Qualcomm's Soaring Earnings... Semiconductor Demand Surge Drives 65% Sales Increase

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] American semiconductor chip manufacturer Qualcomm announced surprising earnings for the second quarter of this year, driven by a surge in semiconductor demand.

According to CNBC on the 28th (local time), Qualcomm's revenue for the second quarter of this year (Qualcomm's own fiscal third quarter) reached $8.06 billion (approximately 9.3 trillion KRW), a 65% increase compared to the same period last year. This figure exceeded market expectations of $7.58 billion.

Adjusted earnings per share also significantly surpassed market expectations, reaching $1.92 compared to the expected $1.68.

Net income recorded $2.027 billion (approximately 2.4 trillion KRW), a 140% increase from the same period last year.

This strong performance is analyzed to be due to increased demand for various semiconductor products such as smartphone and communication chips.

Qualcomm's core business division, the communication semiconductor division, recorded sales of $6.47 billion (approximately 7.5 trillion KRW), a 70% increase compared to the same period last year.

Specifically, semiconductor sales for smartphones within this division reached $3.863 billion (approximately 4.5 trillion KRW), a 57% increase from the same period last year.

Additionally, sales of Radio Frequency Front-End (RFFE) components?which include important communication parts located between device modems and antennas such as power amplifiers, switches, and filters?surged 114% year-over-year to $957 million (approximately 1.1 trillion KRW).

Sales of Internet of Things (IoT) products also grew by 83%, reaching $1.4 billion (approximately 1.61 trillion KRW).

The technology licensing division, which includes patent royalties from mobile headsets and others, recorded sales of $1.49 billion (approximately 1.72 trillion KRW), a 43% increase compared to the same period last year.

However, considering that semiconductor demand was low last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some base effects are also reflected in these results.

Qualcomm expects to achieve average sales of $8.8 billion in the third quarter as well.

Qualcomm, listed on the NASDAQ, saw its stock price rise more than 3% to $146.98 in after-hours trading following the announcement of strong earnings.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.