A Solid Opening Quarter of 2024 for A1 Group
In the first quarter of 2024, Austrian-based A1 Group reported solid results.
Apple and Qualcomm agreed to end a two-year legal battle over billions of dollars of technology licensing fees, according to Bloomberg.
Apple will make a one-time payment to Qualcomm, and the two reached a multiyear agreement whereby Qualcomm will supply chips and license its technology to Apple in exchange for royalty payments, the companies said in a statement. They said their litigation around the world will be dismissed, but didn’t disclose details of the payments or fees.
A victory for Apple would have hampered Qualcomm’s ability to collect fees on the technology that powers mobile phones around the world. But Apple had an incentive to settle too. The arrangement helps the iPhone maker keep from falling behind in 5G technologies. Apple’s current modem supplier, Intel, won’t have its 5G chip in phones until next year, about the time Qualcomm expects to have an updated 5G modem available. Apple’s biggest rival, Samsung, already has a phone in the market that will support that new technology based on a Qualcomm chip.
Qualcomm said it anticipates the agreement to add $2 per share to its earnings when it begins shipments of chips to Apple. While it’s not clear how much Qualcomm gave up in concessions in terms of payments and rates, the settlement lets it continue one of the most profitable businesses in the $400 billion semiconductor industry. Apple was the remaining holdout from a licensing practice that allows the San Diego-based chipmaker to charge patent royalties on technology that underpins all modern smartphones.