Qualcomm Inc on Wednesday forecast better-than-expected profit and revenue for its current quarter on soaring demand for chips used in phones, vehicles and other Internet-connected devices.
The San Diego, California-based company, still the biggest supplier of chips for mobile phones, has worked to diversify its chip portfolio.
Its optimistic forecast came even as smartphone makers such as Apple Inc have been struggling with supply chain issues, reporting uneven results.
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Qualcomm said it expects adjusted earnings per share to increase by US$2.90 to US$3.10 per share for its first quarter, beating estimates of US$2.59, Institutional Brokers’ Estimate System (IBES) data from Refinitiv showed.
Qualcomm chief executive officer Cristiano Amon told reporters that efforts earlier this year to secure additional chip supplies have been successful and are on track.
“It’s reflected in our record Q1 guidance — it means we have supply,” Amon said in an interview.
During a conference call with investors, Qualcomm chief financial officer Akash Palkhiwala said that the firm expects fiscal 2022 adjusted profit growth of more than 20 percent.
The forecast implied adjusted earnings of US$10.25 per share, higher than estimates of 12.5 percent growth to US$9.29 per share, Refinitiv’s IBES estimates showed.
The company also said it expects revenue with a midpoint of US$10.40 billion for its fiscal first quarter, which includes the holiday shopping season in the US and Europe, compared with analysts’ estimates of US$9.68 billion.
The upbeat forecast could signal the easing of a global chip shortage that has hit production for major Qualcomm customers, including Apple and Samsung Electronics Co.
Qualcomm has worked to diversify its chip manufacturing partners. It is one of a few chip designers that uses Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung to make dueling versions of its cutting-edge chips.
For older technologies, it leans on a network of suppliers including TSMC, United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) and China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (中芯國際).
Amon said that the booming results came in part because many of Qualcomm’s customers have been gobbling up the Android phone market share left open by Huawei Technologies Co’s (華為) exit from that market.
Huawei phones had used proprietary chips, but most of the rivals now gaining shares are Qualcomm customers.
“The company is no longer defined by a single relationship,” Amon said. “We have an incredible opportunity for growth in Android.”
The chipmaker said that revenue rose 43 percent to US$9.32 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 26, compared with projections of US$8.86 billion. It earned US$2.55 per share, on an adjusted basis, exceeding analysts’ expectations of US$2.26.
Its chip segment had fourth-quarter revenue of US$7.73 billion, above analysts’ expectations of US$7.27 billion, data from FactSet showed.
For decades, Qualcomm’s biggest business was selling the modem chips that connect smart phones to wireless data networks. While that market remains its biggest, other markets such as radio-frequency chips, automotive chips and Internet of Things chips accounted for more than US$10 billion of its US$27 billion of chip revenue in fiscal 2021.
“If 38 percent [of chip revenue] doesn’t do it, I don’t know what does,” Amon said of the company’s diversification effort.
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