Industry Analyst Jeff Kagan Comments on Qualcomm Earnings Amid Market Shifts

Jeff Kagan has been described as the most widely quoted analyst in the telecommunications industry

Industry Analyst and Columnist Jeff Kagan shared insights following Qualcomm’s latest earnings report, highlighting both the company’s continued leadership and the growing challenges posed by a softening smartphone market, intensifying competition, and a global memory shortage driven in part by rapid AI adoption.

Kagan, who has covered wireless, telecom, AI, and emerging technologies for more than four decades, notes that while Qualcomm remains a market leader, its outlook has fallen short of Wall Street expectations.

“Qualcomm is a strong and respected leader, but its forecasts are not as strong as Wall Street was expecting,” said Kagan. “A key issue is the global memory shortage, which is negatively impacting mobile phone sales.”

According to Kagan, memory constraints are being exacerbated by surging demand from data centers and AI-driven workloads, creating ripple effects across the broader semiconductor and smartphone ecosystem.

“Qualcomm has dominated the mobile market for years, and that leadership remains intact,” Kagan said. “However, the market itself is changing. Some of the segments Qualcomm once dominated are shrinking, while newer growth areas, particularly AI, are highly competitive.”

Qualcomm reported a record first quarter and posted earnings that exceeded expectations. While these results underscore the company’s operational strength, Kagan cautions that long-term, industry-wide memory shortages represent a growing headwind for future revenue.

To address shifting market dynamics, Qualcomm has been diversifying its business for several years, expanding into areas such as licensing, automotive, and IoT. AI now represents another significant growth opportunity, though competition in this space is intense.

“The challenge Qualcomm faces is similar to what many former technology leaders have encountered,” Kagan explained. “Companies must continually evolve as the market changes. Some competitors have identified and capitalized on new growth areas more quickly than others.”

Kagan also noted that many smartphone manufacturers now source memory independently, integrating it with Qualcomm components such as modems and processors.

“This means Qualcomm remains a critical part of the ecosystem and will continue to be so,” he said. “But the long-term picture is shifting, and Qualcomm must continue adapting to identify and prioritize new growth engines.”

Kagan believes the global memory shortage will persist and increasingly influence the strategies and performance of Qualcomm and its competitors.

“These memory challenges will not be resolved quickly or easily,” he said. “Long-term success is not about doing the same thing repeatedly. It requires the ability to recognize where the market is heading and adjust accordingly.”

AI, Kagan emphasized, represents a major opportunity for innovation-driven companies.

“As a trusted industry leader, Qualcomm is well positioned to pursue select AI growth areas,” he said. “The question is whether the rapidly changing marketplace will give the company the time and space needed to build momentum.”

Qualcomm is a leader in the semiconductor and telecommunications space. It competes across multiple segments with companies including Huawei, Apple, Samsung, AMD, Alphabet, MediaTek, Broadcom, Intel, Nvidia, NXP Semiconductors, Skyworks, Qorvo, Texas Instruments, Renesas Electronics, and others.

About Jeff Kagan

Jeff Kagan is an Atlanta-based industry analyst, columnist, consultant, influencer, and keynote speaker. For more than 40 years, he has provided analysis and commentary on innovation, market trends, and company performance across wireless, telecom, 5G, 6G, AI, and other high-growth sectors, serving both B2B and B2C markets.

Former AT&T Executive Vice President of Public Relations Dick Martin underscored Kagan’s influence in his book Tough Calls: AT&T and the Hard Lessons Learned from the Telecom Wars, writing:
“Jeff Kagan has been described as the most widely quoted analyst in the telecommunications industry.”

Kagan has written thousands of columns and articles translating complex technology trends into clear, practical insights for executives, investors, customers, and employees.

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