Competitor’s News Is Good for Broadcom

Buoyed by positive earnings news from one of its key competitors, shares of communications semiconductor maker Broadcom Corp. in Irvine rose $10.81 a share Wednesday, or 9%, to close at $128.69.

Applied Micro Circuits Corp. in San Diego surprised the market with third-quarter income, excluding charges, of $48.1 million, or 16 cents a share, beating First Call analysts’ expectations of 14 cents a share. Applied Micro’s stock rose $10 a share, or 14%, to close at $80.38 per share.

Broadcom will announce its quarterly earnings Jan. 23. Analysts surveyed by First Call expect Broadcom to announce earnings of 31 cents per share for the fourth quarter.