Topic: How To Invest

Hi Pat: I would greatly value your "cool-as-a-cucumber" opinion on Qualcomm. Thanks.

Article Excerpt

Qualcomm Inc., $57.13, symbol QCOM on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $97.1 billion; www.qualcomm.com) makes computer chips that are mainly used in cell phones and other mobile devices. CDMA, or code division multiple access, is Qualcomm’s proprietary wireless-phone technology. It’s the dominant wireless-network standard in the U.S. The company also makes chips based on the GSM (global system for mobile communications) standard, which is widely used outside of North America. Qualcomm is a “fabless” company; that is, it doesn’t own any chip fabrication factories. Instead, it designs its chips and relies on other companies to make them. That adds to Qualcomm’s risk, particularly if these suppliers deliver chips late or with manufacturing errors. For example, Taiwan Semiconductor has been having trouble meeting Qualcomm’s demands for its Snapdragon S4 chips, which are made using a power-saving 28-nanometer process. That has resulted in a supply shortage that Qualcomm expects to solve by contracting additional suppliers. Qualcomm gets about 65% of its revenue by selling…