ARM Holdings Turns in Solid Earnings (ARMH, AAPL, MSFT, DELL, FSL, INTC)

ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) is bucking the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) drag. With its processor sales strong for smartphones and tablets, the British company managed to beat earnings expectations with a 23% gain in pre-tax operating profits as revenue grew by 15%. The company also reported that its ARM-based chip shipments were up 9% as well in its report, and the company talked up its royalty revenues. The company noted new products coming from Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), as well as embedded applications from Freescale Semiconductor Ltd. (NYSE: FSL) and Toshiba.

With a weak report from Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) last week, some were concerned going into earnings here.

While this is a U.K.-based outfit, the dollar terms look a tad different. Revenues were up 12% to $213.0 million; license revenues grew 12% and royalty revenues rose by some 15%. Service revenues rose by 6%, but sales of development systems were a weaker spot with a drop of 4% in sales. As smartphones have grown to dominate PC sales, ARM is winning from its licensing and royalty business for processors.

ARM Holdings is surging in New York ADR trading, with gains of 6.5% to $23.79 against a 52-week range of $21.64 to $31.55. Shares in London were up 6% on last look.

JON C. OGG