Qualcomm beats expectations for revenue and earnings, sales up 30%

Qualcomm reported first-quarter earnings Wednesday, beating analyst expectations for revenue and guidance, and offering a strong outlook for its fiscal second quarter.

However, Qualcomm stock fell over 8% at one point during extended trading on Wednesday before recovering to a decrease of about 2%. It rose 6.25% during trading on Wednesday before the results were released.

Qualcomm posted its earnings report at the same time as Meta (Facebook), which sparked a sell-off in tech shares after the market closed.

Here’s how Qualcomm did versus Refinitiv consensus expectations for the quarter ending Dec. 26:

• EPS: $3.23, adjusted, vs. $3.01 expected, up 49% year-over-year
• Revenue: $10.7 billion, adjusted, vs. $10.42 billion expected, up 30% year-over-year.

Qualcomm said it expected between $10.2 billion and $11 billion in sales in the upcoming quarter, ahead of analyst estimates of $9.6 billion.

QCT, Qualcomm’s chip business, reported $8.85 billion in sales, up 35% from the same quarter last year. However, growth slowed from the 63% it reported during the same quarter last year. The growth underscores that demand for advanced microchips remains high.

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said that the company’s supply was improving during a global shortage of microchips.

“In simple terms, we see supply improvements, and our forward guide contemplates the visibility we have in supply. We still have more demand than supply, and we would ship more if we could,” Amon said.

Qualcomm breaks down its chip division into four categories, all of which rose during the quarter. The increase in revenue was primarily driven by a 42% rise in handset chip sales to $5.98 billion.

The company said that annual growth was 60% for its Snapdragon chipsets, the parts at the heart of Android phones that combine processing and 5G connectivity.

“Android is a success story for us,” Amon said on a call with analysts.

Amon, who took over the CEO job last year, has prioritized diversifying the number of markets in which Qualcomm sells its chips. Sales of chips for cars, Qualcomm’s automotive business, rose 21% to $256 million. Its IoT division, which focuses on low-power chips, increased sales 41% to $1.48 billion.

RF front-end, a division that focuses on chips needed for wireless connectivity, rose 7% to $1.13 billion. The division grew 76% in Qualcomm’s fiscal 2021.

QTL, the company’s profitable technology licensing division, increased 10% year-over-year to $1.81 billion in revenue.

Qualcomm warned that it hadn’t factored in gains from its QSI investment division into its GAAP earnings forecast for the second quarter because of market volatility. Qualcomm said that QSI contributed $0.10 to its GAAP earnings per share during the quarter.

Qualcomm said it repurchased $1.2 billion in shares during the quarter and issued $765 million in dividends.