U.S. Cellular (USM), the wireless subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems (TDS), reported disappointing third-quarter 2009 results with earnings per share of 41 cents, coming in below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 57 cents. It also declined significantly from the year-ago EPS of $1.02. Net income plunged 60% year over year to $35.6 million as a result of decreased sales and higher operating costs.

Top-line Hit by Lower Roaming Revenue

The Chicago-based carrier reported operating revenue of $1,058 million, down 3% from $1,092 million a year ago. This decline is attributable to lower service revenue, which decreased 3% year over year to $984.9 million due to a 26% year over year reduction in inbound roaming revenues, primarily resulting from Verizon's (VZ) acquisition of Alltel.

Decline in roaming revenue was offset by healthy data revenue, which grew 34% over the prior-year quarter to $174.3 million, accounting for 18% of service

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Atheros Communications (ATHR) recently reported revenues of $156.6 million for the third quarter, up 13% year over year and up 40% sequentially and surpassed management’s guidance of revenues around $145 million – $150 million. The strong growth in revenues came from personal computers and wireless handsets.

Gross margin came in at 48.4% compared to 47.4% in the prior quarter and 49.4% in the year-ago quarter. Operating margin came in at 19.4% compared to 10.8% in the previous quarter and 17.7% in the year-ago quarter. Net income almost quadrupled to $38.6 million in the reported quarter from $10.0 million in the year-ago quarter and a loss of $0.2 million in the previous quarter and due to growth in sales and orders. EPS of 46 cents easily beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 25 cents.

Management stated that the economic environment remained challenging but the strength of the company’s product cycles and increasing

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 19, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM), MetroPCS Communications Inc. (PCS), NTT DoCoMo (DCM), Nokia Corp. (NOK) and Motorola Inc. (MOT).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Friday’s AnalystBlog:

Qualcomm Wins M-Banking Deal

Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) recently entered into an agreement with MetroPCS Communications Inc. (PCS), through which the latter will offer mobile banking services to its customers using Qualcomm’s mobile banking applications. Qualcomm provides mobile banking solutions through its subsidiary Firethorn Holding LLC.

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US Cellular (USM), the wireless subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems (TDS), is poised to market Research In Motion's (RIMM) latest CDMA smartphone BlackBerry Tour 9630. The company has already revealed detailed specification of the device on its product page and has also released the new operating system verision (BlackBerry Tour 9630 OS 4.7.1.57) on its website.  Although an official confirmation is yet to come from US Cellular, a potential launch of BlackBerry Tour will enable it to join the league of Tier-1 US carriers in offering top-notch smartphones. BlackBerry Tour is currently available in the US on Verizon (VZ) and Sprint Nextel’s (S) networks. Leading US carriers are currently selling high-end smartphones through long-term distribution arrangements with manufacturers, which has boosted wireless subscriber growth and revenue per user.  However, smaller regional operators (such as US Cellular) lags behind their superior counterparts ...

Bell Canada, the subsidiary of incumbent Canadian telecom carrier BCE Inc. (BCE), has reportedly accelerated the deployment process of its next-generation high-speed wireless network. The Canadian operator will begin commercial launch of the much anticipated 3G high speed packet access (“HSPA") network in November, ahead of the originally scheduled launch in February 2010.     The 3G HSPA network represents an upgrade to Bell Canada’s existing CDMA based wireless network and is set to emerge as the largest HSPA network in Canada . The company has collaborated with its Canadian peer Telus Corp. (TU) for sharing the expenditures (estimated to be US$1.05 billion) related to this advancement which will support a vast range of next-generation smartphones (including iPhone). Moreover, Bell Canada has signed a North American roaming agreement with AT&T (T).   Bell Canada is expediting the HSPA network launch as the company targets to leverage ...

