YOU ARE AT:5GQualcomm’s chip business booms despite global shortage

Qualcomm’s chip business booms despite global shortage

Qualcomm reported quarterly revenue of $9.3 billion beating analysts’ projections

Qualcomm this week reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ expectation in terms of total revenue and earnings per share. The San Diego-based company reported quarterly revenue of $9.3 billion with the chips business growing 56% year-on-year, kicking in $7.7 billion of the revenue figure; of note, this significant expansion occurred against the backdrop of a global chip shortage. 

CEO Cristiano Amon said during an earnings call, “As the pace of digital transformation of industries accelerates and as devices become connected and more intelligent, our broad portfolio of technologies and solutions is creating a significant long-term growth opportunity for us.”

Qualcomm also reported growth in its RF front-end, automotive and Internet of Things segments. On that revenue diversification Amon said, “Our chipset business represents the largest growth engine for us as virtually all devices at the edge adopt mobile technologies. We have the relevant technologies required to continue to lead in mobile and connected intelligent edge.” 

The big picture here is the digitization of vertical industries like manufacturing, logistics and retail. Enterprises are investing in technologies, including 5G, artificial intelligence, edge compute and storage, and monitoring systems that fit under the IoT umbrella. Sensor data travels across a 5G network and is quickly crunched at the edge, often with an AI- or machine learning-based system, where the data is turned into an action that creates a financial and/or efficiency gain.

Amon said: “As we have noted throughout the year, we continue to see incredibly strong demand across all our technologies as the current environment is accelerating the scale of connectivity and processing at the edge.”

Click here for a detailed breakdown of Qualcomm’s financials. 

ABOUT AUTHOR

Sean Kinney, Editor in Chief
Sean Kinney, Editor in Chief
Sean focuses on multiple subject areas including 5G, Open RAN, hybrid cloud, edge computing, and Industry 4.0. He also hosts Arden Media's podcast Will 5G Change the World? Prior to his work at RCR, Sean studied journalism and literature at the University of Mississippi then spent six years based in Key West, Florida, working as a reporter for the Miami Herald Media Company. He currently lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.