Qualcomm Agrees to Settle Lawsuit with Chinese Government for Nearly $1 Billion

[dgstorm]

It looks like Qualcomm is starting off 2015 with a couple of big handicaps. First we find Samsung will probably be skipping using Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 in the new Samsung Galaxy S6, which sent the company's stock into a quick dive. On top of that Qualcomm is being hit with a massive fine of nearly $1 Billion dollars.

In case you missed it, the Chinese government has been embroiled in an anti-trust lawsuit with Qualcomm over the past 14 months. Qualcomm was accused of price fixing and abusing their position in the market. The news came down today that Qualcomm has decided to settle with the Chinese Government and basically agreed to their terms, to the tune of a $975 Million (USD equivalent) fine. On top of that, it will also be required to lower the rates of royalties it has been collecting for patents in China by a third.

Here's a quote with a few more details,

Qualcomm said in a statement on Monday it would not contest the China's National Development and Reform Commission's (NDRC) finding that Qualcomm violated an antitrust law.

Asked whether the resolution in China could affect the outcome of ongoing antitrust probes into Qualcomm in Europe and the United States, Qualcomm President Derek Aberle said, "We fully respect their authority, but we don’t believe it’s likely that other agencies will necessarily meet similar conclusions."The U.S. chipmaker also cut its full-year earnings estimate because of the fine, which Qualcomm said would cost it about 58 cents per share, but it raised the lower end of its revenue forecast slightly.

“It removes a significant source of uncertainly from our business and really positions our licensing group to really participate in the full growth of the wireless market in China,” Qualcomm Chief Executive Officer Steve Mollenkopf told Reuters in a phone interview. “It’s something we’re happy is over.”

Do you think these "hiccups" will slow Qualcomm's dominance in the world's mobile tech landscape?

Source: Reuters

 

[grenefroggie]

I think this is a minor setback for them. They purchased Atheros, which puts them in a big spot in just about every wireless market in the world. $1Bil is not much for a company that large.

 

[akhenax]

It's not a setback at all. Since Qualcomm is an American company (surprise!) they are kissing up to the country that accounts for 50% of their profit margins. In the end, Qualcomm is going to be strengthening ties with China to become the dominant mobile chip maker in the world.

 

[grenefroggie]

It's not a setback at all. Since Qualcomm is an American company (surprise!) they are kissing up to the country that accounts for 50% of their profit margins. In the end, Qualcomm is going to be strengthening ties with China to become the dominant mobile chip maker in the world.

One could argue this, but they already are the dominant chip maker, IMO.

 

[jakenader123]

That's what happens when Qualcomm gets lazy. Their hasn't been a performance increase since the nexus 5. Then in 2014 they came out with the 801 for all flagship smart phones. Wow the lg g3 has the same processor but a higher resolution. Flagships like the s5 and HTC one and lg g3 should have had the 805 at least. It is just imbarising that apple beat them to 20 nm where real innovation is.

 

[Ollie]

That's what happens when Qualcomm gets lazy. Their hasn't been a performance increase since the nexus 5. Then in 2014 they came out with the 801 for all flagship smart phones. Wow the lg g3 has the same processor but a higher resolution. Flagships like the s5 and HTC one and lg g3 should have had the 805 at least. It is just imbarising that apple beat them to 20 nm where real innovation is.

Samsung's 7420 is 14nm. Which coincidentally enough is what Apple's A9 will be...much later this year.

 

[boidsonly]

Right now China is more concerned with stealing 14nm finfet tech from Samsung.

 

[Ollie]

Right now China is more concerned with stealing 14nm finfet tech from Samsung.

They should be spying what Intel is doing. They are working on 10nm and have 7nm R&D in full swing.

 

[akhenax]

But it's not ARM based.