Stability is a good thing in most contexts -- stable job, stable income, stable personality. But when it comes to investors' view of wireless-technology developer InterDigital Communications
InterDigital reported quarterly revenue of $55 million overall. Of that amount, $52.6 million was recurring royalty revenue from licensees, down slightly from last year's $54.9 million in part because of the absence of royalties from Sony Ericsson -- a joint venture between Sony
The company did trim some operating expenses a little lower than originally planned, as it pushed the launch of its ASIC chip from late summer to the fall. With the project being extended slightly, management now expects expenses to increase in the third quarter to the tune of 5% to 10%. The new ground InterDigital is breaking with its chip offering amounts to a risky bet, considering the intensity of the competition with giants Texas Instruments
InterDigital also detailed that it spent $9.9 million in litigation and arbitration costs for the quarter -- an area of expense that it expects will increase in the future as it pursues more suspected abusers of its intellectual property. Indeed, the company even announced a new course of legal action against Nokia the night before it released its earnings report. In a page taken from Broadcom's tussle with Qualcomm
With several outstanding license disputes pending and costs going up, InterDigital will probably have a volatile stock for at least the balance of the year. Then again, investors looking for stability probably shouldn't be in this stock in the first place.
More mobile Foolishness:
- Foolish Forecast: A Steady Line for InterDigital?
- InterDigital: Pay Me Now, Pay Me Later
- ETF Teardown: The Best Wireless Stocks
InterDigital is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor selection. To see what other stocks Tom and David Gardner think will beat the market, take a free 30-day trial.
Noting that stability is relative, Fool contributor Dave Mock refutes the notion that his personal demeanor is reason for alarm. He owns shares of Qualcomm. Dave is the author of The Qualcomm Equation. In Rochambeau, the Fool's disclosure policy takes a false sense of security in rock -- good ol' rock ... nothing beats rock ...