Qualcomm Shares Fall as Apple Moves In-house with Modems
Qualcomm shares dropped nearly 5% pre-market on Thursday following news of Apple transitioning to in-house modems, overshadowing a positive quarterly outlook. The chip supplier, headquartered in San Diego, cautioned investors about Apple’s shift, starting with the iPhone 16e launch, impacting upcoming chip revenue.
Qualcomm has escalated its concentration on data centers and personal computers, diversifying its business areas.
Further complicating matters, U.S. President Donald Trump’s semiconductor tariff threats pose a potential disruption to Qualcomm’s supply chains and handset revenue, as warned by analysts. Although smartphones and chips have been immune to these tariffs so far, Trump’s recent hint at imposing such duties raises concerns.
Akash Palkhiwala, the CFO, mentioned to Reuters a lack of early chip orders, hinting that consumers are not hurrying for purchases to circumvent potential tariffs.
