Xilinx Inc. XLNX delivered third-quarter fiscal 2021 adjusted earnings of 78 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 71 cents. Moreover, the bottom line comes in 15% higher than the prior-year quarter’s 68 cents.Revenues of $803 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $776.1 million as well as increased 11% year on year. This double-digit growth in the top line was mainly driven by the strengthening business conditions and solid executions, partially offset by the impact of the Huawei ban and other trade-related uncertainties.The company witnessed improved chip demand across Wired and Wireless Group (WWG), Automotive, Broadcast and Consumer (ABC), and A&D, Industrial and TME (AIT) markets. However, demand from the Data Center Group (DCG) business remained weak through the fiscal third quarter.Quarter in DetailProduct wise, advanced product revenues climbed 15% year over year, contributing 72% to total revenues. Moreover, revenues from core products (28% of total revenues) inched up 1% from the year-ago quarter.Xilinx, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Xilinx, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Xilinx, Inc. QuoteThe company’s Zynq product-based revenues grew 29% year on year and 24% sequentially. This quarter-on-quarter improvement was primarily aided by the ramp-up in 5G Wireless and improvement in the automotive markets.On the basis of end markets, AIT revenues (45% of total revenues) jumped 25% on a year-over-year basis and 7% sequentially, chiefly supported by the solid performance in the Test, Measurement and Emulation market.ABC (19% of total revenues) grew 14% year over year and 27% quarter on quarter. This uptick mainly resulted from record performance at the Automotive and Broadcast end markets.WWG revenues (29% of total revenues) increased 2% year over year and 14% sequentially on the ramped-up 5G deployments across multiple regions.DCG revenues (7% of total) slid 15% from the year-ago period and 45% quarter on quarter.Geographically, the company registered a year-over-year increase of 16% in North America, 4% in the Asia Pacific, 28% in Europe, and 2% in Japan.MarginsNon-GAAP gross profit increased 13% year over year to $554 million, while margin expanded 220 basis points (bps) to 69%.The company posted non-GAAP operating income of $201 million during the fiscal third quarter, up from the $174 million reported in the year-ago period. Operating margin expanded 100 bps to 25%, chiefly owing to higher gross margin, partially offset by inflated operating expenses as a percentage of revenues.Balance Sheet and Cash FlowXilinx exited the fiscal third quarter with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $3.32 billion compared with the prior quarter’s $3.1 billion.The company’s total long-term debt (excluding current maturities) was $1.49 billion as of Jan 2. Long-term debt was significantly higher from the $747.1 million witnessed at the end of fiscal 2020. This upswing reflects the senior notes issuance of $750 million in May 2020.Xilinx generated $360.2 million of cash from operations during the reported quarter and $853.2 million in the first three quarters of fiscal 2021.During the fiscal third quarter, the company paid out dividends worth $93.2 million but didn’t repurchases stocks. In the first three quarters of fiscal 2021, it repurchased shares worth $53.7 million and paid out dividends worth $278.7 million.Furthermore, pursuant to its merger agreement with Advanced Micro Devices AMD, Xilinx has suspended its dividend payment and share-repurchase program. Additionally, the company has not issued any outlook.Zacks Rank and Key PicksXilinx currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector include Shopify SHOP, Micron MU and NetApp NTAP, all flaunting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.The long-term earnings growth rate for Shopify, Micron and NetApp is currently pegged at 32.5%, 12.7% and 11.9%, respectively.Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.Ignited by referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $17.7 billion in 2019 to a staggering $73.6 billion by 2027. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.See the pot stocks we're targeting >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Micron Technology, Inc. (MU): Free Stock Analysis Report Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD): Free Stock Analysis Report Xilinx, Inc. (XLNX): Free Stock Analysis Report NetApp, Inc. (NTAP): Free Stock Analysis Report Shopify Inc. (SHOP): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research