What happened

Shares of Skyworks Solutions (SWKS -2.26%), which makes semiconductors for smartphones, soared in early trading Friday, rising 11.4% through 10:30 a.m. EST because of a good old-fashioned earnings beat.  

Expected to earn just $2.08 per share in pro forma profit on sales of less than $1.1 billion, Skyworks reported sales in excess of $1.5 billion in its fiscal first-quarter 2021 report released yesterday evening, and crushed on earnings as well, reaching $3.36 per share.  

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Image source: Getty Images.

So what

Profits as calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) didn't come in quite as strong as that pro forma number. Still, the company's GAAP profit of $3.05 per share more than doubled what Skyworks earned one year ago. And the company's revenue number set a new record, improving 69% year over year.

Free cash flow for the quarter was $366 million -- below reported net income of $509 million, but 27.5% better than the $287 million generated a year ago.

Now what

And the news gets better. Skyworks management noted that "demand for our proven solutions continues to accelerate across a growing set of customers and end markets." With a "multi-year wireless transition ... now under way," Skyworks predicts that in Q2 it will generate revenue ranging from $1.125 billion to $1.175 billion, and pro forma profits of about $2.34 per share, "representing revenue growth of 50% and non-GAAP diluted earnings-per-share growth of 75%."

Wall Street analysts, for the record, had been predicting only $915 million in sales in Q2, and only $1.70 per share in pro forma profit. Translation: After beating earnings in Q1, Skyworks Solutions looks set to do it again in Q2.