There are no safe havens in the stock market. Every stock carries risk. But some less than others. This column features stocks that have shown one or more of the following characteristics: less volatility, better earnings, larger market caps, safe and increasing dividends. In these times of turmoil, our goal is to show readers better opportunities for investing with fewer risks.

January 3, 2011 - Qualcomm, Inc. (QCOM-NASDAQ) engages in the development, design, manufacture, and marketing of digital wireless telecommunications products and services. The company operates in four segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT), Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL), Qualcomm Wireless and Internet (QWI), and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI).

The QTL division grants licenses to use portions of its intellectual property portfolio comprising patent rights useful in the manufacture and sale of wireless products, such as products implementing cdmaOne, CDMA2000, WCDMA, CDMA TDD, GSM/GPRS/EDGE, and/or OFDMA standards and their derivatives

The QWI segment consists of Qualcomm Internet Services that provides content enablement services for the wireless industry and push-to-talk and other products and services for wireless network operators; Qualcomm Government Technologies, which offers development, hardware, and analytical services to the United States government agencies involving wireless communications technologies; Qualcomm Enterprise Services that provides satellite and terrestrial-based two-way data messaging, position reporting, wireless application services, and managed data services to transportation and logistics companies and other enterprise companies; and Firethorn, which builds and manages software applications that enable mobile commerce services.

Qualcomm stock used to sell in the low $90's, back before the 2000 meltdown. The price went as low as $11.60 before the stock found support, then moved ever higher (all prices adjusted for 2 for 1 split in late 2004), reaching a peak of $56.90 in 2008. Between 2004 and 2008, the price was range bound within about 15 points, but then it dropped to $28.20 in late 2008. Now it's back to $50. Can it keep going?

Earnings will be the fuel the keeps it rolling. They were $2.46 in 2010 (fiscal year ends in September). This year, 33 analysts have a consensus estimate of $2.78, then see $3.03 next year. First quarter results should show 72 cents compared to 62 cents last year.

Qualcomm benefits from the continued rollout of 3G (Third generation) networks. About 20% of current cellphones (1 billion out of 5 billion) used today are on 3G. Management thinks by 2014 there will be 2.8 billion users. Most of that growth will come from China and India. Qualcomm receives a licensing fee for every 3G handset sold. Along with 3G units, especially in the Asian and Indian regions, Qualcomm sells chipsets for $20 devices, and in more advanced economies, sophisticated tablets. In 2010, more than 745 different devices were built with Qualcomm IC's (integrated circuits).

Qualcomm sees a bright future for ebook readers. One of its divisions, Mirasol, developed a full color screen for ebook readers, using ambient light in a room or outside instead of a backlight. There's also a chipset for heart attack monitors. The company isn't limited to cellphones and tablets.

Still, the market for cellphones looks very promising. Smartphones are in high demand with new versions expected shortly. The iPhone 4 from Verizon is out and contains Qualcomm's communication processor. Then look for iPhone 5, the next generation, to have Qualcomm inside as well. As more telcoms build their 4G networks, more sophisticated chipsets inside cellphones will be required. That plays right to QCOM's strengths.

There are more new developments. One of them is the Snapdragon platform which includes powerful application processors. Last year, only one device used it. Currently 55 consumer devices have the technology and 125 more are in the design phase. There are ten compnanies developing tablet PCs using Snapdragon, and new chips using less power and with higher processing power are in the lab.

More numbers: P/E ratio is 26 while Forward P/E is 16.73. Price to sales is 7.28. Price to book is 3.82. Book value is $12.94. Operating margin for the last 12 months was 29.87% and Profit margin was 29.54%. Return on equity was 15.77%. Return on assets was 7.07%. Total revenue was $10.99 billion. Total cash is $10.28 billion or $6.35 per share. Current ratio is 2.22. There are 1.62 billion shares outstanding with a Float of 1.59 billion. Insiders own 1.59% of the stock. Institutions have 79.80% of the Float. Annual dividend is 76 cents which gives a yield of 1.5%.

Conservative investors will find this stock of interest: there's plenty of cash, a very strong balance sheet, high operating and profit margins with good returns on equity and assets. The only caveat: the stock price. It already seems to reflect most if not all of the good news. If investors like this stock well enough, they may want to wait and see if it pulls back at some point. But if global economies continue to improve, expect analysts' projections to increase, and most likely, along with them, the stock.

- Company Web site: www.qualcomm.com

- Ted Allrich