QUALCOMM INC/DE 10-K

Item 1. Business We incorporated in California in 1985 and reincorporated in Delaware in 1991. We operate and report using a 52-53 week fiscal year ending on the last Sunday in September. Our 52-week fiscal years consist of four equal fiscal quarters of 13 weeks each, and our 53-week fiscal years consist of three 13-week fiscal quarters and one 14-week fiscal quarter. The financial results for our 53-week fiscal years and our 14-week fiscal quarters will not be exactly comparable to our 52-week fiscal years and our 13-week fiscal quarters. The fiscal years ended September 27, 2020 and September 29, 2019 included 52 weeks. The fiscal year ended September 30, 2018 included 53 weeks. Overview We are a global leader in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry. Our technologies and products are used in mobile devices and other wireless products, including network equipment, broadband gateway equipment, consumer electronic devices and other connected devices. Our inventions have helped power the growth in smartphones, which have connected billions of people. We are a leader in 3G (third generation), 4G (fourth generation) and 5G (fifth generation) wireless technologies. Our technologies and products are also used in industry segments or applications beyond mobile, including automotive and internet of things (IoT) (which includes connectivity and networking, computing and fixed wireless broadband), among others. We derive revenues principally from sales of integrated circuit products 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 program, 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 chips or chipsets) and other products. We collaborate across the ecosystem, including manufacturers, operators, developers, system integrators, cloud providers, governments and industry standards organizations, to enable a global environment to drive 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. This includes the 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, along with TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), are the primary digital technologies currently used to transmit voice or data over radio waves using a public or private cellular wireless network. We own significant intellectual property, including patents, patent applications and trade secrets, applicable to products that implement any version of CDMA and/or OFDMA technologies. Companies in the mobile industry generally recognize that any company seeking to develop, manufacture and/or sell devices or infrastructure equipment that use CDMA-based and/or OFDMA-based technologies will require 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 certain video and audio codecs, Wi-Fi, GPS (Global Positioning System) and Bluetooth. We have also developed other 5 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, artificial intelligence (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. We are organized on the basis of products and services and have three reportable segments. We conduct business primarily through our QCT (Qualcomm CDMA Technologies) semiconductor business and our QTL (Qualcomm Technology Licensing) licensing business. QCT develops and supplies integrated circuits and system software based on 3G/4G/5G and other technologies for use in mobile devices, wireless networks, broadband gateway equipment, consumer electronic devices, other devices used in IoT and automotive systems for telematics and infotainment. QTL grants licenses or otherwise provides rights to use portions of our intellectual property portfolio, which includes certain patent rights essential to and/or useful in the manufacture and sale of certain wireless products. Our QSI (Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives) reportable segment makes strategic investments. We also have nonreportable segments, including Qualcomm Government Technologies or QGOV, our cloud AI inference processing initiative and other technology and service initiatives. Industry Trends As the largest technology platform in the world, mobile has transformed the way we connect, compute and communicate. The scale and pace of innovation in the mobile industry, especially around connectivity and computing technologies, is also impacting industries beyond wireless, empowering new services, new business models and new experiences. Our inventions and licensing program have been integral to, and provided foundational technologies for, the evolution of the mobile industry. Advancing connectivity. 3G and 4G mobile broadband technologies have been key innovations of mobile, providing users with fast, reliable, always-on connectivity. As of September 30, 2020, there were approximately 6.2 billion 3G/4G connections globally, representing 78% of total mobile connections (GSMA Intelligence, November 2020). By 2024, global 3G/4G connections are projected to reach 6.5 billion, with approximately 89% of these connections in emerging regions and China (GSMA Intelligence, November 2020). 3G networks, first launched in the early 2000s, ushered in the mobile broadband era, serving as a true alternative to traditional desktop internet service, allowing users to experience the internet from virtually anywhere. The combination of faster processing and larger screens with mobile broadband connectivity has transformed how people interact with information and with each other. The launch of 4G in 2010 brought true mobile broadband connectivity to wireless networks. With its faster data rates and greater capacity, 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. 3G and 4G mobile broadband technologies have also helped to strengthen economic and social development globally by providing access to government and healthcare resources and creating new educational and entrepreneurial opportunities. With the first 5G global specifications defined in 2018 by 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), an industry standards development organization, initial commercial 5G network deployments and device launches, which focus on enhanced mobile broadband services, began in 2019 and will continue into 2021 and beyond. As of September 30, 2020, more than 110 operators have deployed 5G commercial networks in nearly 50 countries and territories, and over 400 operators are investing in 5G (GSA, October 2020). Calendar year 2020 5G global smartphone shipments are expected to reach more than 200 million units (IDC, Mobile Phone Tracker, 2020Q2). With support for multi-gigabit data rates, low latency and greater capacity, 5G enhances mobile broadband services, including ultra-high definition (4K) video streaming and sharing, near-instantaneous access to cloud services, multi-player cloud gaming and AR/VR/XR (augmented reality/virtual reality/extended reality) applications. 