Qualcomm has recently reported a record financial performance for Q1 2025, boosted by robust growth in its QCT business, which encompasses handsets, automotive, and IoT sectors. The company recorded remarkable revenues of $10.084 billion, reflecting a 20% rise compared to the prior year. Handsets grew by 13%, automotive surged by 61%, and the IoT segment, including PCs, saw an increase of 36%.
CEO Cristiano Amon highlighted the company’s strong start to fiscal ’25 and emphasized its robust mobile roadmap. He stated, “Our mobile roadmap is the strongest in our history with exceptional traction for Snapdragon in premium-tier handsets, and we’re delivering growth across our diversification initiatives.” Moreover, Qualcomm aims to achieve $22 billion in non-handset revenues by 2029.
During the earnings call and in a conversation with CNBC’s Jon Fortt, Amon explored Qualcomm’s strategic position in AI. He emphasized the potential of edge AI, a trend Qualcomm has championed before it gained popularity. With the introduction of DeepSeek’s R1 model available on Snapdragon-powered devices, the company sees a larger opportunity in the edge AI landscape.
Amon stressed their differentiated advanced connectivity, computing, and edge AI technologies. He noted the anticipation of a burgeoning edge AI opportunity and the significance of the “era of AI inference.” This era refers to optimizing model performance through techniques applied during inference instead of re-training entire models. This method not only saves time and costs but also allows models to operate locally on devices like PCs and handsets.
Training may continue to be cloud-centric, but Amon predicts a shift wherein inference will progressively occur on devices. This change should make AI more accessible and efficient, encouraging the growth of customized, targeted models and applications. The potential for increased adoption could spur demand for Qualcomm platforms.
