QCOM QUALCOMM Inc

By Maria Armental

Qualcomm Inc.'s third-quarter profit more than doubled and revenue rose a better-than-expected 65%, helped by high demand for smart phones and the roll-out of the latest and fastest mobile network technology.

The mobile-phone chip maker reported $8.06 billion in revenue for the quarter ended June 27, while profit surged to $2.03 billion from $845 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, profit was $1.77, or $1.92 as adjusted.

The results easily exceeded the company's forecast and the analyst consensus, according to FactSet.

"In addition to leading the 5G transition, we are on pace to deliver $10 billion of annual revenues across RF front-end, IoT and Automotive as our business continues to diversify," Chief Executive Cristiano Amon said in a statement.

Sales in the chip business, which accounts for the bulk of revenue, rose 70%. Meanwhile, the licensing business, a key profit driver, rose 43% in the latest period.

Qualcomm reported $3.86 billion in sales of chips for handsets, up 57% from the year earlier, while sales of chips that go into internet-of-things devices reached nearly $1.4 billion, up 83% from the previous year. Radio frequency front-end segment revenue more than doubled from the year earlier, the company said.

For the fourth quarter, Qualcomm expects earnings of $1.78 to $1.98 a share, or $2.15 to $2.35 a share on an adjusted basis, on $8.4 billion to $9.2 billion in sales, compared with analysts' projections for $1.77 a share, or $2.03 a share as adjusted, on $8.46 billion in sales, according to FactSet.

Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 28, 2021 16:16 ET (20:16 GMT)

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