US Stocks: Qualcomm unveils $20 billion stock buyback program; shares jump 3%

Smartphone ​chip designer Qualcomm on Tuesday unveiled a $20 ​billion stock buyback program as it looks to take advantage of a steep drop in its share price, ‌which ⁠has been ⁠hit by a global memory supply crunch ​that is expected to slow handset manufacturing.Shares of the company ​rose more than 3% on Tuesday, after a year-to-date drop of over 24% as ​the widespread shortage of memory ⁠chips hit ‌Qualcomm's customers, mainly smartphone makers.The ​new ​buyback is in addition to ⁠its existing $2.1 billion share buyback plan, the company ​said, adding that Qualcomm is also ​increasing its quarterly cash dividend by more than 3% to 92 cents per share from 89 cents."We remain focused on stockholder returns and executing on our ongoing ‌diversification opportunities," CEO Cristiano Amon said.Qualcomm is among the largest smartphone chip providers ​in the ​world, counting ⁠major Android players and iPhone-maker Apple among its customers.But it has been increasingly diversifying its business, attempting to ​reduce its dependence on the smartphone industry by working to enter the booming data center chip and autonomous vehicle markets.