Qualcomm has confirmed it will raise prices across its phone processor line-up from 1 September, a move CEO Cristiano Amon flagged during the company's earnings call. The increase, previously rumoured to be a "double-digit percentage," comes as Qualcomm reported a 20% year-on-year drop in handset revenue, its lowest since 2021, which it attributes to soaring memory prices and supply constraints affecting the wider electronics industry. Rather than absorb the squeeze on margins, Qualcomm is passing the cost on to device makers, meaning phones using its chips are likely to become more expensive for consumers.

The company is also bracing for a further hit as its modem share in the upcoming iPhone is expected to fall "materially," and executives suggested growth in its data centre and automotive divisions would help offset declining phone revenue, which it expects to fall to half its total revenue soon and just a third by 2029. Qualcomm also announced a ten-year chip supply deal with BMW, and its finance chief noted some manufacturers are already switching to older, cheaper Qualcomm chips to manage rising costs.