Qualcomm said it has extended its worldwide licensing agreement with Apple effective April 1, but offered no other terms, including the duration. "We are pleased to extend the Apple license agreement," said John Han, the executive vice president who leads Qualcomm's licensing business. A spokesperson for Apple, based in Cupertino, California, was not available to comment right away.
The two companies' on again, off again dynamic has been a staple of investor chatter for years. Qualcomm, the largest producer of smartphone processors, earns royalties from phone manufacturers tied to the number of devices they ship. The pair last struck a licensing pact in 2019, ending a long-running courtroom fight over billions of dollars in fees. Today's renewal points to continued business, even as Apple works to reduce reliance on outside suppliers.
Since 2019, Apple has pursued in-house cellular modem development for newer iPhones, beginning with the iPhone 16e in 2025. According to Apple, the C2 - its newest in-house modem - provides "groundbreaking efficiency," boosting battery longevity and enabling quicker millimeter-wave 5G in the US. Most of this year's iPhone 18 Pro lineup uses the C2, with one notable carve-out: the 18 Pro Max in the US carries a Qualcomm modem. Bernstein's Stacy Rasgon estimates Qualcomm collects about $7.50 per Apple phone in revenue. "The renewal is, for now, welcome," he wrote, adding, "That being said, the release was as minimal as it would be possible to write it."
Investors wanted clarity and did not get much. Qualcomm shares slipped up to 2.8% to $191.75 in Thursday's New York session, while Apple was basically flat. Beyond Apple, Qualcomm has been pinched more than expected by a broader smartphone slowdown.
The firm - outsourcing fabrication of its chips - has noted it is pushing part of the higher costs onto customers and anticipates that approach will rebuild margins over time. Meanwhile, memory chip shortages - fueled by sizzling demand for AI computers - have forced some of Qualcomm's customers to build fewer phones.
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This extension keeps Apple in Qualcomm's orbit today, but it leaves the timeline murky as Apple pushes deeper into its own modems and as phone demand looks soft. If you own companies tethered to handset shipments, watch how quickly Apple shifts models to in-house silicon and how supply snags from the AI boom ripple through phone makers' production plans.
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