{"text":[[{"start":8.804,"text":"US chip designer Qualcomm reported shrinking revenue and profits on Wednesday as the drop in global smartphone sales caused by higher memory prices hammered a core part of its business."}],[{"start":19.48,"text":"Qualcomm reported revenue of $9.9bn for the quarter to the end of June, down 4 per cent but still above the $9.7bn expected by Wall Street. It said it expected revenue of between $9.7bn and $10.5bn for the current quarter, with a midpoint roughly in line with analyst consensus of $10bn."}],[{"start":41.28,"text":"Despite a recent move to design chips that are used in AI data centres, Qualcomm has also become a victim of Big Tech’s spending spree on AI infrastructure that has strained the electronics supply chain and driven up consumer prices."}],[{"start":54.72,"text":"Qualcomm’s handset revenue declined 20 per cent year on year to $5bn, with chief executive Cristiano Amon acknowledging the “challenging memory and supply environment” that is driving up costs and constraining demand. Net income was $2bn, down 25 per cent year on year."}],[{"start":171.29,"text":"Amon said Qualcomm’s non-smartphone revenue, including its automotive and data centre business, would nonetheless grow to $40bn by the 2029 fiscal year. The stock fell about 4.5 per cent after hours, having dropped more than 17 per cent over the past month."}],[{"start":171.79,"text":"The results come as semiconductor stocks have tumbled in recent weeks after powering global markets higher in the first half of this year."}],[{"start":172.29,"text":"This week the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which tracks the major US chip companies, has fallen more than 10 per cent and is down more than 25 per cent from its record peak in June, reflecting fears over the durability of the AI boom."}],[{"start":172.79,"text":"South Korean memory-chip maker SK Hynix announced disappointing results on Wednesday, which continued to drive chip stocks lower."}],[{"start":173.29,"text":"SoftBank-backed UK chip designer Arm, meanwhile, delivered solid revenue and financial forecasts on Wednesday."}],[{"start":173.79,"text":"Its revenue for the quarter was $1.3bn, up 22 per cent year on year, and it said it expected revenue of $1.4bn for the current quarter, in line with consensus."}],[{"start":174.29,"text":"Arm chief executive Rene Haas said the company had seen its data centre royalties more than double, with demand for its new “AGI CPU” continuing to exceed expectations."}],[{"start":174.79,"text":"The company supplies the designs behind most of the world’s mobile device chips but has been insulated from the smartphone downturn because most Big Tech groups also use its designs in their AI infrastructure."}],[{"start":171.29,"text":"Arm raised its forecast for the revenue from its new central processing unit chip, which is set to launch next year with its first customers including Meta and OpenAI. Yet Arm shares still fell about 6 per cent after hours, continuing an almost 35 per cent drop over the past month."}],[{"start":173.48,"text":"Both Arm and Qualcomm have been seeking to take a share of the AI processor chip market that has helped propel Nvidia from a roughly $400bn company to a $4.6tn market giant in the space of about three years."}],[{"start":187.36,"text":"Arm launched its own complete AI processor chip earlier this year, marking a strategic shift for the company, which has traditionally sold the blueprints used by customers to design their own chips."}],[{"start":197.74,"text":"The Arm chip is a critical part of SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son’s Project Izanagi, his efforts to build an integrated AI infrastructure ecosystem to compete with Nvidia."}],[{"start":208.56,"text":"In June, Qualcomm announced Meta as the first Big Tech hyperscaler customer for its AI data centre processors, launched last year."}],[{"start":216.64,"text":"Qualcomm has been pushing to diversify its business away from its reliance on smartphone chip revenue, as its long-term deal to supply Apple with modems for the iPhone winds down."}],[{"start":226.5,"text":"Qualcomm chief financial officer Akash Palkhiwala said that the share of modems it supplies for the iPhone 18 family in the last quarter of 2026 would be “materially lower than our prior estimate of 20 per cent”."}],[{"start":238.48,"text":"Lower-cost smartphone sellers have suffered more than premium brands such as Apple from the 300 per cent rise in memory chip costs this quarter."}],[{"start":246.16,"text":"Global smartphone shipments fell 6.7 per cent in the second quarter, marking a second consecutive quarter of decline, with Apple and Samsung the only two companies to grow, according to the International Data Corporation."}],[{"start":263.08,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1785376878_9926.mp3"}