What changed in this filing

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Item 1. Business

2023-11-01 compared with 2022-11-02 · 153 added, 164 removed, 321 unchanged (50% of the section changed)

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Our fiscal years for 2023, 2022 and 2021 included 52 weeks.

We are a global leader in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry, including 3G (third generation), 4G (fourth generation) and 5G (fifth generation) wireless technologies and processor technologies including high-performance, low-power computing and on-device artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

Our technologies and products are used in mobile devices and other wireless products.

Our inventions have helped power the growth in smartphones and other cellular enabled devices.

As a connected processor company, we are scaling our innovations using our one technology roadmap to enable the connected intelligent edge (the next generation of smart devices) across industries and applications beyond handsets, including automotive and the internet of things (IoT).

In IoT, our inventions have helped power growth in industries and applications such as consumer (including computing, voice and music and XR), edge networking (including mobile broadband and wireless access points) and industrial (including handhelds, retail, transportation and logistics and utilities).

In automotive, our connectivity, digital cockpit and advanced driver assistance and automated driving (ADAS/AD) platforms are helping to connect the car to its environment and the cloud, create unique in-cabin experiences and enable a comprehensive assisted and automated driving solution.

We are a global leader in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry, including 3G (third generation), 4G (fourth generation) and 5G (fifth generation) wireless connectivity, and high-performance and low-power computing including on-device artificial intelligence (AI).

Our technologies and products deliver intelligent computing and advanced connectivity in mobile devices and other products.

Our inventions have helped power the growth in smartphones and other connected devices.

We are scaling our innovations across industries and applications beyond handsets, including automotive and the internet of things (IoT).

In automotive, our connectivity, digital cockpit and advanced driver assistance and automated driving (ADAS/AD) platforms are helping to connect the car to its environment and the cloud, creating unique in-cabin experiences and enabling a comprehensive assisted and automated driving solution.

In IoT, our inventions have helped power growth in industries and applications such as consumer (including computing, voice and music and extended reality (XR)), edge networking (including mobile broadband and wireless access points) and industrial (including handhelds, retail, tracking and logistics and utilities).

We derive revenues principally from sales of integrated circuit products, including our Snapdragon® family of highly-integrated, system-based solutions, and licensing of our intellectual property, including patents and other rights.

The foundational technologies we invent help power the modern mobile experience, impacting how the world connects, computes and communicates.

We share these inventions broadly through our licensing programs enabling wide ecosystem access to technologies at the core of mobile innovation, and through the sale of our wireless integrated circuit platforms (also known as integrated circuit products, chips, chipsets or modules) and other products.

We collaborate across the ecosystem, including with manufacturers, operators, developers, system integrators, cloud providers, test tool vendors, service providers, governments and industry standards organizations, to enable a global environment of continued progress and growth.

We have a long history of driving innovation.

We have played and continue to play a leading role in developing system level inventions that serve as the foundation for 3G, 4G and 5G wireless technologies.

We share these inventions broadly through our licensing programs enabling wide ecosystem access to technologies at the core of mobile innovation, and through the sale of our integrated circuit platforms (also known as integrated circuit products, chips, chipsets or modules) and other products.

We innovate with purpose and collaborate across many ecosystems, including with manufacturers, operators, developers, system integrators, cloud providers, test tool vendors, service providers, governments and industry standards organizations, to enable a global environment of continued progress and growth.

We have a long history of driving innovation and continue to play a leading role in developing system-level inventions that serve as the foundation for 3G, 4G and 5G wireless technologies.

This includes technologies such as CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) and OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) families of technologies, with the latter encompassing LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and 5G NR (New Radio), which are the primary digital technologies currently used to transmit voice or data over radio waves using a public or private cellular wireless network.

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company seeking to develop, manufacture and/or sell devices or infrastructure equipment that use CDMA-based and/or OFDMA-based technologies requires a license or other rights to use our patents.

We also develop and commercialize numerous other key technologies used in mobile and other wireless devices, and we own substantial intellectual property related to these technologies.

Some of these inventions are contributed to and commercialized as industry standards, such as for certain video and audio codecs, Wi-Fi, GPS (Global Positioning System), UWB (ultra-wideband) and Bluetooth ® .

We have also developed other technologies that are used by wireless devices that are not related to industry standards, such as operating systems, user interfaces, graphics and camera processing functionality, RF (radio frequency), RFFE (radio frequency front-end) and antenna designs, AI and machine learning techniques and application processor architectures.

We also develop and commercialize numerous other key technologies used in mobile and other devices and services, and we own substantial intellectual property related to these technologies.

Some of these inventions are contributed to and commercialized as industry standards, such as for certain video and audio codecs, Wi-Fi, position location, UWB (ultra-wideband) and Bluetooth ® .

We have also developed other technologies that are used by wireless and other devices that are not related to industry standards, such as operating systems, user interfaces, graphics and camera processing functionality, RF (radio frequency), RFFE (radio frequency front-end) and antenna designs, AI and machine learning techniques and application processor architectures.

Our patents cover a wide range of technologies across the entire wireless system (including wireless devices and network infrastructure equipment), not just the portion of such patented technologies incorporated into chipsets.

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Our QSI (Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives) reportable segment makes strategic investments.

We also have nonreportable segments, including QGOV (Qualcomm Government Technologies) and our cloud AI inference processing initiative.

We also have nonreportable segments, including QGOV (Qualcomm Government Technologies) and our cloud computing processing initiative (formerly referred to as our cloud AI inference processing initiative).

Industry Trends

As the largest technology platform in the world, mobile has transformed the way we connect, compute and communicate.

Advanced connectivity and high-performance, low-power computing technologies from mobile are also impacting industries beyond wireless, empowering new services, new business models and new ways to engage and interact with customers.

Our breakthrough inventions, along with our licensing programs, have been integral to the growth and evolution of the mobile industry.

Connected Intelligent Edge.

Advancements in processor technologies have allowed for new levels of on-device processing (also known as edge computing).

Edge computing brings processing closer to where data is generated, helping to reduce response time, improve security and enable greater personalization.

As 5G and other forms of wireless connectivity converge with high-performance, low-power processing and on-device intelligence, devices at the edge are able to share data with cloud-based applications and each other.

This is enabling expanded functionality and use cases, which we believe will have significant impact across industries.

It is leading to the creation of the connected intelligent edge, where we expect billions of smart devices to be deployed.

Advanced connectivity and high-performance, low-power computing technologies from mobile are also impacting many industries beyond wireless, empowering new services, new business models, and new ways to engage and interact with customers.

Our breakthrough inventions and licensing programs have been integral to the demand and evolution of the mobile industry.

Intelligent Computing.

Advancements in processor technologies have enabled distribution of complex workloads across the network, with more computing done in edge devices where data is generated.

Given the proximity to raw data, edge computing allows for more intelligent processing, reducing response time, improving privacy and security, and enabling greater personalization.

With increased processing power, mobile is becoming a pervasive AI platform, with complex large generative AI algorithms running on-device, enabling on-demand and contextual AI use cases.

As 5G wireless connectivity complements on-device generative AI, edge devices enable enhanced productivity use cases, while intelligently processing and sharing data with cloud-based applications as needed.

Building on the smartphone foundation and the scale of mobile, we envision generative AI becoming ubiquitous, expanding beyond smartphones into industries and applications such as compute, IoT, XR and automotive.

