Qualcomm is betting big on data centers as smartphone sales sink
With smartphone sales tanking by around 20 percent compared to 2025, Qualcomm is looking to data centers to help boost its bottom line. During its Q4 2026 earnings call, the company laid out its plans to make a splash in the AI data center business, through partnerships with companies like Amazon and Meta announced earlier this year. The company expects that portion of its business to grow quickly, forecasting around $650 million in data center revenue during the first quarter
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Smartphone sales have declined by around 20 percent compared to the previous year, prompting Qualcomm to shift its business strategy toward data center chips for artificial intelligence applications. The company announced partnerships with major tech firms and forecasts that data center revenue will grow from $650 million in early 2027 to $15 billion by 2029, eventually representing around 30 percent of its total business. This expansion reflects broader industry demand for AI infrastructure, though Qualcomm's target is less ambitious than competitors like AMD, which expects over 80 percent of its revenue from data centers.
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Also reported by Wired AI
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