5G also brings more capacity and efficiency to cellular networks, which may enable operators to reduce their operating costs and offer new unlimited mobile data plans. The second 5G global specifications defined in 2020 by 3GPP (Release 16) and future releases of 5G are expected to expand the reach of the technology to industries beyond mobile to create new services, business models and experiences, such as automated driving built on the concepts of computer vision, sensor fusion and vehicle-to-vehicle communications. We believe 5G will also enable artificial intelligence-based platforms designed to bring greater autonomy and wireless connectivity to factory automation for more reconfigurable manufacturing and other industrial applications (known as industrial IoT) through ultra-reliable, ultra-low latency communication links. We also expect 5G to connect a significant number of “things” (also known as IoT), including among others, consumer, enterprise, retail, wearable and voice and music devices, with connectivity designed to meet diverse (low) power and cost requirements, as well as to address both low- and high-complexity applications. Most 5G devices include multimode support for 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi, enabling service continuity where 5G has yet to be deployed and simultaneous connectivity across 4G technology, while also allowing mobile operators to utilize current network deployments. At the same time, 4G is expected to continue to evolve in parallel with the further development of 5G and become fundamental to many of the key 5G technologies (through multi-connectivity), such as 5G massive IoT leveraging LTE IoT, support for unlicensed spectrum and gigabit LTE user data speeds. The first phase of 5G networks predominantly supports mobile broadband services for smartphones, both in lower spectrum bands below 7 GHz (commonly referred to as sub-6, sub-7 or Frequency Range 1) and in higher bands above 24 GHz (commonly referred to as millimeter wave (mmWave) or Frequency Range 2). As with previous generations of mobile networks, it will take time to deploy new 6 5G networks; however, we expect that deployment of 5G networks will be at a faster pace as compared to the transition from 3G to 4G technologies. Consumer demand in smartphones. From October 2019 through September 2020, approximately 1.2 billion smartphones are estimated to have shipped globally, representing a year-over-year decrease of approximately 9% primarily driven by the global spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which negatively impacted consumer demand for smartphones and replacement rates (IDC, Mobile Phone Tracker, 2020Q2). Smartphone shipments in calendar 2021 are expected to increase by approximately 9% year-over-year (IDC Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, 2020Q2), reflecting a gradual recovery in demand for smartphones and replacement rates from the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking beyond 2021, we expect replacement rates to moderately lengthen when compared to pre-COVID-19 levels, particularly in developed regions and China, as consumer demand is increasingly driven by new product launches and/or innovation cycles. Consumer demand for new types of experiences, combined with the needs of mobile operators and device manufacturers to provide differentiated features and services, is driving continued innovation within the smartphone industry, 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, gaming, email and web browsing, among others. It is expected that the evolution of 5G will fuel further innovation within the smartphone industry to support more intuitive and immersive experiences. Transforming other industries. With their significant scale and highly integrated solutions, industries beyond mobile, including automotive and IoT, among others, are leveraging the same technology innovations found in today’s leading smartphones to enhance existing products and services as well as to create new products and services. Our inventions that contribute to the formation of advanced cellular technologies, such as 3G, 4G and now 5G connectivity, are helping to drive, and in the case of 5G accelerate the pace of, this transformation. For example, in the automotive industry, approximately 70% of new vehicles produced in 2025 are projected to have cellular connectivity, compared to 48% in 2019 (Strategy Analytics, October 2020). In addition, the installed base of non-mobile devices with cellular connectivity, which includes IoT devices among others, is projected to grow 190% between 2020 and 2024 (ABI Research, October 2020). Wireless Technologies Overview The demand in the use of wireless devices worldwide and the demand for data services and applications requires continuous innovation to improve the user experience, 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 heavily investing in research and development and have developed foundational technologies that drive the continued evolution of the wireless industry, including CDMA and OFDMA. As a result, we have 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 leading wireless device and infrastructure manufacturers. Cellular wireless technologies. Relevant cellular wireless technologies can be grouped into the following categories. TDMA-based. TDMA-based technologies are characterized by their access method allowing several users to share the same frequency channel by dividing the signal into different time slots. Most of these systems are classified as 2G technology. The main example of TDMA-based technologies is GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications). The transition of wireless devices from 2G to 3G/4G and the deployment of 5G technologies continued around the world with estimated 3G/4G/5G connections up 7% year-over-year (GSMA Intelligence, November 2020). As of September 30, 2020, there were approximately 1.6 billion GSM connections worldwide, representing approximately 20% of total cellular connections, down from 25% as of September 30, 2019 (GSMA Intelligence, November 2020). CDMA-based. 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. There are a number of variants of CDMA-based technologies deployed around the world, in particular CDMA2000, EV-DO (Evolution Data Optimized), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA) and TD-SCDMA (Time Division-Synchronous CDMA) (deployed exclusively in China). CDMA-based technologies provide vastly improved capacity for voice and low-rate data services as compared to analog technologies and significant improvements over 2G technology. As of September 30, 2020, there were approximately 1.9 billion CDMA-based connections worldwide, representing approximately 24% of total cellular connections, down from 26% as of September 30, 2019 as consumers migrate to OFDMA-based technologies (GSMA Intelligence, November 2020). 7 OFDMA-based. OFDMA-based technologies are characterized by their access method allowing several users to share the same frequency band and time by allocating different subcarriers to individual users. Most of the OFDMA-based technologies deployed prior to 2020 are classified as 4G technology. 5G heavily leverages OFDMA-based technologies. 3GPP developed 4G specifications through the standardization of the radio component (LTE) and the core network component (Enhanced Packet Core or EPC). Similarly, 3GPP has developed 5G specifications through the specification of the radio component (NR) and the core network component (5G Core or 5GC). 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 of LTE-based technologies, such as Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced Machine Type Communications (eMTC) and Enhanced TV broadcast (EnTV), in addition to the core LTE operation evolution, such as enhancements for mobility and massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) operation. LTE is incorporated in 3GPP specifications beginning with Release 8 and uses OFDMA in the downlink and single carrier FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access) in the uplink. LTE has two modes, FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) and TDD (Time Division Duplex), to support paired and unpaired spectrum, respectively, and continues to evolve as 3GPP defines new specifications. 