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. 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.

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% increase 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.

But sales of chips for cars, Qualcomm’s automotive business, also 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 which focuses on chips needed for wireless connectivity, rose 7% to $1.13 billion.

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

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