Qualcomm on Tuesday continued its recent trend of steadily increasing dividends, announcing that its board of directors approved a 10 percent increase.
The quarterly cash dividend will increase from 48 cents to 53 cents per share of common stock and will be effective for quarterly dividends payable after March 23. This increase will raise the annual dividend payout to $2.12 per share.
As recently as 2010 the wireless technology giant’s dividend was just 19 cents per share, or $0.76 annually.
“Over the last several years, we have invested aggressively in our technology roadmap and returned substantial capital to stockholders as part of a balanced capital allocation strategy,” said CEO Steve Mollenkopf. “The dividend increase announced today reflects both the strength of our ongoing cash flows, as well as our confidence that our investments have created a strong foundation for future earnings growth.”
Qualcomm’s stock was trading down over a point at $52.05 Tuesday morning amid an overall decline in NASDAQ-listed stocks.