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 Advanced brings many more enhancements, including carrier aggregation, advanced multi-antenna techniques and optimizations for small cells. Apart from improving the performance of existing networks, there are also enhancements under the umbrella of LTE Advanced Pro, including LTE Direct for proximity-based device-to-device discovery, improved LTE broadcast, optimizations of narrowband communications designed for IoT (known as eMTC and NB-IoT) and the ability to use LTE Advanced in unlicensed spectrum (LTE Unlicensed), as well as in shared spectrum bands in various regions (such as the Citizens Broadband Radio Service, or CBRS, in the United States). There are multiple options for deploying LTE Unlicensed for different deployment scenarios. • LAA (Licensed Assisted Access), introduced as part of 3GPP Release 13, aggregates unlicensed and licensed spectrum in the downlink and is being deployed globally by mobile operators. LAA is a key technology for many operators with limited licensed spectrum to deliver Gigabit LTE speeds. • eLAA (enhanced LAA), introduced as part of 3GPP Release 14, is an evolution of LAA. eLAA enables aggregation of unlicensed and licensed spectrum in the uplink. Beginning with Release 14, 3GPP specifications provide enhancements specifically for vehicular communications known as cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X), 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. C-V2X is designed to serve as the foundation for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), enabling vehicles to communicate with each other and everything around them, providing non-line-of-sight awareness for enhanced road safety and traffic efficiency. 3GPP Release 16, which was completed in July 2020, incorporates 5G features for C-V2X, such as higher throughput, lower latency and increased reliability capabilities to enable a higher level of performance and predictability required for automated driving and other advanced safety use cases. As of September 30, 2020, there were approximately 4.3 billion global LTE connections worldwide, representing approximately 55% of total cellular connections, up from 49% as of September 30, 2019 (GSMA Intelligence, November 2020). The wireless industry is actively developing and commercializing 5G technologies. Initial commercial 5G network deployments and device launches began in calendar 2019 and continued throughout 2020. We expect that 5G network deployments and device launches will increase over the next several years. Many of our inventions at the core of 3G and 4G serve as foundational technologies for 5G. 5G is designed to transform the role of wireless technologies and already incorporates or soon will incorporate advancements on 3G/4G features available today, including device-to-device capabilities and the use of all different types of spectrum (including licensed, unlicensed and shared spectrum). 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. The first global set of 5G standards is incorporated in 3GPP specifications starting from Release 15, which was initially completed in March 2018. Release 15 enables different architecture deployment choices of 5G networks while sharing the same radio access technology. This is due to 5G’s ability to target diverse services with very different technical requirements (from enhanced mobile broadband to massive IoT to mission critical services), its utilization of diverse types of spectrum (from the low bands to mmWave bands) and its ability to support diverse types of deployment scenarios. Predominant technological components of 5G include the ability to address ultra-reliable, low-latency communication, new channel coding schemes to efficiently support large data blocks, MIMO to increase coverage and network capacity and mobile mmWave to increase the data rate offered to users. 5G uses OFDMA in the downlink and either OFDMA or single carrier FDMA in the uplink depending on the use case. Like 3G and 4G, 5G supports carrier aggregation across spectrum bands, across FDD and TDD and across licensed and unlicensed spectrum (starting with Release 16), and 5G also supports dual connectivity across 4G and 5G. A key benefit of 5G is its ability to take advantage of very wide channel bandwidth such as 400/100 MHz 8 (compared to LTE’s 20 MHz maximum bandwidth, which requires carrier aggregation to combine spectrum beyond 20 MHz). As with previous cellular generations, 5G is designed to support seamless compatibility with 2G/3G/4G technologies through multimode devices. 5G is the first generation of cellular wireless communication systems to use transmissions at mmWave bands, which creates certain challenges including coverage limitations and blockages, heightened costs and power constraints. In order to address these challenges, we have been a leader in designing RFFE modules and RF filter products that use adaptive beamforming (which spatially concentrates radio energy in a given beam direction to extend the range) and that enable the efficient tracking and switching of beams in accordance with varying radio conditions. mmWave deployments rely on small cells (low-powered cellular base stations typically used for increased system capacity and which may have already incorporated Gigabit LTE) to allow for faster, more reliable mobile service with transmissions at mmWave bands. Release 16 not only introduced enhancements to 5G mobile broadband experiences (e.g., more capacity, improved coverage, mobility and better device power efficiency), but also expanded 5G technologies into new use cases and industries. For example, to better enable new industrial IoT use cases, such as factory automation and other mission critical applications, Release 16 added support for private 5G networks, efficient wireless Ethernet over 5G, 5G Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) and further enhanced ultra-reliable low latency communications. Release 16 also fulfilled the 5G vision of supporting different spectrum types by expanding 5G into unlicensed spectrum with 5G NR Unlicensed (NR-U). Release 16 NR-U focused on sub-7GHz operation, specifically 5GHz and 6GHz bands, and Release 17 will expand NR-U to support higher bands such as 60 GHz. High-precision positioning was another focus area in Release 16. Accurate device positioning is a key enabler for many applications, such as public safety and indoor navigation. Release 16 added new capabilities for 5G positioning, supporting techniques such as multi-cell roundtrip time, angle of arrival/departure and time difference of arrival. Release 16 addressed the growing needs of low-power, wide-area IoT use cases by allowing in-band deployments of NB-IoT and eMTC in 5G carriers, as well as supporting these low-complexity IoT technologies with the new 5G core network. Additionally, to make mmWave densification more cost efficient, Release 16 introduced integrated access and backhaul that allows a base station to provide both wireless access for devices and wireless backhaul connectivity, thereby eliminating the need for a wired backhaul. Other (non-cellular) wireless technologies. There are other, non-cellular wireless technologies that have also been broadly adopted. Wireless Local Area Networks. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), such as Wi-Fi, link two or more nearby devices wirelessly and usually provide connectivity through an access point. We are actively involved in innovative programs developed in the context of the Wi-Fi Alliance, a non-profit organization that drives global Wi-Fi adoption and evolution. Wi-Fi systems are based primarily on standards developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.11 Working Group. Amendments of the 802.11 standard are commonly referred to by the names made popular by the Wi-Fi Alliance (for example, 802.11ax is known as Wi-Fi 6). Wi-Fi 6, a recent amendment to 802.11, adds advanced features such as downlink and uplink OFDMA and uplink multiple-user MIMO. This technology primarily targets connectivity for mobile devices, tablets, laptops and other consumer electronic devices using the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz spectrums. Up to 1200MHz of new spectrum has been added in the 6GHz band in the United States, which triples the available spectrum for Wi-Fi, which can be used by new Wi-Fi 6 extended devices. For 60GHz mmWave technology, 802.11ay adds wider channel bandwidth and the use of MIMO to the existing 802.11ad (also known as Gigabit Wi-Fi or WiGig) standard. 