In Monday’s Market Update, we highlighted the few information technology companies that we feel qualify as franchises. With one exception, all of those companies are represented in our Growth Portfolio. Today, we add Qualcomm (QCOM) to the portfolio – completing our technology franchise portfolio.

 

As we noted, Qualcomm’s business centers around patents regarding wireless technology, with many related to the CDMA mobile communication platform. In fact, over 25 years of research and development have translated into a portfolio of approximately 11,600 U.S. and 54,100 international patents and patent applications. Qualcomm has become a technology supplier to myriad companies, providing either the semiconductor chips or licensing its technology for a fee, with the company’s business model being to provide wireless companies big and small with the know-how needed to bring their innovations to the market. We think they’ve succeeded in that quest, and are reaping the benefits of decades of hard work.

 

The CDMA platform is front and center of the shift to third generation or 3G wireless communications, a platform supporting faster speeds for larger packets of data.