Chinese tech giant Huawei, one of the world's leading manufacturers of telecom equipment, networking hardware, and smartphones, has been repeatedly slammed by the Trump administration's trade war against China. Last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce placed Huawei on an "Entity List," a group of firms that American companies cannot offer their technologies to without a special license. Earlier this year, it expanded that licensing requirement to all non-U.S. chipmakers that use American chipmaking equipment, intellectual property, and design software.

Shanghai-based chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp has secured an investment worth $2.2 billion dollars from Chinese state investors, the company announced on Friday. The funding was revealed on the same day that the United States announced new restrictions on Chinese tech company Huawei Technologies that would further impact its ability to source chips made with American technology. According to SMIC's announcement, a number of vehicles under China's so-called "Big Fund," a government-backed money pool for funding domestic chip companies, will jointly make the investment in one of SMIC's plants.

As a dividend growth investor, receiving a dividend increase means a higher level of income, but also that the company providing the raise is on solid financial footing Continue reading...

(Bloomberg) -- Arm Ltd., whose technology is a key component of chips that run most of the world’s smartphones, is offering new designs aimed at boosting the performance of Android handsets.The U.K. company said its new A78 model will offer a 20% increase in performance over its predecessor and announced a new Cortex-X program that will help chipmakers customize their offerings to deliver bursts of as much as 30% more processing speed.Arm offers chip designs and licenses the fundamental code used by processors to communicate with software that runs phones. Most Android phone makers use chips from Qualcomm Inc. or Mediatek Inc. Samsung Electronics Co. and Huawei Technologies Co. use those chipmakers’ components and their own products. Apple Inc. is an Arm licensee, but designs its own A series processors that are typically rated the speediest available.The customization that Apple has been able to bring to its own combinations of software and hardware has allowed it to claim performance leadership over phones that run Alphabet Inc.’s Google Android operating system. Such claims feature heavily in Apple’s marketing of the iPhone.“The pace of increasing performance in smartphones exceeds that of any other computing device category in the industry today,” Arm said in a statement. “To address this insatiable demand for the highest performance possible, we’re introducing a new engagement program called the Cortex-X Custom program to give our partners the option of having more flexibility and scalability for increasing performance.”Cortex X will let chip and phone makers add a different mix of cores to the combinations of components that run major smartphone functions. Current designs feature uniform sets of cores and more power-efficient ones that are used to maintain background functions without draining the battery. Arm’s new offering changes this approach. An X core might kick in for a short time, for example, when a piece of software is demanding the absolute maximum performance the chip can provide.Cambridge-based Arm is a division of Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. Like other companies that rely on the smartphone market, Arm is looking for ways to help spur demand for the devices. The market already had stalled before the Covid-19 outbreak curbed sales and disrupted supply chains. In the first quarter of 2020, smartphone shipments dropped 12% from a year earlier, according to IDC.In addition to more powerful and efficient designs for the handsets, the smartphone industry is banking on faster fifth-generation, or 5G, networks to persuade consumers to upgrade their phones.Arm is also offering a new graphics chip design that will handle video and gaming content better, and updated machine-learning capabilities to help with artificial intelligence workloads.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Apple, Qualcomm, The Boeing Company and Cisco Systems

In this article we will take a look at whether hedge funds think QUALCOMM, Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) is a good investment right now. We check hedge fund and billionaire investor sentiment before delving into hours of research. Hedge funds spend millions of dollars on Ivy League graduates, unconventional data sources, expert networks, and get tips from […]

Nvidia reports April-quarter financial results after the close of trading on Thursday, and expectations are growing for a strong quarter—and solid guidance.

Amid all the focus on COVID-19 and its effects on the broader markets, stocks like Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) seem like an afterthought. With online communication becoming an increasingly important part of our daily lives, both Qualcomm and its 5G chipsets will likely become more critical in the near future. Work and social meetings that took place in person just a few months ago suddenly became dependent on offsite logins and conference sessions on Zoom Video Communications and comparable platforms.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, today announced the winners of the 2020 edition of Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship (QIF) Europe program. The program is part of Qualcomm's continued commitment to drive research and development across mobile and emerging technologies.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Thursday said it has broken ground for its sixth domestic contract chip production line, which will make logic chips as part of efforts to reduce its reliance on the volatile memory chip sector. Samsung is taking on bigger rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) in the contract manufacturing business, where it competes to win orders from customers such as Qualcomm Inc. Samsung broke ground earlier this month and plans to start production in the second half of next year.

5G rollout and coronavirus-led digitization will boost Internet infrastructure providers. Here are the five top stocks to buy.

