Reenter the Snapdragon

Shares in Qualcomm, one of San Diego's largest employers, are on the rise following the announcement that mobile-phone giant Samsung will return to using the company's Snapdragon processors. The announcement last October that Samsung was moving toward using a proprietary chip in its flagship Galaxy mobile line made Qualcomm stock tank.

It eventually reached a low per-share price of $42.96 on February 10, down nearly a third from over $60 prior to the announcement. With the confirmation via a February 22 release that Qualcomm would return to powering Samsung devices, the stock continued a weeklong surge, reaching $51.28 by the end of the day.

Samsung's Galaxy S7, the first device to feature a Qualcomm chip since the companies' renewed agreement, goes on sale March 11, though pre-orders begin February 23.