7.26.2008

BOOM!!!, interrupted

More than a year ago, I wrote BOOM!!! about a Qualcomm legal settlement that I hoped would indicate the beginning of the end of Qualcomm's legal battles:
The company has been beating earnings estimates handily, but legal hassles have scared Wall Street away. If Wall Street gains confidence that Qualcomm is settling its legal issues, the stock has a lot of room to run.

Well, things didn't work out as I hoped. Instead of settling its issues, Qualcomm was caught in a massive abuse of the judicial system, cheating in the discovery process in a case against Broadcom. Qualcomm lost the case, the lawyers were disciplined for ethical violations, and the headlines were damaging to Qualcomm's reputation. Nevertheless, Qualcomm stock was roughly flat from that March 2007 until last week, which is significantly better than the market has done.

Until now. Last week, Qualcomm announced a huge settlement with Nokia. The case was one of its biggest legal disputes. Still remaining are fights with Broadcom and the EU, but Qualcomm is finally on the settlement path. The stock was up 20% Thursday and Friday.

BOOM!!!, at last.

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