802.11ah targets sub-1 GHz spectrum. We played a leading role in the development of 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11ay, 802.11ah and 802.11ad, and continue to play a lead 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. Bluetooth. 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. Bluetooth technology provides wireless connectivity to a wide range of fixed or mobile consumer electronic devices. Bluetooth functionalities are standardized by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group in various versions of the specification (from 1.0 to 5.2), which include different functionalities, such as enhanced data rate, low energy and mesh technologies. We are a leading contributor to Bluetooth technologies in the areas of mobile devices, 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. 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. In 3GPP Release 16, we led the standardization of many 4G and 5G-based positioning capabilities. The industry continues to evolve to support additional inputs for improving the location experience. Our products and intellectual property now support multiple constellations for A-GNSS, including: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, NavIC and BeiDou; 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; observed time difference of arrival positioning for LTE access (e.g., in rural and indoor areas); and third-party inertial sensors. The combination of these different location solutions is used to ensure accurate location availability in all areas. 9 Other Significant Technologies used in Cellular and Certain Consumer Electronic Devices and Networks . 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, including in cellular handsets and certain other consumer electronic devices and networks, such as: • on-device AI features, including machine learning platforms and the application of AI and machine learning techniques to edge computing and other use cases; • graphics and display processing functionality; • video coding based on the HEVC (High Efficiency Video Codec) standard, which is being deployed to support 4K video and immersive media content and the next generation VVC (Versatile Video Codec) standard, which is designed to power the creation and consumption of rich digital media experiences; • audio coding, including EVS (enhanced voice services) and MPEG-H 3D Audio; • the latest version of 3GPP’s codec for multimedia use and for voice/speech use; • multimedia transport, including MPEG-DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP) enabling advanced multimedia experiences; • camera and camcorder functions; • operating system and user interface features; • AR/VR/XR features enabling 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; • fast charging features, enabling devices to charge quickly, safely and efficiently; • power management systems for improved battery life and device charging; and • System on Chip (SoC) architecture, low-power computing and other optimization techniques. Operating Segments We have three reportable segments. We conduct business primarily through QCT and QTL, while QSI makes strategic investments. Revenues in fiscal 2020, 2019 and 2018 for our reportable segments were as follows (in millions, except percentages): 2020 2019 2018 QCT $ 16,493 $ 14,639 $ 17,282 As a percent of total 70 % 60 % 76 % QTL $ 5,028 $ 4,591 $ 5,042 As a percent of total 21 % 19 % 22 % QSI $ 36 $ 152 $ 100 As a percent of total — % 1 % — % QCT Segment. 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, application processing, multimedia and global positioning system 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 mobile devices (primarily smartphones), tablets, laptops, data modules, handheld wireless computers and gaming devices, other consumer electronics, other IoT devices and applications, automotive systems for telematics and infotainment, access points and routers, broadband gateway equipment, data cards and infrastructure equipment and sensor hubs. Our 3G/4G/5G modem roadmap delivers the latest network technologies across multiple product tiers and devices. This roadmap is the result of extensive collaboration with manufacturers, operators, developers, systems integrators, cloud providers, governments and industry standards organizations, as well as our years of research into emerging network standards and the development of integrated circuits that take advantage of these new standards, while maintaining backward compatibility with existing standards. The Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ family of highly-integrated, system-based solutions include the Snapdragon mobile, compute and automotive platforms. 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 security, graphics, display, audio, video, camera and AI. Our central processing units are designed based on ARM architecture and 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® Adreno™ graphics processing units are designed to deliver high quality graphics performance for visually rich 3D gaming and user interfaces. In addition to the highly integrated core system-on-chip (SoC), we also design and supply supporting components, including the RF, PM (power management), audio, codecs, speaker amps and additional wireless connectivity integrated circuits. These supporting components, in addition to our cellular modems and application processors comprising our core SoC, are also sold as individual components. The 10 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. We have also integrated our Snapdragon platform with our RFFE components to create our Snapdragon 5G modem-RF systems, 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 on mobile devices. 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. QCT offers an advanced portfolio of RFFE products primarily for mobile devices, in addition to broadband gateway equipment, infrastructure equipment, laptops, automotive, industrial IoT and other IoT applications. Our technologies 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, filtering, multimode-multiband power amplification, low noise amplifiers and mmWave antenna solutions, in addition to discrete filtering products across mobile, automotive, industrial IoT and other IoT industries. Our wireless connectivity products also consist of integrated circuits and system software for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and frequency modulation (FM), 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, other consumer electronics, other IoT applications and automotive telematics and infotainment systems. QCT also offers standalone Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, fingerprint sensor, applications processor and Ethernet products for mobile devices, consumer electronics, computers, other IoT applications, other connected devices and automotive telematics and infotainment systems. Our networking products include Wi-Fi, Ethernet and Powerline chips, network processors and software. These products help enable home and business networks to support the growing number of connected devices, digital media and data services. Other than for our RFFE modules and RF filter products, QCT utilizes a fabless production model, which means that we do not own or operate foundries for the production of silicon wafers from which our integrated circuits are made. 