Complex large language models (LLMs), large vision models (LVMs) and other generative AI models that can generate new content, are beginning to change the landscape of the consumer user experience.

LLMs (e.g., GPT-4 and Llama2) are useful for text-based natural language processing applications such as answering queries, document summarization and creation, while LVMs (e.g., Stable Diffusion and ControlNet) are useful for image and video processing.

They are disrupting traditional methods of search, content creation, recommendation systems and personalized digital assistants, offering significant enhancements in consumer utility and productivity.

We believe that a variety of innovative enterprise and consumer use cases will emerge from generative AI, especially as LLMs and LVMs are run on-device ingesting multiple modalities (such as text, voice, camera, infrared, RADAR and LiDAR sensors) and bring in the benefits of immediacy, privacy, security and personalization to consumers.

Advancing Connectivity.

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4G brought mobile broadband speeds that helped fuel the smartphone era, forever changing the way we work, live and connect with others.

4G has become the foundational technology to many of the applications and services used today, including e-commerce, video streaming, video calling, social media and gaming.

Building on foundational innovations developed for 3G and 4G, the mobile industry continues to quickly move to 5G technology.

Beginning with the Release 15 specification issued by 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), an organization that develops technical specifications, 5G is designed to support multi-gigabit data rates, low latency and greater capacity than previous generations of mobile technology to enable enhanced mobile broadband experiences, including ultra-high definition (4K) video streaming and sharing, near-instantaneous access to cloud services, immersive cloud gaming and extended reality (XR), which includes augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR).

4G has served as the technology foundation for many of the applications and services used today, including e-commerce, video streaming, video calling, social media and gaming.

Building on foundational innovations developed for 3G and 4G, the mobile industry continues to transition to 5G technology as 5G network deployments and device launches continue, particularly in emerging regions.

Beginning with the Release 15 specification issued by 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), an organization that develops technical specifications, 5G is designed to support multi-gigabit data rates, low latency and greater capacity than previous generations of mobile technology to enable enhanced mobile broadband experiences, including ultra-high definition (4K) video streaming and sharing, near-instantaneous access to cloud services, immersive cloud gaming and XR, which includes augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR).

5G’s performance and capacity improvements are also enabling operators to offer new consumer and enterprise services while also reducing their operating costs.

Although 5G networks are being deployed at a faster pace as compared to the transition from 3G to 4G networks, as with previous generations of mobile networks, it will take time.

Since the first commercial 5G networks were launched in April 2019, 226 operators in more than 90 countries have commercially launched 5G, with more than 500 operators investing to deploy the technology as of September 30, 2022 (GSA, October 2022).

Many 5G devices include multimode support for 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi technologies, enabling service continuity where 5G has yet to be deployed.

This allows mobile operators to utilize existing 3G and/or 4G network infrastructure, enabling operators to roll out 5G services over time, while also helping to maximize previous generation equipment investments.

As of September 30, 2022, there were approximately 7.5 billion 3G/4G/5G connections globally, representing 88% of total mobile connections (GSMA Intelligence, October 2022).

By 2026, global 3G/4G/5G connections are projected to reach 8.7 billion, with approximately 86% of these connections in emerging regions and China (GSMA Intelligence, October 2022 ).

Consumer Demand in Smartphones.

For calendar year 2022, we estimate that 3G, 4G, and 5G handset volumes will decrease by low-double digits year-over-year, with 5G smartphone shipments estimated between 600 and 650 million.

Such expected decline in demand is primarily driven by the negative effects of the macroeconomic environment and the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic measures in China.

Consumer Demand for Smartphones.

For calendar year 2023, we estimate that consumer demand for 3G, 4G, and 5G handset volumes will decrease by a mid to high-single digit percentage relative to calendar year 2022.

Such expected decline in demand is primarily driven by weakness in the macroeconomic environment (which has negatively impacted consumer demand for smartphones).

Consumer demand for new experiences, combined with the needs of mobile operators and device manufacturers to provide differentiated features and services, is driving continued innovation within the smartphone across connectivity, processing, AI, multimedia, imaging, audio and more.

As a result, the smartphone continues to be the go-to device for social networking, music and video streaming, photography and video capture, e-commerce, gaming, email, web browsing and more.

5G enables these experiences to be more immersive, intuitive and interactive.

Transforming Other Industries:

According to analyst data, more than 70% of new vehicles produced in 2028 are projected to have embedded cellular connectivity, with 60% of cellular connected vehicles featuring 5G connectivity.

By comparison, 60% of vehicles produced in 2021 had embedded cellular connectivity, with 5G connectivity expected to ramp in 2023 (Strategy Analytics, October 2022).

We believe that the combination of 5G and AI will enable these experiences to be more immersive, intuitive and interactive.

According to analyst data, 71% of new vehicles produced in 2030 are projected to have embedded cellular connectivity, with 71% of those vehicles featuring 5G connectivity.

By comparison, an estimated 63% of vehicles produced in 2023 will have embedded cellular connectivity, with 5G connectivity beginning to ramp (TechInsights, October 2023).

Digitalization of the automotive cockpit continues to transform the in-vehicle experience, enabling greater personalization of content and settings for both drivers and passengers as automakers respond to growing interest from consumers to bring their digital lifestyles into the vehicle.

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High-performance, low-power computing technologies from mobile are being used to improve vehicles with advanced driver assistance and automated driving features that we expect to scale across vehicle tiers and continue the progression toward higher levels of autonomy, safety and convenience.

Analysts estimate that 19% of new vehicles sold globally in 2025 will have Level 2 (i.e., partial driving automation) or higher autonomy, compared to an estimated 9% of new vehicles sold globally in 2022 (Strategy Analytics, October 2022).

Transforming Other Industries:

Demand for connected devices beyond smartphones continued to grow across consumer, edge networking and industrial applications in fiscal 2022, in part due to the expanded use cases enabled by 5G technologies.

The installed base of IoT devices, which includes everything from wearables to industrial handhelds to gateways, is projected to more than double between 2022 and 2026 to over 27 billion (IoT Analytics, October 2022).

The growth in IoT devices is an important catalyst in driving digital transformation across industries.

Analysts estimate that 31% of new light duty vehicles sold globally in 2026 will have Level 2 (i.e., partial driving automation) or higher autonomy, compared to an estimated 15% of new light duty vehicles sold globally in 2023 (TechInsights, September 2023).

Industry demand for IoT devices continued to grow across consumer, edge networking and industrial applications in fiscal 2023;

however, as a result of the current macroeconomic environment the growth rate slowed compared to prior projections and elevated channel inventory lowered demand for semiconductors from multiple industries within IoT in fiscal 2023.

The installed base of IoT devices, which includes everything from wearables to industrial handhelds to gateways, is projected to increase by 70% from 2023 to 2026 (ABI Research, June 2023).

Consumer IoT products continue to adopt the latest mobile connectivity, processing and intelligence technologies, including personal computing (e.g., tablets and personal computers), connected audio (e.g., wireless earbuds, speakers and soundbars), wearables (e.g., smart watches), XR devices (e.g., VR headsets and AR glasses) and others (e.g., camera and video collaboration, exercise equipment and home appliances).

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Edge Networking.

Growth in demand for connected devices, the transition to hybrid work environments and advances in wireless technology are driving increased demand for edge networking products (including mobile broadband and wireless access points).

Advances in wireless technology are helping to drive demand for edge networking products (including mobile broadband and wireless access points).

