Qualcomm: AmTech Cuts Estimates on Phone Slowdown

There’ve been a slew of developments in the last few days relating to cell phone chip maker Qualcomm ( QCOM ), some positive, some negative. First came the announcement last Wednesday, Oct. 15, that a ban on the import of Qualcomm chips to the US would be overturned. Then on Thursday, Nokia’s ( NOK ) Q3 results reflected a 7% decline in sales from the prior quarter , not a good indication for the phone market globally. Then came Friday’s announcement that Nokia will pay Qualcomm between $2.3 billion and $2.5 billion to settle a royalty dispute. And then this morning’s disclosure in telecom equipment provider Ericsson’s ( ERIC ) Q3 report that it’s “hard to predict how operators will act and to what extent consumer telecom spending will be affected.” What does it all mean? Well, American Technology Research analyst Mark McKechnie today writes that he is cutting his estimates for Qualcomm “to reflect softening in the US and lower growth in ... (link)