the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of $1.26. Revenue rose 7% to $7.1 billion, above analyst forecasts of $6.95 billion, as MSM chip shipments rose 27% to 270 million to exceed projections of 261.1 million. For 2015, the company lowered the expected range for adjusted earnings per share to $4.75 to $5.05 from $5.05 to $5.35, and for revenue to $26 billion to $28 billion from $26.8 billion to $28.8 billion. The stock has lost 7.3% over the past three months through Wednesday's close, compared with a 0.9% gain in the S&P 500.