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EXCLUSIVE: Qualcomm CFO Sees 'Limitless' Opportunity Ahead In Cloud Connectivity

Adam Eckert
Fri, April 29, 2022, 


The world is in the midst of a digital transformation and Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ: QCOM) is at the center of it.

Qualcomm's Role: Amazon.com Inc's (NASDAQ: AMZN) AWS and Microsoft Corp's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Azure are holding down the cloud side of the transformation, but silicon is needed on the device side for connectivity, Qualcomm CFO Akash Palkhiwala explained Friday on "Benzinga Live."

"Qualcomm is in this unique position to connect everything to the cloud," he said.

The company's technology spans wireless, processing and AI, which allows Qualcomm to enable the connectivity of consumer devices.

"If you want to connect a car to the cloud, if you want to connect a tractor to the cloud, if you want to connect retail store equipment to the cloud, we are the company that can do that," Palkhiwala said.

Growth & Scale: Qualcomm reported better-than-expected financial results and issued guidance above analyst estimates this week. The real standout is the company's growth forecast of 50% or more in its IoT (Internet of Things) business. The Qualcomm CFO told Benzinga there is potential for upside surprise on said outlook.

"As we look forward, we almost think of the opportunity in front of us as limitless," Palkhiwala said. "As hundreds of millions and billions of devices get connected to the cloud, we can be the chip company that enables that."

Automotive is a huge part of the company's cloud connectivity business. At the beginning of the month, Qualcomm announced the completion of its acquisition of Arriver. The acquisition enhances the company's ability to deliver open, fully integrated and competitive Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) solutions to automakers and suppliers at scale. The financial details were disclosed as part of the company's quarterly results.

View more earnings on QCOM

"Cars are effectively becoming PCs or phones on wheels," Palkhiwala said. "We bring the digital chassis to the OEMs."

There are three things driving the automotive transformation: cloud connectivity, the digital experience inside the car and autonomous driving, he said: "And we're enabling all three of them."

"Every single major OEM is a customer of ours in the auto industry and again, we are at the front end of a 10-year growth curve."

The Qualcomm CFO went on to talk about navigating supply chain headwinds, guidance, robotics and more.

QCOM Price Action: Qualcomm shares have traded between $122.16 and $193.58 over a 52-week period.

The stock was down 3.63% at $142.81 at press time, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Photo: courtesy of Qualcomm.