Tag Archives: QCOM
Beyond AAPL: Broadcom looks toward the iPhone 5
Continuing our look into the components inside Apple’s (AAPL, quote) latest version of the iPad, we ran quick vitals screen and one of the companies that stood out was Broadcom (BRCM, quote). Granted, Qualcomm (QCOM, quote) also plays a big role in the iPad, but appears to fairly valued at this point in time. On the other hand, BRCM — which supplies the networking, Bluetooth and the FM transceiver in the iPad — could be worth a look on a pullback.
Beyond AAPL: the new iPad is a global collaboration
As traders and people alike come into work today they will be subjected to headlines about Apple’s new iPad and hundreds if not thousands of people are already standing in line at Apples stores to get their hands on the device.
Trading the Globe: Top Emerging Markets Plays
A three-day rally has traders wondering whether the emerging markets are safe to dive in again. We lay out both sides of the argument on today’s installment of Trading the Globe.
Taiwan Semi is riding the mobility boom
TSM is the chip subcontractor to the world. If you look at the news flow from “design-only” semiconductor names like NVDA and QCOM, you get some idea of why this stock is lifting the Taiwan market.
Playing the emerging smartphone story
As yet, the iPhone and other “smart” or data-enabled cell phones are primarily a developed-world phenomenon, but these devices are moving fast into emerging markets.
Smartphone sales have accelerated by about 49% over the last years. More traditional handset makers like Nokia (NOK) and Ericsson (ERIC) are fighting back by bringing lower-priced devices with better “smart” capability to markets like China and India. These are not quite the sleek Apple models, but they have the potential to deliver a lot of the same underlying functionality to billions of people.
Credit Suisse just came out with a note crunching the numbers and determined that China is getting a little hungrier for 3G data services and India should launch its own 3G commercial networks later this year.
By 2011, smartphones should represent about 11% of all new phones sold in India. That translates into 30 million units a year — roughly as many iPhones that sell worldwide.
NOK in particular is the name to watch here. Although competition from smartphones has eroded the company’s global market share and margins, the Finnish behemoth is still profitable, unlike many other handset makers. Getting a piece of the smart market will help it fight off its rivals and reassert itself as a technology leader.
However, smartphones seem to be all about the software applications available. This is what separates the men from the boys, and while NOK has made a lot of noise about wooing app developers onto its platform, the results so far have not been great.
In the meantime, the more 3G phones that sell, the more royalties Qualcomm (QCOM) earns on its patents on WCDMA and other key technologies. QCOM is a favorite hedge fund name for just this reason.
Bad news from NOK
Smartphones became a serious competitor in emerging markets last quarter, spoiling Nokia’s results and driving investors away from the stock this morning.
NOK dominates emerging markets with its cheap handsets, but sophisticated devices like the iPhone are getting significant share with an increasingly affluent global population. As a result, the company missed consensus by a few cents and provided truly terrible margin guidance.
The miss isn’t much of a surprise after Qualcomm’s (QCOM) similar confessions last week, but the stock is still being assaulted: down 14% in Europe as we post this.
This session is taking out the stock’s entire recent run. We closed at $14.95 yesterday. $12.75 looks like a good point to jump back in.