Qualcomm Reports Second-Highest Earnings Quarter on Record Amid Global Semiconductor Shortage

On Wednesday, Qualcomm brought home an earnings report card stacked with As—thanks to lots and lots of chips.

The bright side

At about $8.24 billion, last quarter’s revenue was the second-highest on record—up 62% year-over-year.

Breakup tech → makeup tech: After burying the hatchet on a two-year legal dispute with Apple, Qualcomm began supplying iPhone processors again in 2020—which led to an 81% revenue increase for its chip business.

New chip flavor: RF front end chips are one of Qualcomm’s newest moneymakers. The 5G-friendly semiconductors live near a smartphone’s antenna and brought in $1 billion last quarter (more than 2x this time last year).

The plight side

Bullish Wall Street analysts had been expecting an A+, in the form of $8.25 billion in revenue. Qualcomm pointed to the global semiconductor shortage as the primary reason for the difference.

• A combination of poor planning from automakers and surging demand for consumer electronics and IoT chips caused a litany of silicon supply chain issues.

Looking ahead: “The shortage in the semiconductor industry is across the board,” said Cristiano Amon, president and CEO-elect, on the earnings call. “We expect…this to normalize toward the later part of 2021 as capacity is put in place.”