Here it is halfway through 2007 -- the basketball and hockey seasons are behind us, and the sleepy summer heat is settling in. The lull before second-quarter earnings gives us a good opportunity to review company performance, so we'll step up to the plate and take a look at wireless technology licensor and chipset designer Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM). Let's see how the company has performed so far and what may be on the horizon for the balance of 2007.
First-half review
Qualcomm shares are up roughly 16% on the year, more than double the return of the S&P 500. The company has met or beat the Street's estimates over the past several quarters, but lawsuits and antitrust complaints have been hanging over the stock. The most recent quarter once again showed impressive cash flow, thanks to more handsets with Qualcomm's licensed technology sold into the market -- despite a sales slowdown at Motorola (NYSE:MOT).
Just as wireless licensing peer InterDigital (NASDAQ:IDCC) has been seeing more of the courtroom lately, Qualcomm has also been spending millions on its legal defense. So far, the company has come up empty in two major areas of the legal and licensing front: Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCM) has successfully convinced the ITC for a ban on new devices that include certain Qualcomm chipsets, and Nokia (NYSE:NOK) has remained steadfast in refusing to renew a license pact.
Second-half prospects
To get a peek at what top investors think of Qualcomm's prospects into the future, we can tap the Motley Fool CAPS database of investor opinions and ratings on the stock. CAPS players overwhelmingly view Qualcomm as an outperformer, with the stock currently sporting a four-star rating.
Qualcomm has a lot of negative energy working against it in the form of companies such as Nokia, Broadcom, and others collaborating to reduce Qualcomm to an also-ran. But license spats and litigation is a course of business for Qualcomm, and I believe the market has overblown the risks associated with the current legal issues. Based on legal rulings, Qualcomm's stock could go anywhere in the near term. In the long run, though, this diversified company should do well with licenses and chipset products for several next generation wireless standards.
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Fool contributor Dave Mock gave his spouse a midyear review once -- baaaaad idea. He owns shares of Motorola and Qualcomm. He is also the author of The Qualcomm Equation. The Fool's disclosure policy never offers criticism, not even the constructive type.