5G provides the flexibility to support both mobile and fixed wireless users with the delivery of high-speed, low-latency connections, enabling operators to replace traditional “last-mile” wired broadband connections.

Additionally, advancements in Wi-Fi are driving consumer and enterprise demand for the latest Wi-Fi 6 and 6E access point technologies that leverage increased network speed, capacity and efficiency to support the increased number of connected devices at home and at work.

The combination of IoT devices with connectivity, computing and on-device AI along with the cloud are helping to bring near real-time data and insights in industries such as retail, transportation, logistics, mining and energy.

This allows companies to gain new knowledge and insights about their products and services, manufacturing processes and more, which should help to transform, optimize and innovate their business.

Additionally, advancements in Wi-Fi are driving consumer and enterprise demand for the latest Wi-Fi 6, 6E, and 7 access point technologies that leverage increased network speed, capacity and efficiency to support the increased number of connected devices at home and at work.

The combination of IoT devices with connectivity, computing, on-device AI, and power-optimized and precise location tracking along with the cloud are helping to bring near real-time data and insights in industries such as retail, transportation, logistics, utilities and energy.

This allows companies to gain new knowledge and insights about their products and services, manufacturing and logistics processes and more, which can help to transform, optimize and innovate their business.

Technology Overview

The worldwide demand for wireless devices, data services and applications requires continuous innovation to improve the user experiences, support new services, increase network capacity, make use of different frequency bands and allow for dense network deployments.

To meet these requirements, different wireless communications technologies continue to evolve.

We have a long history of investing heavily in research and development and have developed foundational technologies, including CDMA and OFDMA, that help drive the continued evolution of the wireless industry.

As a result, we have developed and acquired (and continue to develop and acquire) significant related intellectual property.

The worldwide demand for wireless devices, data services and applications requires continuous innovation to improve the user experiences, support new services, expand on-device processing and AI capabilities at low power, and increase wireless connectivity capacity and performance.

To meet these requirements, different foundational technologies including wireless communications, multimedia, location and computing, continue to evolve.

We have a long history of investing heavily in research and development and have developed many of these foundational technologies that help drive the continued evolution of the wireless industry.

As a result, we have developed and commercialized leading edge chipset platforms for mobile, automotive and IoT.

We have also developed and acquired (and continue to develop and acquire) significant related intellectual property.

This intellectual property has been incorporated into the most widely accepted and deployed cellular wireless communications technology standards, and we have licensed it to several hundred licensees, including all of the leading handset manufacturers.

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CDMA-based technologies are characterized by their access method allowing several users to share the same frequency and time by allocating different orthogonal codes to individual users.

Most of the CDMA-based technologies are classified as 3G technology and provide vastly improved capacity for voice and low-rate data services as compared to analog technologies and significant improvements over earlier technologies (e.g., 2G technology).

Most of the CDMA-based technologies are classified as 3G technology.

CDMA-based connections worldwide continue to decline as consumers migrate to OFDMA-based technologies, which comprise the majority of total cellular connections today.

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3GPP developed the 4G system through the specification of the radio component (LTE) and the core network component (Enhanced Packet Core or EPC).

The principal benefit of LTE is its ability to leverage a wide range of spectrum (bandwidths of up to 20 MHz or more through aggregation).

LTE is designed to seamlessly interwork with 3G technologies through multimode devices.

LTE is designed to seamlessly interwork with 3G technologies through multimode devices, and can use bandwidths of 20 MHz or more through aggregation.

LTE Advanced brings many more enhancements, including carrier aggregation, advanced multi-antenna techniques and optimizations for small cells.

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Unlike 4G that has fixed Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) parameterization, 5G has multiple OFDM parameterizations to address a wide range of spectrum and use cases.

We continue to play a significant role in the further development and commercialization of LTE-based technologies.

Beginning with Release 14, 3GPP specifications provide enhancements specifically for C-V2X (cellular vehicle-to-everything), which includes both direct communication (vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure and vehicle-to-pedestrian) in dedicated spectrum that is independent of a cellular network and cellular communications with networks in traditional mobile broadband licensed spectrum.

Release 14 of 3GPP specifications began to provide enhancements specifically for C-V2X (cellular vehicle-to-everything), which includes both direct communication (vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure and vehicle-to-pedestrian) in dedicated spectrum that is independent of a cellular network and cellular communications with networks in traditional mobile broadband licensed spectrum.

The wireless industry is actively developing and commercializing 5G technologies.

The first 5G standard was initially completed in 2018.

The first 5G specification, 3GPP Release 15, was initially completed in 2018.

5G is designed to transform the role of wireless technologies and incorporates advancements on 3G/4G features, including device-to-device capabilities and the use of all different types of spectrum (including licensed, unlicensed and shared spectrum).

Many of our inventions at the core of 3G and 4G serve as the foundational technologies for 5G, and we continue to play a significant role in driving advancements in 5G, including contributing to 3GPP standardization activities that are defining the continued evolution of 5G NR and 5GC standards.

5G has the ability to target diverse services with very different technical requirements (from enhanced mobile broadband to massive IoT to mission critical services), utilize diverse types of spectrum (from low bands to millimeter wave (mmWave) bands) and support diverse types of deployment scenarios.

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As with previous cellular generations, 5G is designed to support seamless compatibility with 3G/4G technologies through multimode devices.

Subsequent to the initial specification of 5G in 3GPP Release 15, the 3GPP has completed two additional releases.

Following the initial specification of 5G in 3GPP Release 15, 3GPP completed two additional releases.

Release 16 introduced enhancements to 5G mobile broadband experiences (e.g., more capacity, improved coverage, mobility and better device power efficiency), expanded 5G technologies into new use cases and industries and began supporting different spectrum types by expanding 5G into unlicensed spectrum with 5G NR Unlicensed (NR-U).

Release 17 became the third major release of the global 5G NR standard expanding the 5G technology foundations for coverage, mobility, power and reliability, which is designed to provide efficient support for lower complexity 5G devices including wearables, industrial sensors, and new deployments, including non-terrestrial networks and mmWave private networks on unlicensed 60 GHz spectrum band.

Release 18, which is now under development, marks the start of 5G Advanced, with projects designed to strengthen the end-to-end 5G system foundation (such as advanced downlink and uplink MIMO, enhanced mobility, mobile integrated access and backhaul, smart repeater, evolved duplexing, AI and machine learning data-driven designs and green networks) and to proliferate 5G to virtually all devices and use cases (such as boundless extended reality, NR-light evolution, expanded sidelink, expanded positioning, drones and expanded satellite communication and multicast).

Release 18, which remains under development, marks the start of 5G Advanced, with projects designed to strengthen the end-to-end 5G system foundation (such as advanced downlink and uplink MIMO, enhanced mobility, mobile integrated access and backhaul, smart repeater, evolved duplexing, AI and machine learning data-driven designs and green networks) and to proliferate 5G to virtually all devices and use cases (such as boundless extended reality, NR-light evolution, expanded sidelink, expanded positioning, drones and expanded satellite communication and multicast).

Other (Non-Cellular) Wireless Technologies.

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This technology primarily targets connectivity for mobile devices, tablets, laptops and other consumer electronic devices using the 2.4GHz and 5GHz spectrum bands.

We continue to play a leading role in the evolution of the 802.11 family of standards with the development of the new 802.11be standard, which is expected to be known as Wi-Fi 7.

