Qualcomm Earnings Beat, but Revenue Misses in Q1 on Lower China Demand By Investing.com

By Yasin Ebrahim

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) reported Wednesday mixed first-quarter results as earnings topped, but revenue missed analysts’ forecasts as licensing revenue was hurt by lower demand in China for licensees’ products.

Qualcomm shares lost 7% in after-hours trade following the report.

Qualcomm announced earnings per share of $2.17 on revenue of $8.23 billion. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of $2.1 on revenue of $8.24 billion.

The company, which generates the a significant portion of its overall revenues from licensing royalties, reported strong performance in its semiconductor business amid solid demand for 5G in handsets.     

First-quarter QCT (Qualcomm CDMA Technologies) semiconductor business revenue more than doubled to $6.53 billion from $3.62 billion as chip sold for use in mobile handsets jumped to $4.2 billion from $2.35 billion year-on-year.   

QTL (Qualcomm Technology Licensing) licensing business revenue of $4.66 billion from $1.40 billion as growth was partially “offset by the negative impact of COVID-19 and lower demand in China for licensees’ products that incorporate our intellectual property,” the company said.

“We delivered an exceptional quarter, more than doubling earnings year-over-year due to strong 5G demand in handsets and growth in our RF front-end, automotive and IoT adjacencies, which drove record earnings in our chip business,” said Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated. “We remain well positioned as the 5G ramp continues and we extend our core technology roadmap to adjacent industries.”

The company said it expected to close its $1.4 billion  acquisition of NuVia in the second quarter of fiscal 2021.