Qualcomm Turns to AI Data Centers as Smartphone Sales Drop

Qualcomm’s Q4 2026 earnings call revealed that the company’s flagship smartphone business has slipped, with sales down roughly 20% compared to 2025. The drop has left the chipmaker looking for new revenue streams.

In response, Qualcomm outlined a strategy to expand into the AI data‑center market. The company argues that its high‑performance silicon, already proven in mobile devices, can be repurposed for the compute‑heavy workloads that drive cloud AI services.

A key part of the plan is to build on existing partnerships with Amazon and Meta, which were announced earlier this year. Those relationships give Qualcomm early access to the infrastructure and customer base needed to test and deploy its data‑center chips.

While the move could help offset the decline in handset revenue, the company acknowledges that the data‑center business is highly competitive and that success will depend on execution and market timing.