Qualcomm Profit Quadruples; Firm Plans 4-for-1 Stock Split

Qualcomm Inc. said its profit more than quadrupled in its fiscal fourth quarter and set a 4-for-1 stock split, sending its shares up 7% to a record in after-hours trading. The company said its profit from operations climbed to $170 million, or 91 cents a share, from $39.9 million, or 27 cents, a year ago. Analysts polled by First Call Corp. were expecting profit of 88 cents. Qualcomm, which developed code-division multiple access, the No. 2 cellular-phone technology, said sales rose 14% to $1.06 billion. Qualcomm is selling the handset business that accounts for half its revenue to focus on more lucrative markets such as CDMA royalties, which climbed 117% to $113 million in the quarter, and making chips for CDMA phones and other products. In Nasdaq trading, shares of the San Diego-based company fell 38 cents to close at $224.81, before the results were announced. The shares, which are up more than eightfold this year, rose as high as $240 in trading on electronic networks and regional exchanges after the earnings were released. Qualcomm will hold a shareholders meeting on Dec. 20 to seek approval for the stock split.