Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) is both a leading smartphone chip designer and a toll collector on mobile patents. QCT ships Snapdragon processors and modems, while QTL licenses essential patents to virtually every handset maker.
QCT carries large revenue at normal semiconductor margins; QTL collects royalties at almost no marginal cost and holds a disproportionate share of profit, funding the dividend through handset downturns.
Premium Android silicon content, automotive digital cockpit and driver-assistance platforms, IoT and edge AI across XR and AI PCs, plus a dividend paid since 2003 and steady buybacks.
Largest customers designing modems in-house, regulatory and litigation pressure on licensing rates, smartphone cyclicality, and heavy exposure to Chinese handset brands.
Watch QTL licensing revenue trend, the share of revenue from automotive and IoT, and how comfortably free cash flow covers the dividend plus buybacks.
Note: figures assume dividends are reinvested. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Data updates daily.