Qualcomm's smartphone chip sales miss estimates, shares fall

Qualcomm's handset revenue fell 26% to $5.14 billion in the fourth quarter, below analysts' $5.25 billion estimate, as sluggish demand and declining Apple-related revenue weighed on results. Chip segment revenue fell 8% to $9.02 billion. Adjusted sales declined 7% to $10.44 billion, beating estimates of $10.11 billion, while adjusted profit was $2.17 per share versus $2.16 expected.

Qualcomm expects first-quarter revenue of $10.4 billion to $11.2 billion, with chip segment sales of $9 billion to $9.6 billion, above analysts' $8.88 billion estimate. Adjusted profit is forecast at $2.15 to $2.35 per share, compared with estimates of $2.27. CEO Cristiano Amon said the forecast includes no further Apple sales and that Android handset sales had bottomed out and were ticking upward.

Qualcomm said it expects non-handset revenue to replace Apple sales entirely and forecast 60% year-over-year growth in its non-handset business in fiscal 2027. A September agreement lets Amazon buy up to $60 billion of Qualcomm AI chips and related data-center products; Qualcomm valued warrants issued to Amazon at about $1.8 billion. The company is targeting $15 billion in annual data-center revenue by fiscal 2029.