Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm Technologies Inc. has a lot on its plate right now, from its ongoing $1 billion legal battle with Apple Inc. to a hostile takeover attempt by Broadcom Ltd., but that did not stop it from once again beating Wall Street estimates.

Qualcomm posted better-than-expected first-fiscal quarter earnings results, with profit per share of 98 cents versus the average analyst expectation of 91 cents, according to Thomson Reuters. The company’s revenue of $6.07 billion also beat the estimate of $5.93 billion, but its growth rate was only 1.2 percent higher than a year ago.

“Our fiscal first quarter results reflect continued strong performance in our semiconductor business, as well as continued strength in 3G/4G handset ASPs,” Qualcomm Chief Executive Steve Mollenkopf said in a prepared statement. “We recently detailed our roadmap for value creation, outlining the significant growth potential for Qualcomm as we enter the 5G world and our products and  technologies expand into attractive new markets.”

Qualcomm’s earnings were solid, but today’s results were not all good news. The company posted a net loss of $5.95 billion, largely from a onetime $6 billion charge as a result of changes made to U.S. tax laws. Qualcomm and other tech companies are taking the charges from a onetime tax levy on repatriated overseas profits.

The company also owes a $868 million fine to the Korea Fair Trade Commission, and it has an even bigger fine looming in Europe. Last week, the European Commission hit Qualcomm with a $1.2 billion antitrust fine for allegedly stifling competition by paying off mobile device makers. During an earnings call with investors, Qualcomm Chief Financial Officer George Davis said that the company plans to appeal the commission’s decision, but he also noted that “the decision does not relate to our licensing business and has no impact on ongoing operations.”

Revenue for Qualcomm’s licensing business shrank by 28 percent to $1.3 billion as it continues to be held back by Apple, which has been withholding $1 billion in royalty payments for the last year. Apple claimed in its lawsuit that Qualcomm “double dips” by charging excessive royalty fees on its chips while also charging for the chips themselves.

Qualcomm continued to report Apple’s royalties through 2017 because they were still acknowledged as owed under its agreements with suppliers. However, Qualcomm has stopped including royalties on new Apple products in its earnings, which is reflected in its revised estimated for the next quarter. Davis said that Qualcomm made this decision to offer investors a conservative estimate of future earnings in the event that Apple decides to “take the decision to carve us out completely.”

Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy, told SiliconANGLE that in spite of Qualcomm’s legal troubles, the company’s results can’t be ignored.

“Qualcomm had a good quarter driven by stronger wireless performance and we are starting to see the results of strength in IoT, automotive, Wi-Fi and RF,” said Moorhead. “The company alluded to the gains in non mobile business earlier in the year, but we now see it in the financials. The quarter was good even though Apple isn’t paying royalties, a testament to the company’s diversification.”

Moorhead also highlighted Qualcomm’s “surprise move” of signing a new QTL license agreement with Samsung Corp., which has agreed to no longer fight Qualcomm’s attempt to appeal the Korea FTC fine. “The Samsung announcement is important as it lowers Qualcomm uncertainty which has weighed on the stock for a year and contradicts many of Broadcom’s claims of a broken model,” said Moorhead.

Investors seemed to have mixed feelings on Qualcomm report. The company’s shares, which closed up almost 2 percent, to $68.25 a share, fluctuated wildly in after-hours trading. By late afternoon PST, they were down less than 1 percent. Update: On Thursday, shares were down more than 2 percent.

Photo: Flickr | Eugenuity (license)