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. Integrated circuits are die cut from silicon wafers that have completed the package assembly and test manufacturing processes. The semiconductor package supports the electrical contacts that connect the integrated circuit to a circuit board. Die cut from silicon wafers are the essential components of all of our integrated circuits and a significant portion of the total integrated circuit cost. We employ both turnkey and two-stage manufacturing models to purchase our integrated circuits. Under the turnkey model, our foundry suppliers are responsible for delivering fully assembled and tested integrated circuits. Under the two-stage manufacturing model, we purchase die in singular or wafer form from semiconductor manufacturing foundries and contract with separate third-parties for manufacturing services such as wafer bump, probe, assembly and the majority of our final test requirements. The primary foundry suppliers for our various digital, analog/mixed-signal, RF and PM integrated circuits are Global Foundries, Samsung Electronics, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics. The primary semiconductor assembly and test suppliers are Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Amkor Technology, Siliconware Precision Industries and STATSChipPAC. The majority of our foundry and semiconductor assembly and test suppliers are located in the Asia-Pacific region. QCT primarily uses internal fabrication facilities to manufacture RFFE modules and RF filter products, and its manufacturing operations consist of front-end and back-end processes. The front-end processes primarily take place at manufacturing facilities located in Germany and Singapore and involve the imprinting of substrate wafers with the structure and circuitry required for the products to function (also known as wafer fabrication). The back-end processes include the assembly, packaging and test of RFFE modules and RF filter products and their preparation for distribution. The back-end manufacturing facilities are located in China and Singapore. QCT’s sales are primarily made through standard purchase orders for delivery of products. QCT generally allows customers to reschedule delivery dates within a defined time frame and to cancel orders prior to shipment with or without payment of a penalty, depending on when the order is canceled. The industry in which QCT operates is intensely competitive. QCT competes worldwide with a number of U.S. and international designers and manufacturers of semiconductors. As a result of global expansion by foreign and domestic competitors, technological changes, lengthening replacement cycles for mobile devices, device manufacturer concentrations and the potential for further industry consolidation, we anticipate the industry to remain very competitive. We believe that the principal competitive factors for our products include performance, level of integration, quality, compliance with industry standards, price, time-to-market, system cost, design and engineering capabilities, new product innovation, growth and scaling of distribution channels, desire by certain customers to use multiple suppliers and customer support. QCT also competes in both single-mode and multimode environments against alternative communications technologies. Additional competitive factors exist for QCT product offerings that have expanded into adjacent industry segments or applications beyond mobile, including automotive and IoT. 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. 11 QCT’s current competitors include, but are not limited to, companies such as Broadcom, HiSilicon, MediaTek, Nvidia, NXP Semiconductors, Qorvo, Samsung, Skyworks, Texas Instruments and UNISOC (formally known as Spreadtrum Communications). QCT also faces competition from products internally developed by our customers, including some of our largest customers, and from some early-stage companies. Our competitors devote significant amounts of their financial, technical and other resources to develop and market competitive products and, in some cases, to develop and adopt competitive digital communication or signal processing technologies, and those efforts may materially and adversely affect us. Although we have attained a significant position in the wireless industry, many of our current and potential competitors may have advantages over us that include, among others: motivation by our customers in certain circumstances to use our competitors’ integrated circuit products, to utilize their own internally-developed integrated circuit products, or sell such products to others, or to utilize alternative technologies; lower cost structures or a willingness and ability to accept lower prices or lower margins for their products, particularly in China; foreign government support of other technologies, competitors or OEMs that sell devices that do not contain our integrated circuit products; better known brand names; ownership and control of manufacturing facilities and greater expertise in manufacturing processes; more extensive relationships with local distribution companies and OEMs in certain geographic regions (such as China); more experience in adjacent industry segments or applications beyond mobile (such as automotive and IoT); and a more established presence in certain regions. 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, CDMA TDD, 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, and our standard practice in China is to offer our cellular standard-essential Chinese patents (for 3G, 4G and, now, 5G) for devices sold for use in China separately from our other patents. We also offer licenses to our cellular standard-essential patents together with other Qualcomm patents that may be useful to such licensed products for licensees that desire to obtain the commercial benefits of receiving such broad patent rights from us. Since 2018, an increasing number of new and existing licensees have elected to enter into worldwide license agreements covering only our cellular standard-essential patents. Going forward, we continue to anticipate that a significant portion of QTL’s licensing revenues will be derived from licensees that have entered into license agreements covering only Qualcomm’s cellular standard-essential patents. Our licensees manufacture wireless products including 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 end user products (excluding handsets and tablets), as well as infrastructure equipment required to establish and operate a network and equipment to test networks and cellular devices. Since our founding in 1985, we have focused heavily on technology development and innovation. These efforts have resulted in a leading intellectual property portfolio related to foundational, system level technologies for the wireless industry. 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. 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), TD-SCDMA, TD-CDMA (Time Division CDMA), OFDMA-based LTE and OFDMA-based 5G products. Our patent portfolio is the most widely and extensively licensed in the industry, with more than 300 licensees. 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 bodies. 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 the device (handsets and other wireless devices), not just the portion of such patented technologies incorporated into chipsets, and the network. Over the years, a number of companies have challenged our patent position, but companies in the mobile communications industry generally recognize that any company seeking to develop, manufacture and/or sell certain wireless products that use CDMA-based and/or OFDMA-based technologies will require a license or other rights to use our patents. We have licensed or otherwise provided rights to use our patents to hundreds of companies on industry-accepted terms. Unlike some other companies in our industry that hold back certain key technologies, we offer companies substantially our entire patent portfolio for use in cellular devices and cell site infrastructure equipment. Our strategy to make our patented technologies broadly available has been a catalyst for industry growth, helping to enable a wide range of companies offering a broad array of wireless products and features while increasing the capabilities of and/or driving down average and low-end selling prices for 3G and 3G/4G multimode handsets and other wireless devices. By licensing or otherwise providing rights to use our patents to a wide range of equipment manufacturers, encouraging innovative applications, supporting equipment manufacturers with integrated chipset and software products and focusing on improving the efficiency of the airlink for wireless operators, we have helped 3G and 3G/4G multimode evolve and grow and reduce device pricing. 