Qualcomm shares slump 9% as weak smartphone chip sales overshadow data-center momentum

Qualcomm shares dropped over 9% in early trading on Thursday after the company’s smartphone chip sales missed Wall Street estimates, raising concerns that weakness in its core handset business could offset gains from newer growth in areas such as data-center chips.

If losses hold, Qualcomm is on track to shed over $17 billion in market value.

* The chipmaker has been caught between rising memory costs fueled by surging data-center demand and slowing smartphone sales, as AI infrastructure spending absorbs supply across the semiconductor industry