Qualcomm's AI pivot may drive stock growth.

Qualcomm’s AI Pivot Old Giant, New Playbook

Author

James Brooks
April 04, 2025

Qualcomm might not be the first name that comes to mind in the AI race, but it could become one of the most quietly dominant players in the next phase of tech adoption.

Best known for powering smartphones, Qualcomm is now pushing hard into AI, with promising traction in PCs, cars, and edge devices. And with strong fundamentals and a low valuation, it’s starting to look like one of the most overlooked AI plays in the market.

👉 Today’s Issue:

  • Qualcomm’s Q1 rebound and AI-driven hardware expansion

  • Why its P/E makes it attractive in a frothy AI sector

  •  How the company is turning legacy infrastructure into AI leverage

AI News

➔ Featured Story



After a slowdown post-5G boom, Qualcomm is back on investors’ radar this time as an AI semiconductor contender. With rising demand for AI at the edge (smartphones, IoT, automotive), its latest earnings point to a resilient and pivot-ready operation.


Key Points:

  • Q1 FY25 revenue hit $11.7B (↑17% YoY), with net income up 15% to $3.2B

  • P/E ratio stands at 18 below other chipmakers riding the AI wave

  • Qualcomm is developing AI-powered chips for mobile, PCs, and automotive.

  • Apple’s efforts to replace Qualcomm chips have underperformed, preserving key business.

  • New expansion areas: AI-enabled IoT, personal computing, and autonomous driving

Why It Matters: In an AI market dominated by flashy foundation models and data center bets, Qualcomm’s edge strategy offers something different: scale + real-world application.

Instead of training massive LLMs, Qualcomm is embedding inference and lightweight AI capabilities directly into consumer and industrial hardware. This is a major deal as adoption shifts away from cloud-only solutions.

Add to that strong cash flow, a low valuation, and diversified AI ambitions, and Qualcomm could become the quiet winner in a hardware-first AI cycle. The next wave won’t be just about model builders; it’ll be about companies that can put those models to work at the edge.

➔ Other Notable AI News

  •  Tesla Reveals New Onboard Neural Chip for Fully Localized FSD
    Aims to reduce cloud latency and improve safety in low-signal environments
    👉 Read more – TechCrunch

  •  Microsoft and AMD Expand Edge AI Partnership for Copilot Devices
    Focus on next-gen AI laptops and embedded productivity tools.
    👉 The Verge

  • AI Chip ETF (THNK) Hits Record High as Edge Demand Grows
    Investors flock to diversified exposure across consumer AI semis.
    👉 CNBC

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James Brooks—The Leader’s Leverage editorial team

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