5G network deployments and commercial 3G/4G/5G multimode device sales began in 2019 and continued throughout 2020. By licensing or otherwise providing rights to use our patents to a wide range of equipment manufacturers, 5G will continue to encourage innovative applications through enhanced mobile broadband services with lower latency and multi-gigabit user data speeds and bring more capacity and efficiency to wireless networks. 12 Upon the initial deployment of OFDMA-based networks, the products implementing such technologies generally have been multimode and implement OFDMA-based and CDMA-based technologies. 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 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. 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, namely smartphones, tablets, laptops and smartwatches, and provide for a maximum royalty amount payable per device. 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 CDMA2000-based, WCDMA-based and OFDMA-based products (including 3G, 3G/4G and 3G/4G/5G multimode devices), such as smartphones and feature phones. We have invested and continue to invest in both the acquisition and 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. Some of our inventions that serve as foundational technologies for 3G and 4G also serve as foundational technologies for 5G. We have invested and continue to invest in the development of 5G and continue to play a significant role in driving advancements of 5G. 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-, WCDMA- 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. We are currently subject to certain governmental investigations and private legal proceedings challenging our patent licensing practices, including those described in this Annual Report under the heading “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 7. Commitments and Contingencies,” which may require us to change our patent licensing practices as described more fully herein in “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors” under the heading “ Changes in our patent licensing practices, whether due to governmental investigations or private legal proceedings challenging those practices, or otherwise, could adversely impact our business and results of operations. ” QSI Segment. QSI makes strategic investments primarily through our Qualcomm Ventures arm that are focused on expanding or opening new opportunities for our technologies as well as supporting the design and introduction of new products and services (or enhancing existing products or services). Many of these strategic investments are in early-stage companies in a variety of industries and applications, including, but not limited to, artificial intelligence, automotive, digital healthcare, enterprise, IoT, mobile and networking. Investments primarily include non-marketable equity securities and to a lesser extent, marketable equity securities (the majority of which resulted from initial public offerings of certain non-marketable equity investments) and convertible debt instruments. In addition, QSI segment results include revenues and related costs associated with development contracts with one of our investees (OneWeb). As part of our strategic investment activities, we intend to pursue various exit strategies for each of our QSI investments in the foreseeable future. Other Businesses. Nonreportable segments include our Qualcomm Government Technologies or QGOV business, our cloud AI inference processing initiative and other technology and service initiatives. QGOV provides development and other services and sells related products to U.S. government agencies and their contractors. Additional information regarding our operating segments is provided in this Annual Report in “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 8. Segment Information.” Information regarding seasonality is provided in this Annual Report in “Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the “Our Business and Operating Segments” section under the heading “Seasonality.” 13 Corporate Structure We operate our businesses through our parent company, QUALCOMM Incorporated, and multiple direct and indirect subsidiaries. We have developed our corporate structure in order to address various legal, regulatory, tax, contractual compliance, operational and other matters. Substantially all of our products and services businesses, including QCT, and substantially all of our engineering, research and development functions, are operated by Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. (QTI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of QUALCOMM Incorporated, and QTI’s subsidiaries. QTL is operated by QUALCOMM Incorporated, which owns the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Neither QTI nor any of its subsidiaries has any right, power or authority to grant any licenses or other rights under or to any patents owned by QUALCOMM Incorporated. Revenue Concentrations and Significant Customers A small number of customers/licensees historically have accounted for a significant portion of our consolidated revenues. In fiscal 2020, 2019 and 2018, revenues from Apple and its contract manufacturers, combined revenues from Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd. (Oppo) and BBK Communication Technology Co., Ltd. (vivo), and their respective affiliates (including BBK), Samsung and Xiaomi each comprised 10% or more of consolidated revenues. Revenues from Huawei also comprised 10% or more of consolidated revenues in fiscal 2020, which were positively impacted by the settlement of our prior dispute. Revenues in fiscal 2018 were negatively impacted by our prior dispute with Apple and its contract manufacturers. Additional information regarding the settlements is provided in this Annual Report in “Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Research and Development The wireless communications industry is characterized by rapid technological change, evolving industry standards, frequent new product introductions and, with the introduction of 5G, the expansion into new industry segments or applications such as automotive and IoT, requiring a continuous effort to enhance existing products and technologies and to develop new products and technologies. We have significant engineering resources, including engineers with substantial expertise in CDMA, OFDMA and a broad range of other technologies. Using these engineering resources, 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 to utilize that research and development in adjacent industry segments or applications beyond mobile (such as automotive and IoT), including continuing the development of CDMA, OFDMA and other technologies (such as RFFE), 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. Our research and development team has a demonstrated track record of innovation in voice and data communication technologies and application processor technology, among others. We continue to invest significant resources towards advancements in OFDMA-based technologies and products (including LTE and 5G). We also engage in acquisitions and other transactions, such as joint ventures, 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 enhancing existing products and services) for voice and data communications and new industry segments or applications beyond mobile. 