Qualcomm clocks growth in smartphone and automotive chip sales

In Q4 it clocked revenues of $10.2 billion, at the top end of guidance ($9.5 billion - $10.3 billion). Handset revenue accounted for $6.1 billion, up 12%, of which the release stated: “Our recently unveiled Snapdragon 8 Elite has shown strong design traction, with successful launches at Xiaomi, Honor, Oppo and Vivo, and we look forward to additional launches at Samsung, ASUS and more.”

Automotive revenue was $899 million for the quarter, up 68%. The release said of this sector: “We are pleased that leading car manufacturers are adopting Snapdragon Elite automotive platforms for their future software-defined vehicles, including Li Auto and Mercedes-Benz.”   

For FY24 the firm clocked revenues of $33.2 billion, a 9% jump YoY, and EBT of $9.5 billion, a 20% jump.

Handset revenues rose 10% to $24.9 billion, while it clocked ‘record’ automotive revenues of $2.9 billion, up 55%. Meanwhile revenues for IoT came in at $5.4 billion, down 9%.

It also reported over 20% growth in fiscal year EPS and ‘record’ fiscal year operating cash flow.

“We are pleased to conclude the fiscal year with strong results in the fourth quarter, delivering greater than 30% year-over-year growth in EPS,” said Cristiano Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm. “We are excited about our recent product announcements at Snapdragon Summit and Embedded World, as they continue to extend our technology leadership and position us well across Handsets, PC, Automotive and Industrial IoT. We look forward to providing an update on our growth and diversification initiatives at our Investor Day on November 19.”

The firm’s board of directors has also approved a new $15 billion stock repurchase authorisation.

In July Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2, described as an entry-level chipset that comes with a Gigabit-capable 5G modem, but with other features paired back to position it at a lower price bracket. Qualcomm stated at the time that it has an addressable market of around 2.8 billion people who are shopping towards the lower end of the scale.