We continue to play a leading role in the evolution of the 802.11 family of standards with the development of the new 802.11be standard, known as Wi-Fi 7.

Wi-Fi 7 introduces enhanced speeds, latency and network capacity plus support for advanced features like 320MHz channels, standardizing the advanced modulation scheme 4K QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), and advanced multi-link implementations such as High Band Simultaneous Multi-Link to deliver optimal performance.

Both Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 generation implementations can achieve significant benefits from the global trend towards increased availability of license exempt spectrum in the 6GHz frequency band.

Bluetooth is a wireless personal area network that provides wireless connectivity between devices over short distances ranging from a few centimeters to approximately one hundred meters using the 2.4GHz industrial, scientific and medical spectrum band.

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We are a leading contributor to Bluetooth technologies in the areas of mobile devices and audio and mesh technologies.

Location Positioning Technologies.

Location positioning technologies continue to evolve in order to deliver an enhanced commercial location experience and comply with new mandates on location for E911 (enhanced 911) calls.

We are a key developer of the Assisted-GPS (A-GPS), Assisted Global Navigation Satellite System (A-GNSS) and WLAN positioning technologies used in most cellular handsets today.

Position Location Technologies.

Position location technologies continue to evolve in order to deliver an enhanced location experience and comply with new mandates on location for E911 (enhanced 911) calls.

We are a key developer of the Assisted-Global Positioning System (A-GPS), Assisted Global Navigation Satellite System (A-GNSS) and WLAN positioning technologies used in most cellular handsets today.

For uses requiring the best reliability and accuracy for E911 services and navigational based services, A-GPS, A-GNSS and WLAN provide leading-edge solutions.

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Our products and intellectual property now support multiple constellations for A-GNSS, including:

GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, NavIC and BeiDou;

GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, NavIC, BeiDou, QZSS and SBAS augmentation systems;

Wi-Fi-based and Bluetooth-based positioning for WLAN, including Wi-Fi RSSI (received signal strength indication) and Wi-Fi RTT (round-trip time) signals for indoor location;

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We are also a leader in the standardization of high accuracy position techniques for 5G NR access and support techniques to improve resilience of location.

Additional Significant Technologies used in Cellular and Certain Consumer Electronic Devices and Networks .

Additional Significant Technologies used in Cellular and Other Industries .

On-device AI.

Our fundamental research and comprehensive approach to AI helps enable us to be a leader in on-device AI solutions.

The Qualcomm® AI Engine, featured in our Snapdragon platforms and many of our other products provides high-performance on-device AI solutions at extremely low power to support complex use cases, while enhancing privacy and security.

The Qualcomm® AI Stack is a unified AI software portfolio designed to help developers optimize and deploy AI models quickly using our chipset solutions by supporting AI frameworks and runtimes, developer libraries, system software and popular operating systems.

Multimedia Technologies.

We are a leading innovator in video, audio and speech compression technologies and system-level solutions enabling feature-rich, high-quality experiences in imaging, audio and vision intelligence.

We are a leading contributor to the advancement of video compression performance, including contributions to the H.265/HEVC standard (deployed to support Ultra High Definition 4K and beyond video), the next generation H.266/VVC standard and the MPEG-5 EVC (Essential Video Coding) standard, which are designed to power the creation and consumption of richer, immersive media experiences.

Proprietary video codecs, including VP9 and AV1, have also adopted our contributions due to their impact to video compression technology.

Video compression technologies are used in a number of products such as cellular handsets, tablets, laptops and desktop computers, cameras, servers, gaming consoles and televisions.

We are a leading contributor to the advancement of video compression performance, including contributions to the H.265/HEVC standard (deployed to support Ultra High Definition 4K and beyond video), and the next generation H.266/VVC standard, which are designed to power the creation and consumption of richer, immersive media experiences.

Proprietary video codecs, including VP9 and AV1, have also adopted our solutions due to their impact to video compression technology.

Video compression technologies are used in a number of products such as cellular handsets, tablets, laptops and desktop computers, cameras, servers, gaming consoles, televisions and streaming services.

We have developed additional significant multimedia technologies, including:

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Other Technologies.

In addition to the above, we have played and continue to play a leading role in developing and/or have acquired many of the other technologies used across the wireless system, computing and edge networking, including in cellular handsets and certain other consumer electronic devices and networks, including:

• on-device AI features, including machine learning platforms and the application of AI and machine learning techniques to edge computing and other use cases;

In addition to the above, we continue to play a leading role in developing and/or have acquired many of the other technologies used across the wireless system, computing and edge networking, including in cellular handsets and certain other consumer electronic devices and networks, including:

• operating system and user interface features;

• XR platform features such as 6DoF (six-degrees of freedom) head tracking and controller capabilities, 3D Reconstruction, 3D audio and video pass-through and embedded cellular connectivity for new types of user experiences;

• security and content protection systems for enhanced device security without compromising the user experience and ultrasonic fingerprint readers for single touch authentication;

• volatile (LP-DDR4, 5) and non-volatile (eMMC) memory and related controllers;

• XR platform features such as 6DoF (six-degrees of freedom) head tracking and controller capabilities, video pass-through and embedded cellular connectivity for new types of user experiences;

• security and content protection systems for enhanced device security without compromising the user experience;

• volatile (LPDDR4, 5) and non-volatile (eMMC) memory and related controllers;

• fast charging features, enabling devices to charge quickly, safely and efficiently;

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• power management systems for improved battery life and device charging;

• SoC architecture with heterogeneous computing features, which uses different types of specialized engines (Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)) to enable high performance and low-power computing and other optimization techniques.

We make strategic investments and acquisitions in order to open new opportunities for our technologies, support the design and introduction of new products and services (or enhance existing products or services), obtain development resources, grow our patent portfolio or pursue new businesses as part of our strategic plan.

• System-on-Chip (SoC) architecture with heterogeneous computing features, which uses different types of specialized engines (Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) and Neural Processing Unit (NPU)) to enable high performance and low-power computing and other optimization techniques.

We make strategic investments and acquisitions in order to open new opportunities for our technologies, support the design and introduction of new products and services (or enhance existing products or services), obtain resources with development and/or market expertise, grow our patent portfolio or pursue new businesses as part of our strategic plan.

Information regarding our acquisitions is provided in this Annual Report in “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 9.

Acquisitions.”

Acquisitions and Divestitures.”

Operating Segments

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Segment Information.”

QCT is a leading developer and supplier of integrated circuits and system software based on 3G/4G/5G and other technologies for use in wireless voice and data communications, networking, computing, multimedia and GPS products.

QCT’s integrated circuit products are sold and its system software is licensed to manufacturers that use our

products in a broad range of devices, from low-tier, entry-level devices primarily for emerging regions to premium-tier devices, including but not limited to mobile devices, wireless networks, devices used in IoT, broadband gateway equipment, consumer electronic devices and automotive systems for connectivity, digital cockpit and advanced driver assistance and automated driving.

Our one technology roadmap delivers the latest network technologies across multiple product tiers and devices.

QCT’s integrated circuit products are sold and its system software is licensed to manufacturers that use our products in a broad range of devices, from low-tier, entry-level devices primarily for emerging regions to premium-tier devices, including but not limited to mobile devices, wireless networks, devices used in IoT, broadband gateway equipment, consumer electronic devices and automotive systems for connectivity, digital cockpit and ADAS/AD.

