Qualcomm published better-than-expected third quarter financial results Wednesday amid rising tensions in its legal dispute with Apple.

The tech giant reported a net income of $866 million, or 58 cents per share, down from $1.44 billion, or 97 cents per share, a year earlier.

Qualcomm said revenue was $5.4 billion, down 11 percent year over year, with non-GAAP earnings of 83 cents per share.

Wall Street was looking for earnings of 81 cents per share with $5.26 billion in revenue.

Qualcomm typically breaks out revenue from device sales and estimates for device shipments, but this time those numbers were left out. Qualcomm said the omission was "a result of the recent actions taken by Apple's contract manufacturers and the other licensee in dispute."

The company did reveal that it shipped 187 million MSM chips in the third quarter. Qualcomm also ended the quarter with $37.8 billion in cash and equivalents, up from $28.9 billion in the previous quarter.

"We delivered better than expected results in our semiconductor business this quarter, which drove EPS above the midpoint of our expectations versus our April updated guidance," said Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf.

"We believe that we hold the high ground with regard to the dispute with Apple, and we have initiated new actions to protect the well-established value of our technologies."

For the current quarter, Qualcomm expects earnings from 75 cents to 85 cents a share with $5.4 billion to $6.2 billion in revenue. Wall Street is expecting earnings of 90 cents a share on revenue of $5.48 billion.

Qualcomm's legal battle with Apple took another turn this week. In the latest development, Apple manufacturers Foxconn, Pegatron Corporation, Wistron Corporation, and Compal Electronics have accused Qualcomm of violating two sections of the Sherman Act, a landmark US antitrust law.

The accusations are in response to a counter suit Qualcomm filed against the manufacturers in May, in which the chipmaker accused the companies of breaching its license agreements and withholding royalty payments after Apple instructed them to do so.

By: DocMemory
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