Published in News

Qualcomm's bottom line saved by 5G

by on30 April 2020


5G was the cure for COVID-19 pandemic woes

There is some scientific evidence that rather than causing COVID-19, 5G might be the actual cure – at least if you are a company.

Qualcomm forecast current quarter revenue largely in line with expectations as it signed more contracts for 5G phones, which use higher-priced chips, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted production channels and led to a fall in demand for smartphones.

The outfit also beat what the cocaine nose jobs of Wall Street predicted for second quarter profit and revenue on the back of higher prices for its mobile chips.

Qualcomm forecast total revenue of between $4.4 billion and $5.2 billion for its third quarter. Analysts had estimated revenue of $4.89 billion.

This was a lot better than Intel and Texas Instruments which have either withdrawn or cut their revenue forecasts, citing the impact of the virus on demand and supply channels.

Qualcomm, the world’s biggest supplier of modem chips that connect mobile phones and other devices to data networks, said coronavirus reduced demand for handsets by about 21 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, and forecast a 30 percent reduction in handset shipment in the current quarter.

Fall in device sales means less profit and revenue for Qualcomm, as it makes most of its profit from licensing its technologies that allow phones to connect to wireless data networks.

The company, however, sold chips at an average price of $31.8 compared with their earlier price of $23 - a sign that it is benefiting from a rise in demand for high-end chips.

Qualcomm’s second quarter revenue from its licensing business stood at $1.07 billion, above estimates of $1.01 billion.

Qualcomm said it has signed more than 85 5G license agreements and more than 45 vendors have launched or announced commercial 5G devices.

Total revenue for the company rose about five percent to $5.22 billion in the second quarter ended March 29, beating analysts’ estimates of $5.03 billion.

 

Last modified on 01 May 2020
Rate this item
(0 votes)

Read more about: