(AOF) – The specialist in chips for smartphones Qualcomm presented an unfavorable outlook. In the fourth quarter, ended at the end of September, the group recorded a net profit up 3% to 2.87 billion dollars, or 2.54 dollars per share. Restated for exceptional items, Qualcomm’s earnings per share came out at $3.13, in line with the consensus. Adjusted revenue rose 22% to $11.396 billion, in line with market expectations.
In the current quarter, Qualcomm is targeting adjusted earnings per share of between $2.25 and $2.45 and adjusted sales of between $9.2 and $10 billion. Wall Street anticipates $3.40 per share and $12 billion in revenue.
“Rapidly deteriorating demand and loosening supply constraints across the semiconductor industry have led to higher inventory levels in distribution channels. Due to these high levels, our major customers are reducing inventory, which negatively impacts the midpoint of our fiscal 2023 first quarter earnings per share guidance by approximately ($0.80),” Qualcomm commented.
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The Threat of Open Technology, RAN
Equipment manufacturers will have to face this threat in the next few years. This new architecture consists in replacing the traditional antennas by software allowing more interoperability thanks to the cloud. Telecom operators will thus be able to reinforce innovation and increase their choice of suppliers. They will also be able to have access to more services and flexibility for network deployment and management costs which should decrease. For the moment, none of the major operators has switched to this new technology. Nevertheless, the freedom of choice of suppliers is a decisive element, underlined by the decision of Europe and the United States to sanction the Chinese Huawei for national security reasons.