Qualcomm shares rose about 13% in after‑hours trading on Wednesday after the chipmaker raised its long‑term revenue outlook at a shareholder day. The company now expects non‑mobile revenue to reach $40 billion in fiscal 2029, up from a previously indicated $22 billion.
Data‑center goals and earnings guidance
Qualcomm also said it is targeting $15 billion in data‑center revenue in the same fiscal year and expects adjusted earnings per share to exceed $18. That guidance is well above the LSEG analyst consensus, which stood at $15.26 per share.
Dragonfly C1000 and Meta cooperation
The company unveiled the Dragonfly C1000 central processing unit designed for data centers, which Qualcomm says is optimized for future agent‑based artificial intelligence workloads with a focus on high compute performance and low power consumption. Qualcomm stated that Meta will use the processor beginning with production in 2028.
The announcement underscores Qualcomm’s push into the data‑center market, beyond its established smartphone SoC and modem businesses. The company outlined a multi‑product roadmap that includes a new AI chip and a solution for connecting multiple chips.
Partnerships, acquisition and software platform
Chief Financial Officer Akash Palkhiwala noted that Qualcomm already does business with virtually all major cloud providers via its smartphone chips and other existing products, meaning many of the cloud relationships are extensions of existing partnerships. Qualcomm said it signed two deals to manufacture custom chips for large cloud providers and acquired the startup Modular.
Modular’s software enables running AI applications across different chip architectures; Qualcomm positions the platform as an alternative to Nvidia’s market‑leading CUDA software environment.
Growing role for CPUs and other growth areas
Investor interest in central processors is rising as analysts expect standalone AI agents to shift more workloads from graphics chips and dedicated accelerators to CPUs. Qualcomm is also strengthening other fast‑growing businesses: it raised its automotive backlog to $65 billion and expects $10 billion in automotive revenue by 2029.
Market reaction
The new product and financial targets prompted a sharp stock move—Qualcomm shares rallied about 13% in after‑hours trading. The company’s announcements signal a strategic push to be a major player in AI‑driven data‑center markets.
This article is not investment advice or a recommendation.
