Deborah Choate, chief financial officer of leading wireless technology designer Wavecom, sounds frustrated. She has just finished delivering Wavecom's third quarter results – including a 91% hike in revenues, operating profit up more than 15 times compared with last year and stronger gross margins – to which the market responded by wiping nearly 20% off the company's shares.

Was Choate surprised by investors' negative reaction? Not particularly; it seems that she is more or less resigned to the fact that there is precious little telecoms companies can do to turn the present wave of negative investor sentiment.