Qualcomm Board Authorizes $15 Bln Stock Buyback; Boosts Dividend

(RTTNews) - Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) said Monday that its board of directors has authorized the company to repurchase up to $15 billion of its common stock.

The $15 billion program, which is effective immediately, replaces the previous program that had a $2.1 billion authorization remaining.

Qualcomm said it plans to repurchase $10 billion of its common stock within about twelve months of the date of this announcement, in addition to its current commitment to return a minimum of 75% of its free cash flow to stockholders through stock repurchases and dividends.

Qualcomm also said its board has approved a 14% increase in the company's quarterly cash dividend, raising the annualized dividend payout to $1.92 per share. The cash dividend will increase from $0.42 to $0.48 per share of common stock and will be effective for quarterly dividends payable after March 25.

The company said it plans to finance the capital return program mainly by accessing the public debt markets in 2015.