Our technology roadmap delivers the latest network technologies across multiple product tiers, devices and industries.

This roadmap is the result of extensive collaboration with manufacturers, operators, developers, systems integrators, cloud providers, tool vendors, service providers, governments and industry standards organizations, as well as our years of research into emerging network standards and the development of integrated circuits.

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Each platform consists of application processors and wireless connectivity capabilities, including our cellular modem that provides core baseband modem functionality for voice and data communications, non-cellular wireless connectivity (such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth) and global positioning functions.

Our Snapdragon application processor functions include CPU, security, graphics, display, audio, video, camera and AI.

Our Snapdragon application processor functions include AI / NPU, CPU, security, graphics, display, audio, video and camera.

Our CPUs are designed to deliver high levels of compute performance with optimized power consumption.

Our Qualcomm ® Hexagon™ processors are designed to support a variety of signal processing applications, including AI, audio and sensor processing.

Our Qualcomm ® Hexagon™ NPUs are designed to support a variety of AI processing tasks for superior performance-per-watt.

Our Qualcomm ® Adreno™ graphics processing units are designed to deliver high quality graphics performance for visually rich 3D gaming and user interfaces.

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These supporting components, in addition to our cellular modems and application processors comprising our core SoC, are also sold as individual components.

The combination of the Snapdragon SoC, system software and supporting components provide an overall platform with optimized performance and efficiency, enabling manufacturers to design and deliver powerful, slim and power-efficient devices ready for integration with the complex cellular networks worldwide.

Our portfolio of RF products includes Qualcomm ® RFFE components that are designed to simplify the RF design for 5G front-end, LTE multimode and multiband mobile devices, including sub-6 GHz and mmWave devices, to reduce power consumption and to improve radio performance.

The combination of the Snapdragon SoC, system software and supporting components provides an overall platform with optimized performance and efficiency, enabling manufacturers to design and deliver powerful, slim and power-efficient devices ready for integration with the complex cellular networks worldwide.

Our portfolio of RF products includes Qualcomm ® RFFE components that are designed to simplify the RF front-end design for 5G, including sub-6 GHz and mmWave, as well as, for 4G LTE multimode and mobile devices, to reduce power consumption and to improve radio performance.

We provide comprehensive RFFE product offerings with system level performance from the modem and transceiver to the antenna that include complex 4G/5G transmit and receive modules, power tracking, tuning systems, multimode-multiband power amplification, low noise amplifiers and mmWave antenna solutions, in addition to discrete filtering products, for devices and applications across the mobile handsets, automotive and IoT industries.

We have also integrated our Snapdragon platform with our RFFE components to create our Snapdragon 5G modem-RF products, the world’s first commercial modem-to-antenna 5G solution designed to maximize data speeds and performance, support superior call connectivity and coverage and extend battery life.

Our wireless connectivity products also consist of integrated circuits and system software for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and frequency modulation, as well as technologies that support location data and services, including GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, NavIC and BeiDou.

Our wireless connectivity products provide additional connectivity for mobile devices, tablets, laptops, XR headsets, voice and music devices, wearable devices, along with other IoT devices and applications, automotive connectivity, digital cockpit and ADAS/AD, utility meters and logistic trackers and industrial sensors.

QCT also offers standalone Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, fingerprint sensor, applications processor and Ethernet products utilized within these devices and systems.

QCT also offers standalone Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, applications processor and Ethernet products utilized within these devices and systems.

Our networking products include Wi-Fi, Ethernet and Powerline chips, network processors, wireless access points and routers, broadband gateway equipment and software.

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Therefore, we primarily rely on third parties to perform the manufacturing and assembly, and most of the testing, of our integrated circuits based primarily on our proprietary designs and test programs.

Our suppliers also are responsible for the procurement of most of the raw materials used in the production of our integrated circuits.

Our suppliers also are responsible for the

procurement of most of the raw materials used in the production of our integrated circuits.

Integrated circuits are die cut from silicon wafers that have completed the package assembly and test manufacturing processes.

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The automotive industry is subject to long design-in time frames, long product life cycles and a high degree of regulatory and safety requirements, necessitating suppliers to the industry to comply with stringent qualification processes, very low defect rates and high reliability standards, all of which results in a significant barrier to entry and may result in increased costs.

QCT’s current competitors include, but are not limited to, companies such as Apple, Broadcom, MediaTek, Nvidia, NXP Semiconductors, Qorvo, Samsung, Skyworks, Texas Instruments and UNISOC.

QCT’s current competitors include, but are not limited to, companies such as Apple, Broadcom, HiSilicon, MediaTek, Mobileye, Nvidia, NXP Semiconductors, Qorvo, Samsung, Skyworks, Texas Instruments and UNISOC.

QCT currently faces competition, which may intensify in the future, from products internally developed by our customers, including some of our largest customers, to early-stage companies.

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QTL Segment .

QTL grants licenses or otherwise provides rights to use portions of our intellectual property portfolio, which, among other rights, includes certain patent rights essential to and/or useful in the manufacture, sale and/or use of certain wireless products, including, without limitation, products implementing CDMA2000, WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE and/or OFDMA-based 5G standards and their derivatives.

QTL grants licenses or otherwise provides rights to use portions of our intellectual property portfolio, which, among other rights, includes certain patent rights essential to and/or useful in the manufacture, sale and/or use of certain wireless products, including, without limitation, products implementing WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE and/or OFDMA-based 5G standards and their derivatives.

We grant licenses or otherwise provide rights to use our cellular standard-essential patents (including 3G, 4G and 5G) for both single-mode and multimode devices on a worldwide basis.

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A significant portion of QTL’s licensing revenues is derived from licensees that have entered into license agreements that grant licenses under Qualcomm’s cellular standard-essential patents.

Our licensees manufacture wireless cellular products such as mobile devices (including handsets), other consumer devices (e.g., tablets and laptops), plug-in end user data modem cards and embedded modules for incorporation into machine-to-machine devices and certain other devices, connected vehicle units and connected vehicle modules used in automobiles, wireless access points, small cell wireless products, infrastructure equipment required to establish and operate a cellular network and equipment to test wireless networks and cellular devices.

Since our founding in 1985, we have focused heavily on technology development and innovation.

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We have an extensive portfolio of United States and foreign patents, and we continue to pursue patent applications around the world.

Our patents have broad coverage in many countries, including Brazil, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the United States and countries in Europe.

Our patents have broad coverage in many countries, including Brazil, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the United States and countries in Europe (including European patents with unitary effect).

A substantial portion of our patents and patent applications relate to digital wireless communications technologies, including patents that are essential or may be important to the commercial implementation of CDMA2000, WCDMA (UMTS), LTE and/or OFDMA-based 5G products.

Our patent portfolio is the most widely and extensively licensed in the industry, including more than 200 5G license agreements to date.

Additionally, we have a substantial patent portfolio related to key technologies used in communications and other devices and/or related services, some of which were developed in industry standards development organizations.

These include certain video codecs, audio codecs, Wi-Fi, memory interfaces, wireless power, GPS and positioning, broadcast and streaming protocols, and short-range communication functionalities, including NFC and Bluetooth.

Our patents cover a wide range of technologies across the

entire wireless system (including wireless devices and network infrastructure equipment), not just the portion of such patented technologies incorporated into chipsets.

Additionally, we have a substantial patent portfolio related to key technologies used in communications and other devices and/or related services, some of which are covered by industry standards.

