QCOM QUALCOMM Inc

By Asa Fitch 

Qualcomm Inc. has been struggling to turn a leadership position in the race to power 5G handsets into profit growth amid the U.S.-China trade dispute and a slower pace of phone releases, but signaled in quarterly earnings its fortunes would turn in coming months.

The San Diego-based chip maker on Wednesday reported a revenue decline of 17% year-over-year to $4.81 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter, exceeding a FactSet analyst survey consensus of $4.76 billion.

Adjusted earnings per share fell to 78 cents, above analysts' expectations and at the higher end of a range management forecast three months ago.

The company said it shipped 152 million chips in the quarter, down 34% compared with the same quarter a year ago, underscoring the effect of trade turmoil and a weaker handset market. The shipment figures were in line with executives' forecasts.

Many investors had been expecting worse after the company put forth a gloomy forecast in July, suggesting shipments of key chips could fall as much as 40% year-over-year in the fiscal fourth quarter.

Qualcomm shares were up around 3% in after-hours trading following the results.

Qualcomm issued an outlook for the current quarter that generally was above market expectations, even though earnings are still likely to trail last year's figure.

Qualcomm also said its interim chief financial officer, Akash Palkhiwala, would hold the role on a full-time basis. Its former financial, George Davis, left the company to become Intel's CFO in April.

Write to Asa Fitch at asa.fitch@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 06, 2019 16:48 ET (21:48 GMT)

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