Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Qualcomm Inc., the biggest maker of mobile-phone chips, rose 7.9 percent in Nasdaq trading after investors predicted earnings growth can't get any worse.

Revenue this quarter may fall as much as 6 percent from a year earlier, the first decline in seven years, Qualcomm said yesterday. The company posted annual sales growth of 22 percent the past six years as it benefited from increasing use of its chips in mobile phones that provide high-speed Internet access.

``Some people are thinking that the next data point can't possibly be as negative,'' said Mark McKechnie, a San Francisco- based analyst at American Technology Research, in an interview with Bloomberg Television. ``This is a secular growth company, which like all the rest of them, is being interrupted by the macro environment.''

Qualcomm, based in San Diego, rose $2.61 to $35.66 at 4 p.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock has fallen 9.4 percent this year.

First-quarter profit will be 46 cents to 50 cents a share, excluding some items, Qualcomm said. Analysts projected 52 cents, according to a Bloomberg survey. Qualcomm blamed the credit crisis and depressed global economy, saying they have also affected the value of the company's securities portfolio.

``Over the last several weeks we saw quite a softening,'' Qualcomm President Steve Altman said in a telephone interview yesterday. ``We do see a pickup, a recovery in the second half of the year, although it's very difficult to forecast,'' he said.

Last month, Texas Instruments Inc., which Qualcomm overtook last year to become the biggest maker of chips for phones, reported a 27 percent decline in third-quarter profit on fewer orders for handset parts. The company forecast revenue this quarter that fell short of analysts' projections.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ian King in San Francisco at ianking@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 7, 2008 16:20 EST