These include certain video codecs, audio codecs, Wi-Fi, memory interfaces, wireline interfaces, wireless power, position location, broadcast and streaming protocols, and short-range communication functionalities, including Near Field Communication (NFC) and Bluetooth.

Over the years, a number of companies have challenged our patent position, but the mobile communications industry generally recognizes that any company seeking to develop, manufacture and/or sell certain wireless products that use CDMA-based and/or OFDMA-based technologies requires a license or other rights to use our patents.

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The licenses granted under our existing license agreements generally cover multimode CDMA/OFDMA (3G/4G/5G) devices, and our licensees are obligated to pay royalties under their license agreements for their sales of such devices.

Standards bodies have been informed that we hold patents that might be essential for all 3G standards that are based on CDMA, patents and pending patent applications that are potentially essential for LTE standards, including FDD and TDD versions, and patents and pending patent applications that are potentially essential for 5G technologies.

Standards bodies have been informed that we hold patents that might be essential for all 3G standards that are based on CDMA, patents that are potentially essential for LTE standards, including FDD and TDD versions, and patents and pending patent applications that are potentially essential for 5G technologies.

We have committed to such standards bodies that we will offer to license our essential patents for these standards consistent with our commitments to those bodies.

We have made similar commitments with respect to certain other technologies implemented in industry standards.

QTL licensing revenues include royalties and, to a lesser extent, license fees.

Licensees pay quarterly royalties based on their sales of products incorporating or using our licensed intellectual property and may also pay a fixed license fee in one or more installments.

Sales-based royalties are generally based upon a percentage of the wholesale (i.e., licensee’s) selling price of complete licensed products, net of certain permissible deductions (including transportation, insurance, packing costs and other items).

We broadly provide per unit royalty caps that apply to certain categories of complete wireless devices, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and smartwatches, and which provide for a maximum royalty amount payable per device.

For certain non-handset product categories, including automotive, we charge a fixed royalty amount per unit.

QTL licensing revenues include per-unit royalties and, to a lesser extent, lump sum payments (license fees).

Licensees pay quarterly royalties based on their sales of products incorporating or using our licensed intellectual property.

Per-unit royalties are generally based upon a percentage of the wholesale (i.e., licensee’s) selling price of complete licensed products, net of certain permissible deductions (including transportation, insurance, packing costs and other items), with certain products subject to per unit minimums and/or per unit caps.

Certain products may also have a fixed royalty amount per unit.

Revenues generated from royalties are subject to quarterly and annual fluctuations.

The vast majority of QTL revenues have been generated through our licensees’ sales of CDMA-based (including, but not limited to WCDMA-based) and OFDMA-based products (including 3G, 3G/4G and 3G/4G/5G multimode devices), such as smartphones and other devices.

The vast majority of QTL revenues have been generated through our licensees’ sales of OFDMA-based products (including 3G/4G and 3G/4G/5G multimode devices), such as smartphones and other devices.

We have invested in both the acquisition and development of, and continue to invest in the development of, OFDMA technology and intellectual property and have generated the industry leading patent portfolio applicable to LTE, LTE Advanced, LTE Advanced Pro and 5G NR.

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Nevertheless, we face competition in the development of intellectual property for future generations of digital wireless communications technologies and services.

Separate and apart from licensing manufacturers of wireless devices and network equipment, we have entered into certain arrangements with competitors of our QCT segment.

A principal purpose of these arrangements is to provide our QCT segment and the counterparties certain freedom of operation with respect to each party’s integrated circuits business.

In every case, these agreements expressly reserve the right for QTL to seek royalties from the customers of such integrated circuit suppliers with respect to such suppliers’ customers’ sales of CDMA-based (including, but not limited to WCDMA-based) and OFDMA-based wireless devices into which such suppliers’ integrated circuits are incorporated.

Our license agreements also may provide us with rights to use certain of our licensees’ technology and intellectual property to manufacture, sell and/or use certain components (e.g., application-specific integrated circuits) and related software, cellular devices and/or infrastructure equipment.

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Other Businesses.

Nonreportable segments include our QGOV business, our cloud AI inference processing initiative and other technology and service initiatives.

Nonreportable segments include our QGOV business and our cloud computing processing initiative .

QGOV provides development and other services and sells related products to U.S.

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Additional information regarding revenue concentrations is provided in this Annual Report in “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 2.

Significant Accounting Policies” and “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 8.

Composition of Certain Financial Statement Items” and “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 8.

Segment Information.”

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We expect to continue to invest in research and development in a variety of ways in an effort to extend the demand for our products and technologies and to utilize that research and development in industries and applications beyond mobile handsets (such as automotive and IoT), including continuing the development of new modem and multimedia technologies and other technologies (such as ADAS/AD and XR), developing alternative technologies for certain specialized applications, participating in the formulation of new voice and data communication standards and technologies and assisting in deploying digital voice and data communications networks around the world.

We continue to invest significant resources towards advancements in OFDMA-based technologies and products (including LTE and 5G).

We continue to invest significant resources towards advancements in OFDMA-based technologies and products (including LTE, 5G and 6G).

We also engage in acquisitions and other transactions to meet certain technology needs, to obtain development resources or open or expand opportunities for our technologies and to support the design and introduction of new products and services (or enhance existing products and services) for voice and data communications and industries and applications beyond mobile handsets, such as ADAS/AD.

We make investments to provide our integrated circuit customers with chipsets designed on leading-edge technology nodes that combine multiple technologies for use in consumer electronic devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets, laptops, voice and music devices, wearable devices and XR devices) and other products (e.g., access points and routers, data cards and infrastructure equipment).

In addition to 3G, 4G and 5G technologies, our chipsets support other wireless and wired connectivity technologies, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, location positioning and Powerline communication.

In addition to 3G, 4G and 5G technologies, our chipsets support other wireless and wired connectivity technologies, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, position location and Powerline communication.

Our integrated chipsets often include multiple technologies, including advanced multimode modems, application processors and graphics engines, as well as the tools to connect these diverse technologies.

We continue to support Android, Windows and other client software environments in our chipsets.

We develop innovations that are integrated into our product portfolio to further expand the opportunity for wireless communications and enhance the value of our products and services.

We conduct broad, leading research and development across AI, including generative AI, from fundamental research to platform and applied research, with the goal of advancing its core capabilities (i.e., perception, reasoning and action), and scaling them across industries and use cases.

With investments made in AI for over a decade, our research is diverse, and we are focused on power efficiency and personalization to make AI seamless across our everyday experiences.

We develop innovations that are integrated into our product portfolio to expand the opportunity for wireless communications and enhance the value of our products and services.

These innovations are expected to enable our customers to improve the performance or value of their existing services, offer these services more affordably and introduce revenue-generating broadband data services ahead of their competition.

We have research and development centers in various locations throughout the world that support our global development activities and ongoing efforts to develop and/or advance 4G, 5G, RFFE and a broad range of other technologies.

We continue to use our substantial engineering resources and expertise to develop new technologies, applications and services and make them available to licensees to help grow the communications industry and generate new or expanded licensing opportunities.

We are focused on making it easier for developers to design and deploy their applications on our platforms across multiple device categories and industries as a part of our diversification strategy.

We continue to use our substantial engineering resources and expertise to develop new technologies, applications and services and make them available to licensees to help grow the wireless communications industry and generate new or expanded licensing opportunities.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Human Capital

We believe that our innovations have helped transform industries, enhance people’s lives and address some of society’s biggest challenges.

