Samsung Electronics adds Qualcomm to its top 5 chip client list in Q1

[Photo by MK DB]

Samsung Electronics Co. has added U.S. wireless tech giant Qualcomm to its top five client list for the first time in the first quarter.

Qualcomm together with Apple, consumer electronics retailer Best Buy, German telco Deutsche Telekom, and Taiwanese electronic component supplier Supreme Electronics made up the five biggest clients to Samsung Electronics. They were behind 14 percent of its total revenue.

Qualcomm has replaced wireless carrier Verizon.

Samsung Electronics used Qualcomm’s Snapdragon application processor on its latest Galaxy S series smartphones sold in Korea to replace its own mobile platform Exynos. Previously, the Korean smartphone giant used Exynos on Galaxy S series sold in Korea and Europe, and Snapdragon on premium phones released in the U.S and China.

The company in latest disclosure confirmed its capex came to 7.9 trillion won ($6.2 billion) for the first quarter, with bulk of investment made in ramping up and upgrading chip and display panel making facilities. A year earlier, it had spent 9.7 trillion won.

The decline in capex reportedly was due to a delay in equipment shipment amid prolonged supply chain disruptions.

The company owned a total of 215,228 intellectual property rights as of the end of March, snapping years of growth. Its patent hoard increased continuously from 180,035 in 2019 to 197,749 in 2020 and 216,404 in 2021.

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