posted 12-23-1999 05:26 PM         

Qualcomm erupted to well over $400 a share and announced a 4-for-1 stock split in early November after shattering analysts' estimates in its fourth quarter.

Already dubbed by some as the "wireless" Microsoft, Qualcomm has become something of a research and development giant in the burgeoning wireless market.

With so many leading original electronics manufacturers and technology stalwarts basing their future growth on the proliferation of wireless Internet appliances, Qualcomm stands to profit not only from its products but its patents, too.

In fact, Qualcomm's trying to wean itself away from the manufacturing side after selling off its wireless network division earlier this year.

As CEO Irwin Jacobs puts it "we'll let others deal with wrapping plastic around chips. Qualcomm has always been based on technical innovation."

Qualcomm is now more interested in developing the next generation of wireless technology for everything from connecting to the Internet to transmitting huge packets of data between businesses or individuals. Qualcomm also will continue designing the computer chips that run mobile phones.

One big potential hit is a new wireless technology, called "high data rate," or HDR, that's capable of zapping video from the Net over radio waves.

Analysts estimate that by 2005, more than half of the world's 1 billion cellular phones will use Qualcomm's technology. That could yield hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties annually.

"They've got the core technology for the next millennium," said analyst Tim Luke of Lehman Brothers.

Merrill Lynch estimates Qualcomm's operating margins will jump from 7.6 percent in 1998 to more than 32 percent in 2000.

Those who think Qualcomm shares might be overvalued probably are the same people who missed out on the stock at $25.