We believe that our innovations help transform industries, enhance people’s lives and address some of society’s biggest challenges.

With the world becoming increasingly connected, we have an opportunity to shape a better future.

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We have integrated corporate responsibility throughout our business, from our daily operations to our executive leadership and our Board of Directors (Board).

The Governance Committee of our Board provides oversight on corporate responsibility matters, including ESG policies, programs and initiatives, and the HR and Compensation Committee of our Board provides oversight on our workforce diversity, equity and inclusion programs and initiatives.

Our ESG Leadership Committee, composed of executives and senior management, provides guidance on global corporate responsibility issues.

Our ESG Governance Committee implements directives from the ESG Leadership Committee, measures progress on achieving our goals and reports to management on accomplishments and challenges.

We believe that our sustained investment in research and development has helped revolutionize the way people connect.

We center our ESG efforts around purposeful innovation, focusing on three strategic focus areas where we believe we can have the biggest impact:

The Governance Committee of our Board provides oversight on ESG matters not delegated to other Board committees, including ESG policies, programs and initiatives.

The HR and Compensation Committee of our Board provides oversight on our human capital initiatives and our workforce diversity, equity and inclusion policies, programs and initiatives, while the Audit Committee of our Board provides oversight of our ESG disclosure controls and procedures.

Our ESG Leadership Committee, composed of certain executives, provides guidance on global corporate responsibility issues.

Our ESG Working Group implements directives from the ESG Leadership Committee, measures progress on achieving our goals and reports to management on accomplishments and challenges.

We center our ESG efforts around purposeful innovation, focusing on three strategic areas where we believe we can have the biggest impact:

• Empowering Digital Transformation.

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• Acting Responsibly.

We invest in our people, behave with integrity and implement governance standards that uphold Qualcomm’s values.

We are committed to responsible business practices, from prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion, to protecting privacy, to providing leading development programs and to creating an ethical culture.

We invest in our people, strive to always behave with integrity and implement governance standards that uphold Qualcomm’s values.

We are committed to responsible business practices, from upholding diversity, equity and inclusion, to protecting privacy, to providing leading development programs and fostering an ethical culture.

• Operating Sustainably.

We are committed to maintaining safe, healthy and productive working conditions and conserving natural resources.

We aim to maintain safe, healthy and productive working conditions and conserve natural resources.

Our environmental efforts center on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, optimizing energy consumption, managing water usage and minimizing waste throughout our operations and the communities in which we work.

In addition to the human capital goals discussed below, our 2025 Goals related to corporate responsibility include, among others:

• Reducing our absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 30% from global operations, compared to a 2014 baseline.

Our 2025 Goals related to corporate responsibility include, among others:

• Reducing our absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 30% from global operations, from a 2014 base year.

• Reducing power consumption by 10% every year in our flagship Snapdragon Mobile Platform products (given equivalent features).

• Ensuring 100% of our primary semiconductor manufacturing suppliers are audited every 2-years for conformance to our Supplier Code of Conduct.

• Ensuring 100% of our primary semiconductor manufacturing suppliers are audited every 2-years for conformance to our Supplier Code of Conduct, from a 2020 base year.

Net-Zero Global GHG Emissions Commitment.

In addition to our 2025 Goals , in November 2021, we announced plans to:

Qualcomm has approved near and long-term science-based emissions reduction targets with the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), including:

(1) reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 50% by 2030 from a 2020 base year;

(2) reduce absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions by 25% by 2030 from a 2020 base year;

and (3) reach net-zero global GHG emissions for Scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2040.

and (3) reach net-zero GHG emissions across the value chain by 2040.

The foregoing discussion includes information regarding ESG matters that we believe may be of interest to our stockholders generally.

We recognize that certain other stakeholders (such as customers, employees and non-governmental organizations), as well as certain of our stockholders, may be interested in more detailed information on these topics.

a 5G and sustainability report, Environmental Sustainability and a Greener Economy:

The Transformative Role of 5G (also located on our website) for additional information regarding our views on climate change, environmental sustainability and the role of 5G in enabling a more sustainable future;

as well as the Corporate Governance section of our most recent Proxy Statement, and our Corporate Governance Principles and Practices (located on our website), for additional information regarding governance matters, including Board and Committee leadership, oversight, roles and responsibilities, and Director independence, tenure, refreshment and diversity.

Nothing on our website, including the aforementioned reports, documents or sections thereof, shall be deemed incorporated by reference into this Annual Report.

We encourage you to review our most recent Qualcomm Corporate Responsibility Report (located on our website) for more detailed information regarding our Corporate Responsibility and ESG governance, goals, priorities, accomplishments and initiatives, as well as the Corporate Governance section of our most recent Proxy Statement, and our Corporate Governance Principles and Practices (located on our website), for additional information regarding governance matters, including Board

and Committee leadership, oversight, roles and responsibilities, and Director independence, tenure, refreshment and diversity.

Nothing on our website, including the aforementioned reports and documents, or sections thereof, shall be deemed incorporated by reference into this Annual Report.

Human Capital

In order to continue to produce the innovative, breakthrough technologies for which we are known, it is crucial that we continue to attract and retain top talent.

In order to continue to produce innovative, breakthrough technologies, it is crucial that we continue to attract and retain top talent.

To facilitate talent attraction and retention, we strive to make Qualcomm a diverse, inclusive, and safe workplace, with opportunities for our employees to grow and develop in their careers, supported by strong compensation, benefits, and health and wellness programs and by programs that build connections between our employees and their communities.

At September 25, 2022, we had approximately 51,000 full-time, part-time and temporary employees, the overwhelming majority of which were full-time employees.

During fiscal 2022, the number of employees increased by approximately 6,000, primarily due to increases in engineering resources, including those hired through acquisitions.

At September 24, 2023, we had approximately 50,000 full-time, part-time and temporary workers, the overwhelming majority of which were full-time employees.

Our employees are represented by more than 100 (self-identified) nationalities working in over 150 locations in 36 different countries around the world.

Collectively, we speak more than 90 different languages.

Our global workforce is highly educated, with the substantial majority of our employees working in engineering or technical roles (many of whom help develop foundational technologies for both our QCT semiconductor business and our QTL licensing business).

During fiscal 2022, our voluntary turnover rate was less than 10%, lower than the technology industry benchmark, which is comprised of certain of our key competitors (Aon, 2022 Salary Increase and Turnover Study - Second Edition, September 2022).

Our global workforce is highly educated, with the substantial majority of our employees working in engineering or technical roles.

During fiscal 2023, our voluntary turnover rate was less than 5%.

During the second half of fiscal 2023, in order to promote and facilitate the type of collaboration and innovation that is foundational to Qualcomm, we adjusted our onsite work policy to require most of our employees to be in the office the majority of their working time.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

We believe that a diverse workforce is important to our success, and we continue to focus on the hiring, retention and advancement of women and underrepresented populations.

We believe that a diverse workforce is important to our success, and we continue to focus on making Qualcomm a great place to work for women and underrepresented populations.

Our recent efforts have been focused in three areas:

inspiring innovation through an inclusive and diverse culture;

expanding our efforts to recruit and hire world-class diverse talent;

expanding our efforts to recruit world-class diverse talent;

and identifying strategic partners to accelerate our inclusion, equity and diversity programs.

