Broadcom Surges After Giving an Upbeat Earnings Outlook

(Bloomberg) -- Broadcom Ltd. surged in early trading Wednesday after giving an upbeat earnings outlook.

The semiconductor maker that has made a hostile $105 billion offer for Qualcomm Inc. said it expects adjusted earnings per share of about $5.10 in the first quarter, up 40 percent from a year earlier and topping analysts’ average forecasts of $4.95 a share.

The company also said it expects $5.3 billion to $5.35 billion in sales in the quarter. It had previously said it expected adjusted revenue of $5.3 billion plus or minus $75 million.

“Our first quarter results are tracking towards the higher end of our expectations as we continue to execute on our business model,” said Hock Tan, president and chief executive officer. “Looking ahead to our second fiscal quarter, strong data center demand for our wired and enterprise storage products and a seasonal pick up in broadband is expected to offset a greater than seasonal decline in wireless.”

The shares jumped as much as 5 percent, the most since November, to $253.14, in New York.

To contact the reporter on this story: Molly Schuetz in New York at mschuetz9@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Molly Schuetz, Anne Riley Moffat

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