Qualcomm offers a sunny outlook

By Scott Moritz, writer

Qualcomm (QCOM) isn’t seeing a slowdown in wireless apparently. The San Diego tech giant posted solid fiscal second quarter results and guided up for the current quarter.

The wireless standard bearer posted an adjusted profit of 54 cents a share, up from 50 cents a year ago, and 2 cents better than analysts predicted. Sales in the quarter rose 17% to $2.6 billion from $2.2 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts anticipated a $2.5 billion revenue performance.

“The fundamental drivers of our business remain strong, and based on the current business outlook, we are raising fiscal 2008 revenue and earnings per share guidance,” CEO Paul Jacobs said in a press release.

Looking ahead, Qualcomm expects a fiscal third quarter profit of 51 cents, directly in line with analysts expectations. Sales for the quarter are expected to remain flat at about $2.6 billion, well above analysts estimates calling for sales of $2.3 billion.

And as a sign that demand for more expensive smart phones is rising, Qualcomm forecast the average selling price of phones to jump to $223 in the fiscal third quarter from $215 last year.

For the full year, Qualcomm now expects sales to be around $10.2 billion that is up from previous guidance calling for $9.8 billion in revenue.  That compares with $8.8 billion last year. Analysts were looking for $9.9 billion in total sale for the year ending in September.

Qualcomm shares dipped 53 cents to $41.36 in after-hours trading Wednesday.