Qualcomm (QCOM) is positioned close to the eye of the macro storm. A heavy reliance on China and uncertainty concerning near-term smartphone supply and demand dynamics have contributed to a difficult 2020 for QCOM, with shares down 12% year-to-date. However, despite renewed tensions between the U.S. and China, Qualcomm could actually benefit from the worrying developments, so says Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley. The recent Department of Commerce ban on Huawei, preventing it from purchasing semiconductors from U.S. companies, has ignited fears of retaliatory moves against companies such as Apple and Qualcomm. That being said, Qualcomm’s management noted Huawei is not a significant customer. In fact, Walkley argues the move could be good for the chipmaker. “We view any Huawei smartphone share losses, which are likely with it not gaining access to Android software, as a benefit to Qualcomm as its leading QCT customers such as OPPO and Vivo are likely to gain market share from Huawei,” said the 5-star analyst. While there’s a risk of a Chinese retaliation, Walkley notes that a large number of Chinese OEMs are dependent on Qualcomm in order to compete with tech giant Huawei. And with ambitions to sell more global smartphones, Qualcomm is the “primary to only choice in certain markets for these OEMs to have working products.” Furthermore, Walkley believes Chinese semiconductor company HiSilicon (owned by Huawei) cannot currently sell its modems to Qualcomm’s Chinese OEM customer base. If trade tensions negatively impact Huawei’s HiSilicon business, Qualcomm could benefit as Huawei loses both market share and the “ability to eventually compete in the merchant market,” if HiSilicon is stopped from making innovative chipsets at TSMC. Walkley summarized, “While the escalating China and U.S. relations is a concern to monitor and likely adds to the delays for Qualcomm in reaching an agreement with Huawei, we believe Qualcomm could come out as a net beneficiary if Huawei is adversely impacted since Huawei doesn’t use material volumes of Qualcomm chipsets and does not pay royalties currently.” Bearing this in mind, the 5-star analyst rates QCOM a Buy and has a $102 price target on the shares. There’s upside of 31% should the target be met in the coming months. (To watch Walkley’s track record, click here) The analyst community remains cautiously optimistic when considering Qualcomm’s prospects. A Moderate Buy consensus rating is based on a mix of 8 Buys, 7 Holds and 2 Sells. The average price target hits $86.86 and implies possible gains in the shape of 11%. (See Qualcomm stock analysis on TipRanks)

Nasdaq down 0.97% Continue reading...

ERIC vs. QCOM: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Qualcomm is pleased with how Chinese 5G phone sales are trending, while TI is cautious about how customer orders might trend in the near-term.

Tiger Management founder invests in AerCap, sells Qualcomm Continue reading...

(Bloomberg) -- Samsung Electronics Co. has begun building a cutting-edge chip production line intended to help it take on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in the business of making silicon for external clients.South Korea’s largest company said it’s started construction on a 5-nanometer fabrication facility in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, dedicated to its made-to-order foundry business, an arena TSMC dominates. Based on the Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography or EUV process, Samsung expects the fab’s output to go toward applications from 5G networking to high-performance computing from the second half of 2021, it said in a statement.Samsung, the world’s largest maker of computer memory, smartphones and displays, in 2019 outlined its aim of spending $116 billion to compete with TSMC and Intel Corp. in contract chipmaking, making silicon for customers like Qualcomm Inc. or Nvidia Corp. Its announcement on Thursday coincides with the announcement of restrictions on the sale of semiconductors made with American gear to China’s Huawei Technologies Co., a constraint that threatens more than a tenth of TSMC’s business.“This will enable us to break new ground while driving robust growth for Samsung’s foundry business,” ES Jung, head of the contract chipmaking division, said in a statement.Read more: Behind Samsung’s $116 Billion Bid for Chip SupremacySamsung first unveiled its expansion blueprint in April 2019, outlining at the time its goal of hiring thousands and ramping up investment in logic chips in the years leading up to 2030. That initiative arose as sales of smartphones and consumer electronics plateaued and competition from Chinese rivals depressed margins.EUV is the latest and most advanced chipmaking method, requiring machines costing tens of millions of dollars and delivering better precision and performance in the chips it produces. TSMC and Samsung, through its spending plan, are the leaders in developing that process and expanding into 5nm and smaller manufacturing nodes.Before the arrival Covid-19, Samsung had begun collaborating with major clients on designing and manufacturing custom chips and that work was already starting to add to its revenue, a Samsung executive has said. The company’s newest fab in Pyeongtaek joins another 5nm facility in Hwaseong that will begin production in the second half of this year.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

A Relative Strength Rating upgrade for Qualcomm shows improving technical performance. Will it continue?

(Bloomberg) -- Xiaomi Corp. reported a quarterly profit that beat analysts’ estimates after the Chinese smartphone maker got half its revenue from outside its home market for the first time.China’s largest smartphone brand after Huawei Technologies Co. said adjusted net income rose 11% in the three months ended March to 2.3 billion yuan ($324 million), compared with the 2.1 billion-yuan average of estimates. Sales rose 14% to 49.7 billion yuan, powered by a 47.8% jump in overseas revenue.Xiaomi managed to grow its global shipments by 6.1% in the past quarter even as total worldwide volume shrank 11.7%, according to research firm IDC. Beijing-based Xiaomi’s strength in online device sales served it well during the coronavirus period, particularly in Western Europe where shipments increased by almost 80%, according to research firm Canalys. In India, the company’s sales increased thanks to new budget phones released before a nationwide lockdown was declared.Revenue from Internet of Things products and online services maintained strong growth in the quarter. Xiaomi has been diversifying its major sources of revenue beyond smartphones, introducing a wide range of connected products from TVs to smartwatches. It also sells online advertising in China.What Bloomberg Intelligence SaysXiaomi’s smartphone gross profit is poised to surge as last year’s brand revamp hurt margin, even as average selling prices likely tanked on lower China sales mix. Higher revenue from online games and other services such as fintech could have lessened the probable advertising sales slump.\-- Anthea Lai, senior analystClick here for the research.Xiaomi faces a difficult second quarter as Covid-19 containment efforts in key markets including India and Spain are poised to dampen sales. “The different levels of lockdown measures adopted in overseas markets are expected to affect our performance in the second quarter of 2020,” the company said in a statement.Geopolitical tensions are also stoking uncertainty for Xiaomi’s supply chain. The Trump administration has moved to prevent chipmakers using U.S. technology from supplying Huawei, and China has vowed to retaliate. Qualcomm Inc., Xiaomi’s most important processor provider, may be among Beijing’s potential targets. The U.S. chipmaker is also one of Xiaomi’s earliest investors and its mobile CPUs power the company’s entire product line.(Updates with overseas sales from the first paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

These established, well-known technology leaders boast staying power in all markets, writes Michael Brush.