Despite the serious conflict between them at the moment, the financial results of Qualcomm and ARM demonstrate a gradual rebound in the smartphone market. A rebound mainly driven by high-end Android models and Qualcomm’s innovation in a completely different sector: automobiles.
The high end: a powerful engine of growth
The last quarter reveals very encouraging dynamics for the two semiconductor leaders. Qualcomm and ARM are recording a notable increase in revenue, driven by a renewed consumer appetite for premium smartphones, particularly in China. A very important market for any industrial sector.
ARM thus displays a spectacular 40% increase in its telephony-related revenuesdespite a modest 4% increase in unit sales. Same trend at Qualcomm, which saw its sales of processors for Android smartphones jump by 40% on the Chinese market.
Yesterday, Arm announced its revenue forecast for the final quarter of the year: between 920 and 970 million dollarsa very nice sum. The midpoint of this range nevertheless remains slightly behind the $950.9 million estimated by analysts. For the same period, Qualcomm hopes for sales that will bring it between $10.5 and $11.3 billion, a forecast close to Bloomberg data ($10.5 billion).
Strategic diversification that bears fruit
Beyond the smartphone market, the two companies have been able to broaden their horizons and take the right upward trend. Qualcomm stands out in particular in the automotive sector, with remarkable growth of 55% for fiscal year 2024. Indeed, the company provides high-performance chips to equip connected vehicles and autonomous driving platforms for major automobile manufacturers, such as Volkswagen, Ford or Toyota.
Its CEO, Cristiano Amon said: “ Our automotive revenues depend less on the vagaries of the market and more on the new models that come out. This proves that market shares are redistributing “.
The shift towards artificial intelligence also strengthens this positioningthe two companies developing solutions for IT 4.0. Chips designed by Qualcomm and ARM architecture are increasingly used to power AI applications, particularly in smartphones and connected objects. Although they are not the first to come to mind when we talk about artificial intelligence, these two companies are key players behind the scenes in the industry. Their role is even fundamental, because they provide the basic building blocks on which a large part of the AI systems that we use daily are built.
- Qualcomm and ARM are benefiting from the recovery in the high-end smartphone market, particularly in China.
- Qualcomm is successfully diversifying into the automotive sector, recording 55% year-over-year growth.
- Both companies are central players in the AI sector, a technology that is also driving their growth.
