Context: In the past couple of months, Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL) has signed three major patent licensing renewals with Apple (September 24, 2026 ip fray article, of which not many details have been disclosed), Transsion (October 16, 2026 ip fray article, which was an extension of a deal from last year: January 16, 2025 ip fray article), and Huawei (October 5, 2026 ip fray article, over which there were some misunderstandings over the terms: October 7, 2026 ip fray article).
What’s new: Qualcomm yesterday released its financial data for its fiscal fourth quarter and FY 2026, reporting revenue of $5.556 billion (a small year-on-year dip from $5.582 billion) and an annual R&D investment of $10.207 billion.
Direct impact: Much of this comes from the major long-term patent license renewals with Apple, Huawei, and Transsion, QTL noted, as revenues are expected to continue to grow in line with global handset shipment trends. QTL’s next licensing renewal cycle begins in FY 2030 and is expected to end in FY 2033.
Wider ramifications: This is positive for Qualcomm, which is leading an industry currently experiencing a major increase in spending; the semiconductor market is experiencing a broad-based increase in input costs across wafer fabrication, assembly, test, advanced packaging, memory and other materials. The company has noted, though, that it will be reflecting the higher input costs in its product pricing, and the “full benefit” of those actions will be reflected in its gross margins in the second half of FY 2027. Qualcomm is also currently embroiled in litigation with FedEx (April 30, 2026 ip fray article), Arm (October 13, 2026 ip fray article), although it has reached some significant settlements this year with Onesta (March 14, 2026 ip fray article) and UK consumer group “Which?” (February 17, 2026 ip fray article).
In a statement yesterday, the company said it is “pleased” with the outcome of these long-term licensing agreements.
Qualcomm’s President and CEO Cristiano Amon also noted that FY 2027 marks the start of its non-handset revenue inflection, including the ramp-up of its Data Center business. Non-handset revenues are projected to grow by more than 60% year-over-year, and the company is reiterating its fiscal 2027 Data Center revenue target of $5 billion.
In September, John Han, Executive Vice President of QTL, told ip fray in an interview that he believes the company will take the lead in 6G when it comes to connectivity and device-level licensing (September 1, 2026 ip fray article). The company is also heavily focused on emerging markets for cellular SEPs (such as IoT markets), and is active in the POS machine, security camera, and connected laptop industries.
He also said at the time that the growth of such markets “will not slow down”:
“If anything, they will get better and larger with 6G, he emphasizes. “And, as licensors, we have the obligation to price it right.”