5G ‘Progressing as Planned,’ Even With Coronavirus: Qualcomm Executives

Qualcomm is leaving unchanged its pre-COVID forecast that smartphone OEMs will ship 175 million to 225 million 5G handsets this year, said CEO Steve Mollenkopf on a Q2 call Wednesday. Launches across all regions “remain on track,” but “we expect some minor changes to the launch timing and sell-through of certain devices,” said Chief Financial Officer Akash Palkhiwala. A "few regions” are experiencing “minor delays” in network deployments, said Mollenkopf. Stay-at-home mandates “highlight the critical role” broadband plays, he noted: The “mission” to deploy “breakthrough wireless technologies like 5G has been reinforced and amplified.” The stock closed 15.2% higher Thursday at $107.19. Global smartphone shipments declined by about 21% in Q2, said Mollenkopf. He's encouraged Chinese smartphone demand recovered “month over month” in Q2 after the “sharp decrease” in Q1 “coinciding with COVID-19 restrictions,” he said. “This provides a basis to model rest-of-world handset demand trends.” Without that rebound, Q2 smartphone demand would have been down 30%, he said. Nearly three-quarters of new smartphone models introduced this year in China are 5G, said President Cristiano Amon: China is poised for “broad penetration."