BMO Capital analyst, Tim Long, noted that Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) beat revenues and EPS in the March quarter thanks to higher ASPs for both chips and 3G/4G royalty devices. However, guidance is mixed. MSM units for June are weaker than expected, though this is offset by much higher ASP. No change to the Market Perform rating but the PT goes to $47 from $46.

On the royalty side, the analyst believes QCOM’s view for CY16 units remains too optimistic, and we model just half of management’s 8% growth rate. FY2016/2017 pro forma EPS estimates go to $3.97/$4.53 from $3.87/$4.48.

Management guides for MSM ASP to rise more than 10% in the June quarter, much better than our prior 2% view. While a mix shift to slightly higher-tier modems in China explains some of the difference, management also attributes the ASP improvement to lower thin modem shipments. However, it is unclear whether this is the result of weaker management expectations for total iPhone units, QCOM share loss to dual-sourcing with Intel, or both.

QCOM expects June-quarter EPS of $0.90-1.00, which splits the difference between BMO/consensus prior estimates of $0.89/$1.02. However, the guidance includes $0.10 of contribution from LG catch-up recognition, which brings the midpoint of the guide to $0.85 excluding the catch-up. Furthermore, as we had not assumed any LG recognition in the June quarter, the like-for-like guidance would be $0.15 lower at the midpoint, or $0.09 below our prior estimate.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Qualcomm click here. For more ratings news on Qualcomm click here.

Shares of Qualcomm closed at $52.09 yesterday.