This Mobile-Chip Stock Is The Gift That Keeps On Giving

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Chip giant Qualcomm (NAS: QCOM) definitely enjoys a cushy spot in the mobile revolution. The company keeps chugging along and putting up solid figures as its chips power various aspects of most smartphones and tablets today.

To reiterate its strong position, the company has just announced some shareholder-friendly news. Qualcomm is boosting its dividend in a continued string of steady increases over the past ten years. The payout represents a 16% jump and brings the next quarterly payment to $0.25 per share, up from the prior quarter's $0.215. That means shareholders can expect about $1 per share in annual dividends, a modest 1.6% yield at current prices.

On top of that, the company's board has also authorized a $4 billion stock-repurchase program, which replaces the prior $3 billion one, which had a little less than $1 billion in authorized repurchases left to go. CEO Dr. Paul Jacobs said that the company has "returned $16.8 billion to stockholders through a combination of stock repurchases and cash dividends" since 2003.

Source: YCharts.

This all may be true, but the net result of the repurchases over the years hasn't been accretive to earnings since shares outstanding have continued to march higher, so the buybacks haven't fully offset dilution from equity compensation.

That being said, the announcement still inspires confidence in Qualcomm's business and underlying cash flows. Its leadership has cemented a lucrative spot in Apple (NAS: AAPL) iDevices for the foreseeable future, with this do-it-all baseband likely to be in iPhones and iPads this year. Meanwhile, it's playing admirable defense against up-and-coming mobile-chip maker NVIDIA (NAS: NVDA) , who has high hopes of stealing mobile-market share with its quad-core Tegra 3 CPU.

Source: YCharts.

Qualcomm's technological leadership, strong chip business, and consistent practice of returning value to shareholders are just some of the reasons why this stock is a buy.

Qualcomm is riding the mobile boom as a component supplier. There are plenty of other winners of the coming revolution, although they may be hard to see since they're buried inside the gadgets. Check out this new special free report on "3 Hidden Winners of the iPhone, iPad, and Android Revolution" for more component picks. It's free.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributorEvan Niuhas sold bullish put spreads on QUALCOMM and owns shares of Apple, but he holds no other position in any company mentioned.Click hereto see his holdings and a short bio. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of NVIDIA and Apple; creating a bull call spread position in Apple; and writing puts on NVIDIA. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

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