QUALCOMM $QCOM JUST REPORTED Q3 EARNINGS • Revenue: $9.95B, beating expectations of $9.67B 🟢 • Adjusted EPS: $2.21, missing expectations of $2.23 🔴 • GAAP EPS: $1.87 • Net income: $2.0B Q4 guidance: • Revenue: $9.7B-$10.5B vs expectations of $10.02B • Adjusted EPS: $2.05-$2.25, below expectations of $2.36 🔴 Per the presentation, the Apple revenue step-down accelerates starting in Q4, Android handset revenue falls about 20% this fiscal year, cutting annual EPS by more than $1.50, and non-handset revenue including data center accelerates from 24% growth in FY26 to greater than 60% in FY27, enough to replace all of FY26 Apple revenue. The company also cites "unprecedented increases in memory pricing" and supply constraints as cyclical headwinds for the global smartphone industry, with China handset revenue bottoming in Q3.

Qualcomm working with CXMT for custom memory has been making the rounds. Here's what's missing from the coverage: 1. This refers to Qualcomm working with GigaDevice on a discrete smartphone NPU, targeting Chinese smartphone brands. 2. Shipments are expected in late 2026 or early 2027, aimed at devices priced above RMB 4,000–4,500. 3. The NPU delivers ~40 TOPS of compute and is paired with 4GB of customized 3D DRAM, manufactured by CXMT. 4. It delivers higher memory bandwidth than LPDDR5X, with TSV and Hybrid Bonding stacking. 5. Shipment outlook and design wins are now below initial 1H25 expectations, mainly due to: (1) rising memory prices driving up NPU costs; (2) on-device AI use cases and business models still lacking clarity to date.

Through its agreement to be acquired by @Qualcomm, @Modular aims to accelerate its mission and real-world impact by empowering developers everywhere with production-grade AI software. Congratulations to @clattner_llvm, @iamtimdavis, and the extended Modular team on their journey to make AI’s compute layer unified, efficient, and accessible to all.

Interesting. According to FundaAI, Qualcomm is expected to begin shipping an LPU-like AI ASIC to a Chinese CSP by the end of 2026. Estimated shipment volume is around 1 million units, with an ASP of roughly $4,000. For general-purpose server CPUs, shipments are expected to begin in the second half of 2027, or toward the end of 2027. 3 million units… that’s a lot. Qualcomm is also reportedly working with two U.S. CSPs. $QCOM