What happened Shares of Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) were rising this morning after the company reported second-quarter results that outpaced analysts' expectations. The tech stock rose by as much as 6.4% and was up 4.1% as of 10:17 a.m. EDT. So what Qualcomm's second-quarter sales increased 52% from the year-ago quarter to $7.92 billion. That figure was higher than the $7.62 billion consensus estimate that analysts were expecting. Additionally, Qualcomm's adjusted diluted earnings per share skyrocketed 116% to $1.90, which outpaced the consensus estimate of $1.67 per share for the quarter. Image source: Getty Images. "Demonstrating the strength of our strategy and our success in execution, we delivered another quarter of year-over-year growth driven by sustained demand for smartphones globally and our ability to increase the scale of our non-handset revenues," Steve Mollenkopf, Qualcomm's CEO, said in a press release. In addition to Qualcomm's solid second-quarter results, investors were also pleased that the company returned $2.3 billion to shareholders in the quarter, which included $1.5 billion in share repurchases and $734 million in dividend payments. Now what Qualcomm's management issued guidance for the third quarter, with revenue expected to be in the range between $7.3 billion to $7.9 billion. If Qualcomm delivers on that outlook it would represent a 55% revenue increase from the year-ago quarter, at the midpoint of guidance. The company is also expecting adjusted diluted earnings to jump significantly to a range of $1.55 to $1.75, up 92% year over year at the midpoint. With Qualcomm's growth in the second quarter and its impressive third-quarter outlook, it's no wonder why investors are bullish on Qualcomm's stock today. 10 stocks we like better than QualcommWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Qualcomm wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of February 24, 2021 Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Qualcomm. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source