Qualcomm earnings fell short of expectations for the three months ending September. On top of that, Apple has decided to use Intel chips instead of Qualcomm’s for its new iPhones.
Qualcomm reported a loss of 35 cents a share for the fiscal fourth quarter. Apple opted to move from Qualcomm to Intel for its new line of phones apparently due to a legal dispute over patents and imports. Apple’s decision is likely to affect Qualcomm’s first fiscal quarter guidance for 2019, but CEO Steven Mollenkopf said, “this will become less impactful to our quarterly results" as they progress through the year.
The chipmaker is also facing challenges from weakening global smartphone demand, which might be a headwind to its Snapdragon MSM chips shipments. "In fiscal 2019, we expect relatively flat global handset average selling prices and low to mid-single-digit percentage handset sales growth year over year, with strength coming from the emerging regions, providing solid end market trends for (Qualcomm's licensing business) once the licensing disputes are resolved," CFO George Davis told investors late Wednesday.