Qualcomm Plans To Offer Low-Priced 5G Chipsets For Masses

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) recently revealed that it is planning to develop 5G chipsets that are compatible in mid-priced mobiles to make such devices widely available to masses. The chips are expected to hit the market next year, likely spurring consumers to upgrade to the super-fast network with increased deployment of 5G technology across the globe.

Qualcomm is arguably the largest supplier of mobile phone chips in the world. Till now, the company has primarily been focused on developing premium category Snapdragon 8 series chipsets that reportedly delivered speeds of up to 7 gigabits per second with a more powerful X55 5G modem. These chips are mostly found in high-end mobiles and smartphones, which put them beyond the reach of commoners.

The company presently aims to expand its product portfolio and develop mobile phone chips for the masses. The strategic move is intended to drive higher sales and achieve economies of scale through mass production. In particular, Qualcomm is mulling to add 5G capabilities to its cheaper chipset versions of Snapdragon 6 and 7 series.

Notably, Qualcomm has five models from Samsung (KS:005930) Mobiles that feature 5G chipsets. These include mobiles ranging from $1,299 (Galaxy S10 5G model) to $2,000 (Galaxy Fold). Samsung has also started to roll out Qualcomm’s chipset in its lower-priced A90 5G models (about $827) to capitalize on the mass appeal of 5G mobiles.

The trend is being increasingly followed throughout the world with as many as 20 network operators and a similar number of smartphone makers churning out 5G services and devices. Consequently, Qualcomm envisions a huge revenue-generating potential in this field and has thus decided to expand its product portfolio to cater to the various customer segments.

In the year-to-date period, the stock has outperformed the industry with an average return of 38.5% compared with rally of 17.3% of the latter.

Qualcomm currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). Some better-ranked stocks in the industry are Nokia (HE:NOKIA) Corporation (NYSE:NOK) , Sonim Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SONM) and Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Nokia beat earnings estimates thrice in the trailing four quarters, the average being 89.3%.

Sonim has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 25%.

Viasat beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average positive surprise being 230.6%.

Today's Best Stocks from Zacks

Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.

This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.

See their latest picks free >>