Qualcomm up on improved expectations, TI falters

In a routine update of its business outlook for the first quarter, Texas Instruments Inc. narrowed its expected revenue and earnings per share ranges. Investors may have expected a more bullish forecast due to improved outlooks by TI’s competitors, however; TI’s stock fell 49 cents per share on the news.
In contrast, Qualcomm Inc. raised its second fiscal quarter outlook, leading to a gain in share price of $1.77 per share.
Texas Instruments said it expects to report revenue for the first quarter of between $3.07 billion and $3.22 billion, compared with the prior range of $3.01 billion to $3.28 billion-shoring up the bottom end of the range by $60 million while scaling back its high-end projection by the same amount.
TI’s earnings per share is expected to come in at between 29 cents per share and 33 cents per share, compared with previous expectations of between 28 cents per share and 34 cents per share, according to the company.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial said they expected EPS of 31 cents on revenues of $3.15 billion for the quarter-almost exactly the mid-range of TI’s forecast. TI’s previous outlook was issued in January.
Separately, Qualcomm raised its revenue forecast from $2.1 billion to $2.2 billion for the quarter ending April 1, based on higher-than-expected chip shipments. The company said it would ship from 60 million to 61 million cellphone chips in the quarter, up from a previous guidance of 55 million to 57 million units.
The San Diego-based chip vendor expects earnings to range between 48 cents and 49 cents per share, up from previously forecast earnings of 42 cents to 44 cents per share.