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, AR/VR/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. 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 on our own, and with our partners, 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. 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 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. Sales and Marketing Sales and marketing activities of our operating segments are discussed under Operating Segments. Other marketing activities include public relations, branding, digital marketing and social media, technical marketing, product marketing, participation in technical conferences and trade shows, development of use cases and white papers, competitive analyses and industry intelligence and other marketing programs, such as co-marketing with our customers or licensees. Our Corporate Marketing department provides information on our company website and through other channels regarding our products, strategies and technology to investors, industry analysts, media, prospective job applicants, consumers and others. 14 Competition Competition faced by our operating segments is discussed under Operating Segments. Competition in the wireless communications industry throughout the world continues to increase at a rapid pace as consumers, businesses and governments realize the potential of wireless communications products and services. We expect competition to increase as our current competitors expand their product offerings and introduce new technologies and services in the future and as additional companies compete with our products and/or services based on 3G, 4G, 5G and/or other technologies. Although we intend to continue to make substantial investments in developing new products and technologies and improving existing products and technologies to strengthen and/or maintain our competitive position, our competitors may introduce alternative products, services or technologies that threaten our business. It is also possible that the prices we charge for our products and services may continue to decline as competition continues to intensify. See also the Risk Factor entitled “ Our industry is subject to intense competition in an environment of rapid technological change. Our success depends in part on our ability to adapt to such change and compete effectively; and such change and competition could result in decreased demand for our products and technologies or declining average selling prices for our products or those of our customers or licensees.” Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Human Capital For decades, our innovations have helped transform industries, enhance the lives of billions of people and address some of society’s biggest challenges. With the world becoming increasingly connected, we have a tremendous opportunity to shape a better future. We believe in the power of technology. As such, our corporate responsibility vision is to be a facilitator of innovation for a sustainable world, connected wirelessly. ESG Our sustained investment in R&D has helped revolutionize the way people connect; our approach to innovation is strategic and purposeful. We understand that the success of our business is fundamentally connected to the well-being of our world. We focus our efforts in four key areas where we believe we can have the biggest impact: • Responsible Business. We integrate responsible and sustainable practices throughout our organization. Our products are designed to not harm individuals, communities or the environment. We continually look for ways to conserve water, minimize energy consumption, lower emissions and reduce waste. Because privacy and security are critical for success in the wireless industry, we constantly seek to promote data protection across the mobile ecosystem. • Our People. We strive to make Qualcomm an inspiring and inclusive workplace to advance the development of leading-edge technologies. Our success is only possible with the hard work and dedication of our employees. We celebrate diversity among our workforce and recognize that our varied backgrounds, experiences and ideas are critical to innovation. We foster inclusive practices in our operations around the world in order to reflect the communities in which we do business. • Purposeful Innovation. We invent breakthrough technologies that enable life-changing products and experiences. We’re building on our legacy of technology leadership with 5G, which we believe will serve as the technological foundation for connected cars, industrial IoT, smart homes and cities, networking and mobility. We also work to broaden our impact by bringing advanced wireless technologies to underserved communities around the world. In doing so, we believe that we have enriched the lives of millions of people while creating new opportunities for our business. • STEM Education. We seek to inspire the next generation of inventors and advance workforce development for STEM-related careers (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Our initiatives are designed to promote and improve STEM education at all levels and to expand opportunities for underrepresented students. We encourage you to review our March 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report (located on our Internet site at www.qualcomm.com) for more detailed information regarding our ESG programs and initiatives. Nothing on our website, including our Corporate Responsibility Report 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. 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 27, 2020, we had approximately 41,000 full-time, part-time and temporary employees, the overwhelming majority of which were full-time employees. During fiscal 2020, the number of employees increased by approximately 4,000, primarily due to increases in engineering resources. Our employees are represented by more than 100 self-identified nationalities working in over 150 locations in 32 different countries around the world. Collectively, we speak more than 60 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 2020, our voluntary turnover rate was less than 5%, below the 15 technology industry benchmark, which is comprised of certain of our key competitors (Aon, 2020 Salary Increase and Turnover Study — Second Edition, September 2020). Diversity and Inclusion. We believe that a diverse workforce is critical to our success, and we continue to focus on the hiring, retention and advancement of 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; and identifying strategic partners to accelerate our inclusion and diversity programs. We have a number of employee networks that enhance our inclusive and diverse culture, including those supporting Women, Africans and African Americans, Latinos, Veterans, the LGBTQ+ community and employees with disabilities. 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 identify promising practices for recruiting, retaining and advancing women technologists and support its research initiatives related to attracting and retaining women and underrepresented minority students in computing majors. 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. In collaboration with the National Foundation for Autism Research, we started an internship program to welcome those with autism into our Company. Through our collaboration with Disability:IN’s Inclusion Works program, we have increased our ability to address the needs of individuals with disabilities. In an effort to provide additional transparency into our efforts to increase underrepresented populations in our workforce, we intend to disclose our 2020 Consolidated EEO-1 Report after our submission of the report to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. From a governance perspective, our HR and Compensation Committee, through its charter, provides oversight of our policies, programs and initiatives focusing on workforce diversity and inclusion. Health, Safety and Wellness. The success of our business is fundamentally connected to the well-being of our people. 