ANADIGICS, Inc. (ANAD) recently announced a strategic agreement with WIN Semiconductors Corp., for the design and manufacture of Gallium Arsenide microwave monolithic integrated circuits (MMIC). Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) ICs are used in wireless handsets and data devices that allow people to connect and communicate everywhere. ANADIGICS is headquartered in Warren, NJ. The company designs and manufactures semiconductor solutions for the broadband wireless and wireline communications markets.  WIN Semiconductors Corp. is one of the world's largest pure-play GaAs foundries. WIN has agreed to provide ANADIGICS with GaAs foundry processing services to meet customer demand for its high-performance, radio frequency integrated circuits (ICs). This foundry relationship is a key component of ANADIGICS' new hybrid manufacturing strategy. Together with its in-house manufacturing facility, the company can continue to deliver best-in-class RF devices to the wireless and broadband marketplaces. In 2008, ANADIGICS lost significant market share (primarily at Samsung) ...

Nokia Corp. (NOK) recently introduced an innovative wireless financial service called “Nokia Money" to help consumers access basic financial services using their mobile handset.

“Nokia Money" is a 24-hour service that will enable any mobile phone user to transfer money from his bank account to another account dialing the latter’s mobile phone number. This can be done either through SMS or a call. Nokia is likely to launch this service commercially from early 2010 in select European markets.

The major innovation of this service is that it will be available across various wireless networks from any mobile phone and not necessarily a Nokia handset. This user friendly, fully secured digital financial service can be used for remitting money, pay bills for goods and services, utility bills or top-up prepaid connections. Rural consumers, who do not have access to online services, will particularly benefit from this service.

Mobile financial

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U.S. telecom giant AT&T (T) has reportedly expanded its worldwide Wi-Fi (wireless broadband) presence by adding nearly 25,000 more hotspots across Europe and China. With this addition, the second largest US wireless carrier has expanded its global Wi-Fi hotspot count to 125,000, reflecting approximately 30% growth since the beginning of 2009. This expansion further validates the company’s leadership in Wi-Fi. The newly added hotspots will enable AT&T’s enterprise customers in countries across Europe and China to connect their corporate networks with more locations, including airports, hotels, restaurant and bookstores. Furthermore, the company has announced enhancements to the AT&T Global Network Client remote access software (which enables Wi-Fi users to connect to their corporate networks) that includes support for Microsoft’s (MSFT) latest operating system, Windows 7. AT&T expanded its Wi-Fi coverage locations with the acquisition of Texas-based Wayport Inc., a leading Wi-Fi service provider, in December ...

Fitch Ratings has revised the rating outlook for Telephone and Data Systems (TDS) and its wireless subsidiary US Cellular (USM) to Negative from Stable. The international rating agency has affirmed its BBB+ rating for both the entities with respect to issuer default, senior secured debt and revolving credit facility.

This revision in rating outlook reflects TDS’s weak performance in the last quarter across both wireless and wireline segments, which prompted the management to revise the financial guidance for 2009. The company has reported tepid revenue growth in the last quarter, which was accompanied by 21% year over year decline in net profit.

US Cellular was hit by a weak economy and intense competition as it lost 88,000 customers during the second quarter. The company reported decline in ARPU (average revenue per user) as growth in data was offset by the declines in voice and roaming revenue. This declining trend is

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As has been reported previously on Zacks.com, the chip industry may very well be in the early stages of a recovery. (See "Q2 Results Show Chip Recovery".) Of the 231 stocks on today's Zacks #1 Rank List, six of them are from the electronic components-semiconductors industry.

Today, we'll be focusing on National Semiconductor Corporation (NSM), which is a Zacks #1 Rank Top Performer with a gain of about 5%. Volume is at 4 million shares, which is below the daily average of 6.5 million.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this fiscal year, which ends in May 2010, is up 11.8% over the past 2 months to 38 cents per share. There are 21 covering analysts for the period.

Next fiscal year doesn't end until May 2011, but the Zacks Consensus Estimate for now stands at 62 cents, accounting for no change in the

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