Tech

Qualcomm earnings: 92 cents per share vs 81 cents EPS expected

Key Points
  • Qualcomm beat analysts expectations for earnings and revenue.
  • The company is currently engaged in a costly legal battle with Apple.
Qualcomm beats the Street
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Qualcomm beats the Street

Qualcomm reported quarterly earnings and revenue on Wednesday that beat analysts' expectations, even as the chipmaker remains entangled in a costly legal battle with Apple.

Here's how Qualcomm did compared to what Wall Street expected:

  • Earnings per share of 92 cents vs. 81 cents expected, according to Thomson Reuters
  • Revenue of $5.96 billion vs. $5.8 billion expected, according to Thomson Reuters

In the year-ago quarter, the chipmaker reported earnings per share of $1.07 on $6.2 billion in revenue.

The company's shares rose by as much as 2 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday.

Though Qualcomm did slightly better than expected, the company said its quarterly results "were negatively impacted as a result of actions taken by Apple and its contract manufacturers."

Qualcomm is engaged in a costly legal battle with Apple over licensing terms for chips used in the iPhone and iPad.

In January, Apple sued Qualcomm for roughly $1 billion, claiming that the chipmaker had withheld payments it owed, and that Qualcomm charged unfairly high "royalties for technologies they have nothing to do with."

Apple's January suit came days after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed an anti-trust case against Qualcomm for allegedly using its dominant position in the market to charge high royalties for patented technologies that are "essential to industry standards."

Qualcomm, in turn, asked U.S. trade regulators in July to halt the sale of imported iPhone and iPads in the United States. The chipmaker alleges that technology purchased by Apple from its rival Intel violated six of Qualcomm's patents.

Donald Rosenberg, Qualcomm's general counsel, said during a conference call Wednesday that patent disputes with Apple in Germany and China could be resolved by mid to late 2018, but other cases could drag on for the foreseeable future.

"It's important to keep in mind that litigation of this size and magnitude takes a while," Rosenberg said.

Amid the dispute, Apple has designed iPhones and iPads that would no longer use Qualcomm chips, according to Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Qualcomm shares are down more than 18 percent year to date.

Reuters contributed to this report.