Qualcomm Inc. said its earnings fell 24% in the most recent quarter,
the latest sign that slowing sales of high-end smartphones from Apple Inc.
and others are hurting component suppliers.
The San Diego-based chip maker, which also has been facing headwinds in
its patent-licensing business, on Wednesday issued a forecast for the
current quarter that fell short of some Wall Street expectations.
But Qualcomm executives stressed that earnings and revenue for the fiscal
first quarter ended in December were above its own recent projections.
“We delivered a better quarter than we said we were going to deliver,”
said CEO Steve Mollenkopf in an interview.
In another development, Qualcomm disclosed Wednesday that LG Electronics Inc.
contends that it paid the chip maker too much under its patent licensing
deal and seeks compensation through an arbitration proceeding.
Qualcomm said it believes LG’s claims are without merit but added
that it is deferring recognition of licensing revenue from the South Korean
company for the moment.
Qualcomm, the biggest maker of processors and modem chips used
in mobile phones, gets more than half of its profit from royalty
payments by handset makers to use its cellular patents.
Its licensing practices have prompted antitrust probes in South Korea,
Taiwan and the U.S., while European authorities have been investigating
its chip sales tactics.