Qualcomm targets $15 billion in data center revenue by 2029 as phone sales slide

What happened

Qualcomm used its fourth-quarter 2026 earnings call to set out a push into chips for AI data centers, The Verge reported. The move is meant to offset a slump in smartphone sales, which are down roughly 20 percent from 2025 levels. The strategy builds on partnerships with Amazon and Meta that the company announced earlier in the year.

The company projected data center revenue of about $650 million in the first quarter of 2027. It forecast that this figure would rise to $5 billion as 2027 closes, then grow to $15 billion in 2029. Qualcomm also confirmed on the call that it sees the data center segment eventually representing around 30 percent of its overall business.

Context

Qualcomm is not the only chipmaker reorienting toward data centers. AMD has said it expects more than 80 percent of its revenue to eventually come from that market, a far larger share than Qualcomm's 30 percent goal. The gap between the two targets suggests demand for AI data center chips may be broad enough to support several suppliers with differing levels of exposure.