Amgen, Inc. (AMGN), QUALCOMM, Inc. (QCOM): Investing in Growth Stocks — With Ease

The company just posted third-quarter earnings, featuring revenue and earnings each up more than 30%. Bulls like its expansion into the health-care industry and telemedicine. QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) recently hiked its dividend by 40%, and its yield is now at 2.3%. The stock’s P/E ratio near 17 and its forward P/E near 13 are both well below its five-year average of 24 .

Other companies didn’t do as well last year, but could see their fortunes change in the coming years. Domestic tobacco giant Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO), for example, gained 8% and yields 4.8%. This company has an impressive history, but its growth prospects are more constrained these days, due to rising taxes, regulations, competition from discount cigarettes, and a shrinking smoker base. In its latest quarter, revenue shrank 3% while earnings rose 5%. Meanwhile, the latest news in the tobacco industry is that the FDA might tighten regulations on (or even ban ) menthol cigarettes, which many see as a gateway smoke for young people. A ray of hope for tobacco companies is the growth of electronic cigarettes.

The big picture
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The article Investing in Growth Stocks — With Ease originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Selena Maranjian.

Longtime Fool contributor Selena Maranjian, whom you can follow on Twitter, owns shares of Qualcomm and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool recommends Gilead Sciences and owns shares of Qualcomm.

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