Jana Vs. Qualcomm – The Only Thing to Fear is Fear Itself
I had an odd conversation recently. Speaking to a friend at Qualcomm, he said that the management team there was really worried about Jana Partners’ activist attack on the company. […]
Category Archives: Silicon
Activists Target Qualcomm – And Get it Half Right
Last week, activist fund Jana Partners published a letter calling on Qualcomm to take several steps to improve shareholder value. (I know I am late in writing about this, but […]
MWC: A Radical, Crazy Suggestion for Mobile – Intel + Qualcomm
One of the clearest trends over the past few years has been Qualcomm’s dominance of the LTE modem market. I have written about it a bit in the past, and […]
MWC: Semiconductor Consolidation Cont’d
One of the biggest pieces of news last week was the sale of Freescale to NXP. Both companies have products targeting mobile, but neither can be considered overly reliant on […]
RF Semis Update – The More Things Change….
Last week I posted on overview of the RF semis market. I wrote that I expected some big announcements in the space during MWC. I was sadly disappointed. Nothing much […]
The RF Semiconductor Market – And Why It Matters
The RF Semis Market is about to undergo some dramatic shifts. For the past two years I have been neck deep in that market, but am no longer employed there. […]
If Apple Built a Car in the Forest, Would We Hear It?
I have no idea if Apple is going to build a car, but if they were, I think we would see signs of preparation in the supply chain two years ahead of a launch.
A close-read of Qualcomm’s China press release
Qualcomm announced a settlement of the NDRC China investigation. The very dense press release raises as many questions as it answers. Bad news: a 46% reduction in royalty rates. Good news: lots of friends in China, audit rights and the ability to charge royalties for TD phones. Hard to fully gauge, but seems like a net positive.
Semiconductor Consolidation is Coming
The semiconductor industry is not really a growth industry anymore, and resembles the steel industry as much as anything. That means scale matters, leaving M&A as the most likely path to growth, and possibly survival.
Qualcomm in China – Some Signs of Progress
I recently had the chance to catch up with a few contacts from China who think the end is in sight for Qualcomm’s troubles with the government, but timing is uncertain and will likely result in a reduction in royalty rates.