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military members and veterans.

We continue to recruit technical talent in diverse communities, including by engaging as a high-level sponsor of professional conferences, such as the Grace Hopper Celebration, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers National Convention and the National Society of Black Engineers National Convention.

We also continue to recruit from a variety of colleges including Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Women’s Colleges.

Our continued engagement with organizations that work with diverse communities has been vital to our efforts to increase women and minority representation in our workforce.

For example, we partner with AnitaB.org to benchmark our progress and to identify promising practices for recruiting, retaining and advancing women technologists, and we support its research initiatives related to attracting and retaining women and underrepresented minority students in computing majors.

In 2023, we also added a new employee network to support Asian American and Pacific Islander employees.

We continue to recruit technical talent in diverse communities, engaging as a high-level sponsor of professional conferences, such as the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers National Convention and the National Society of Black Engineers National Convention.

We also continue to recruit from a variety of colleges with diverse student populations, including Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Our continued engagement with organizations that work with diverse communities has been vital to our efforts.

We joined the Global Catalyst Community that helps organizations build workplaces that work for women with thought leadership and actionable solutions to advance women into leadership.

We are also endorsed as a great employer for women by Work180 and have been recognized by Avtar and Seramount as a Best Company for Women in India.

We, alongside other top technology companies, helped form the Reboot Representation Tech Coalition, which aims to double the number of Black, Latinx and Native American women receiving computing degrees by 2025.

Through our collaboration with Disability:IN’s Inclusion Works program, we have increased our ability to address the needs of individuals with disabilities.

We publish our most recent Consolidated EEO-1 reports on our website to provide additional transparency into our efforts to increase underrepresented populations in our workforce.

We have also publicly set 2025 goals around diverse workforce and leadership representation, as described below.

From a governance perspective, the HR and Compensation Committee of our Board provides oversight of our policies, programs and initiatives focusing on workforce diversity, equity and inclusion.

We publish our most recent Consolidated EEO-1 reports on our website to provide additional transparency into our workforce.

Health, Safety and Wellness.

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Accordingly, we are committed to the health, safety and wellness of our employees.

We provide our employees and their families with access to a variety of innovative, flexible and convenient health and wellness programs, including benefits that provide protection and security concerning events that may require time away from work or that impact their financial well-being;

Through our Live+Well, Work+Well program, we provide our employees and their families with access to a variety of innovative, flexible and convenient health and wellness programs, including benefits that provide protection and security related to events that may require time away from work or that impact their financial well-being;

that support their physical and mental health by providing tools and resources to help them improve or maintain their health status and encourage engagement in healthy behaviors;

and that offer choice where possible so they can customize their benefits to meet their needs and the needs of their families.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we took a variety of measures that we determined were in the best interests of our employees, as well as the communities in which we operate, and we have recently implemented a “hybrid” work model, meaning that the majority of our employees have flexibility to work remotely at least some of the time.

The hybrid work model is intended to provide increased flexibility and support employee health and safety, while maintaining our strong culture of innovation, collaboration, openness and camaraderie.

We continue to monitor the state of the pandemic and gather additional feedback to facilitate the continued health, safety and wellness of our employees working onsite.

We also introduced our Live+Well, Work+Well program, designed to help cultivate a productive work environment, while also focusing on our employees’ well-being.

Compensation and Benefits.

We provide robust compensation and benefits programs to help meet the needs of our employees.

In addition to salaries, these programs (which vary by country/region) include annual bonuses, stock awards, an employee stock purchase plan, a 401(k) plan, healthcare and insurance benefits, health savings and flexible spending accounts, paid time off, family leave, family care resources, flexible work schedules, adoption and surrogacy assistance,

employee assistance programs, tuition assistance, and on-site services such as health centers and fitness centers, among others.

In addition to our broad-based equity award programs, we have used targeted equity awards with vesting conditions to facilitate retention of personnel, particularly those with critical engineering skills and experience.

Talent Development.

We invest significant resources to develop the talent needed to remain a world-leading wireless innovator.

We invest significant resources to develop the talent needed to remain a world-leading innovator in wireless technologies and high performance and low power computing, including AI.

We deliver numerous training opportunities, provide rotational assignment opportunities, focus on continuous learning and development and have implemented what we believe are industry-leading methodologies to manage performance, provide feedback and develop talent.

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We provide a series of employee workshops around the globe that support professional growth and development.

Additionally, our manager and employee forum programs provide an ongoing opportunity for employees to practice and apply learning around conversations aligned with our annual review process.

Additionally, our manager and employee forum programs provide

an ongoing opportunity for employees to practice and apply learning around conversations aligned with our annual review process.

We also have an employee development website that provides quick access to learning resources that are personalized to the individual’s development needs.

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Additionally, during fiscal 2023, thousands of our employees around the world utilized our charitable match program, benefiting more than 1,500 charitable organizations.

We set the following 2025 Goals related to human capital, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion:

• Increase women in leadership by 15% (defined as individuals at the principal and above level in technical roles, and director and above in non-technical roles).

• Increase underrepresented minorities (URM) in leadership by 15% (for technical positions, “URM” includes Black, Hispanic or Latinx, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and American Indian or Native American;

for non-technical positions, URM also includes Asian).

• Increase overall URM representation by 20%.

Human Capital Advancements Linked to our Executive Compensation.

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We encourage you to review the “Our People” section of our most recent Qualcomm Corporate Responsibility Report (located on our website) for more detailed information regarding our Human Capital goals, programs and initiatives.

Nothing on our website, including our Consolidated EEO-1 reports, our Qualcomm Corporate Responsibility Report or sections thereof, shall be deemed incorporated by reference into this Annual Report.

We encourage you to review the “Workforce” section of our most recent Qualcomm Corporate Responsibility Report (located on our website) for more detailed information regarding our Human Capital programs and initiatives.

Nothing on our website, including our Consolidated EEO-1 reports and our Qualcomm Corporate Responsibility Report or sections thereof, shall be deemed incorporated by reference into this Annual Report.

Available Information

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Amon joined Qualcomm in 1995 as an engineer and throughout his tenure at Qualcomm has held several other technical and leadership positions.

Amon has been a member of the board of directors of Adobe Inc.

since October 2023.

Amon holds a B.S.

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Cathey, age 59, has served as Chief Commercial Officer, QTI since April 2022.

Cathey served as Senior Vice President, Global Business Operations, QTI from December 2018 to April 2022, Senior Vice President, QTI and President, APAC and India from May 2016 to December 2018, Vice President, QTI and President, APAC and India from December 2015 to May 2016 and Vice President, QTI and President, Qualcomm Japan from December 2014 to December 2015.

Cathey served as Senior Vice President, Global Business Operations, QTI from December 2018 to April 2022, Senior Vice President, QTI and

President, APAC and India from May 2016 to December 2018, Vice President, QTI and President, APAC and India from December 2015 to May 2016 and Vice President, QTI and President, Qualcomm Japan from December 2014 to December 2015.

He served in various other operational and leadership roles since joining Qualcomm in September 2006.

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from February 2001 to December 2015, last holding the position of Litigation Practice Group Leader/Litigation Equity Principal.

She began her career as an intellectual property litigation associate at the law firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP.

She began her career as an intellectual property litigation attorney at the law firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP.

Chaplin holds a B.A in Sociology of Law from the University of Minnesota and a J.D.

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Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.

What changed 10-K

Item 1. Business