Qualcomm chip sales surge thanks to Chinese smartphone makers, but Apple’s shift looms

Launches of new flagship phones from Chinese Android brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo have helped lift Qualcomm’s forecast

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Qualcomm’s sales have been boosted by robust orders from Chinese Android smartphone makers. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:00pm, 7 Nov 2024

Chip designer Qualcomm on Wednesday forecast sales and profit in the current quarter would exceed Wall Street estimates as the company benefits from a wave of launches of flagship Chinese smartphones.

The company’s shares rose 5.5 per cent in extended trading. They had surged 12 per cent right after it reported results after the company also flagged a new $15 billion stock buy-back.

The San Diego, California-based company is the biggest supplier of smartphone chips and is benefiting from a recovery in smartphone markets as consumers upgrade devices for artificial intelligence applications such as chatbots and image generators.

Qualcomm derived 46 per cent of its revenue in its most recent financial year from customers with headquarters in China.

Xiaomi executive Xu Fei unveils the company’s latest flagship smartphone series powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdrgon 8 Elite processor in Beijing last month. Photo: Reuters

The company shot down a question on a post-earnings call on whether the surge in China sales were prompted by concerns over possible tariffs that could be put in place by Donald Trump, who was re-elected as US president on Tuesday. Qualcomm executives said they did not believe the prospect of tariffs on Chinese goods played a role in rising sales.

Trump has floated second-term plans for blanket tariffs of 10 per cent to 20 per cent on virtually all imports as well as tariffs of 60 per cent or more on goods from China, in a bid to boost US manufacturing.