Is
Atheros (Nasdaq: ATHR) becoming a
household name?
The small-cap chip designer is on a roll these days,
landing high-profile deals left and right and coming back
strong from last year's market meltdown.
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Zune HD is a
selling point because of its combination of low power draw
and enhanced Wi-Fi performance.
Just when you wanted to
call the Wi-Fi Alliancethe
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) of hardware
specifications for keeping products indefinitely in beta,
the high-speed 802.11n technology on which Atheros builds
much of its current business gained a new level of
marketability by nailing down a final specification after
years of unofficial "draft" products. Atheros is among the
first companies to get the much-vaunted non-draft
certification alongside much larger players
Intel (Nasdaq: INTC),
Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM), and
Marvell (Nasdaq: MRVL).
An 802.11n chip targeted at low-cost markets like
netbooksand consumer electronics applications is
breaking sales records for Atheros with more than 10
million units sold.
Most of the news above didn't affect the just-completed
third quarter much, but the upcoming Windows 7 launch and
generally refreshed
consumer appetitefor computers and
networked gadgetspushed Atheros to impressive heights
regardless. Sales of $156.6 million were an increase of 40%
over the previous quarter and 13% over 2008 levels. That's
right -- Atheros came out positive in a post-crash to
pre-crash sales comparison.
GAAP earnings jumped from $0.16 per share a year ago to
$0.60 per share today, but much of that boost came from
settling a foreign tax dispute in Atheros' favor (collect
$200!). Pro forma earnings, which for once give a truer
picture of how Atheros' business is doing, stopped at $0.46
per share, up from $0.37 per share a year ago and $0.20 per
share in the second quarter. Any way you slice it, Atheros
was impressive. And as you saw earlier, there are
several potential catalystslined up to ensure that the
growth momentum won't putter out anytime soon.
With a $1.7 billion market cap and plenty of juice left in
those rocket boosters, Atheros seems destined to make the
leap from
small, obscure, and ignoredto household name and mid-cap
stock. Of more than 1,500 CAPS members with an interest in
Atheros, 97% believe that the stock will continue to crush
the market. Grab a 100% free CAPS account and
cast your vote today.
This article was originally published as
High-Speed Networking Creates High-Powered Earningson
Fool.com
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