Broadcom Earnings In Focus After Qualcomm Bid Withdrawal

　　Chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO) on Wednesday officially withdrew its offer to acquireQualcomm (QCOM) following President Trump's executive order blocking the deal on national security grounds.

　　"Although we are disappointed with this outcome, Broadcom will comply with the order," Broadcom said in a statement. The Singapore-based company said it plans to continue the process of moving its global headquarters to the U.S. Broadcom, which has its U.S. headquarters in San Jose, Calif., expects to complete the move by April 3.

　　"From a stock perspective, we view the executive order as a slight positive as it removes a near-term distraction and overhang on the stock," KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst John Vinh said in a report. "As a stand-alone entity moving forward, we still view Broadcom as one of the best-run companies in the semiconductor industry with secular growth drivers in RF (radio frequency), data center and networking (chips)."

　　Investor attention now shifts to Broadcom's fiscal first-quarter results, scheduled for release after the market close on Thursday.

　　Wall Street expects Broadcom to earn $5.04 a share, up 39% year over year, on sales of $5.32 billion, up 28%, in the January quarter.

　　For the April quarter, analysts are modeling Broadcom to earn $4.63 a share, up 25%, on sales of $5 billion, up 19%.

　　Broadcom shares dipped 0.2% to close at 260.59 on the stock market today. Qualcomm, meanwhile was up 0.7% to 60.12.