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 so they can have peace of mind concerning 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. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented significant changes that we determined were in the best interest of our employees, as well as the communities in which we operate, and which comply with government regulations. This includes having the vast majority of our employees work from home, while implementing additional safety measures for employees continuing critical on-site work. 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 many others. In addition to our broad-based equity award programs, we have used targeted equity-based grants 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 deliver numerous training opportunities, provide rotational assignment opportunities, have expanded our focus on continuous learning and development, and implemented “industry-leading” methodologies to manage performance, provide feedback and develop talent. Our talent development programs provide employees with the resources they need to help achieve their career goals, build management skills and lead their organizations. 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. We also have an employee development website that provides quick access to learning resources that are personalized to the individual's development needs. Building Connections — With Each Other and our Communities. We believe that building connections between our employees, their families and our communities creates a more meaningful, fulfilling and enjoyable workplace. Through our engagement programs, our employees can pursue their interests and hobbies, connect to volunteering and giving opportunities and enjoy unique recreational experiences with family members. Leveraging our partnerships with various local 16 arts and culture organizations, we have created numerous unique experiences for employees and their families around the world. Since our employees are passionate about many causes, our corporate giving and volunteering programs support and encourage employees by engaging with those causes. In our offices around the world, our employee-led Giving Committees select local organizations to support, often in the form of grants that are primarily funded by the Qualcomm Foundation (which was established in 2011 to support charitable giving and volunteerism). We also frequently collaborate with these organizations on volunteer activities for our employees. Additionally, during fiscal 2020, thousands of our employees around the world utilized our charitable match program, benefiting more than 1,500 charitable organizations. We encourage you to review the “Our People” section of our March 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report (located on our website) for more detailed information regarding our Human Capital programs and initiatives. Nothing on our website, including our Corporate Responsibility Report or sections thereof, shall be deemed incorporated by reference into this Annual Report. Available Information Our Internet address is www.qualcomm.com. There we make available, free of charge, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements and any amendments to those reports (among others), as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We also make available on our Internet site public financial information for which a report is not required to be filed with or furnished to the SEC. Our SEC reports and other financial information can be accessed through the investor relations section of our Internet site. The information found on our Internet site is not part of this or any other report we file with or furnish to the SEC. Information about our Executive Officers Our executive officers (and their ages at September 27, 2020) are as follows: Steve Mollenkopf, age 51, has served as Chief Executive Officer since March 2014 and as a director since December 2013. He served as Chief Executive Officer-elect and President from December 2013 to March 2014 and as President and Chief Operating Officer from November 2011 to December 2013. In addition, he served as Executive Vice President and Group President from September 2010 to November 2011 and as Executive Vice President and President, QCT from August 2008 to September 2010. Mr. Mollenkopf joined Qualcomm in 1994 as an engineer and throughout his tenure at Qualcomm has held several other technical and leadership roles. Mr. Mollenkopf has been a member of the board of directors of Boeing Company since April 2020. Mr. Mollenkopf served as a member of the board of directors of General Electric Company from November 2016 to April 2018. Mr. Mollenkopf holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan. Heather Ace, age 50, has served as Executive Vice President, Human Resources since March 2020. Prior to joining Qualcomm, Ms. Ace was Senior Vice President, Human Resources at DexCom, Inc., a provider of continuous glucose monitoring, from July 2016 to March 2020. Prior to DexCom, she was Executive Vice President, Human Resources at Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc., a developer of treatments for obesity, from January 2016 to July 2016. Ms. Ace was Integration Leader for Royal Philips, leading the cross-functional integration of Philips Healthcare’s acquisition of Volcano Corporation, from January 2015 to January 2016. She was Executive Vice President, Human Resources at Volcano Corporation from May 2012 to January 2015. Prior to May 2012, Ms. Ace served in various senior executive roles in human resources, post-acquisition/merger integration and employment law at Life Technologies Corporation. She began her career at Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich (now DLA Piper) as a litigation and transactional employment attorney, specializing in mergers and acquisitions. Ms. Ace holds a B.A. in Law & Society from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a J.D. from Santa Clara School of Law. Cristiano R. Amon, age 50, has served as President, Qualcomm Incorporated since January 2018. He served as Executive Vice President, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (QTI), and President, QCT, from November 2015 to January 2018. He served as Executive Vice President, QTI and Co-President, QCT from October 2012 to November 2015, Senior Vice President, Qualcomm Incorporated and Co-President, QCT from June 2012 to October 2012 and as Senior Vice President, QCT Product Management from October 2007 to June 2012, with responsibility for QTI’s product roadmap, including the Qualcomm Snapdragon platforms. Mr. Amon joined Qualcomm in 1995 as an engineer and throughout his tenure at Qualcomm has held several other technical and leadership positions. Mr. Amon holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an honorary doctorate from UNICAMP, the State University of Campinas, Brazil. Brian T. Modoff, age 61, has served as Executive Vice President, Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions, which includes responsibility for Qualcomm Ventures, since October 2015. Prior to joining Qualcomm, Mr. Modoff was a Managing Director in Equity Research at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., a provider of financial services, from March 1999 to October 2015. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Mr. Modoff was a research analyst at several financial institutions from November 1993 to March 1999. Mr. Modoff previously worked in defense electronics, including at Rockwell International in manufacturing management, and for the U.S. Navy as a communications technician. Mr. Modoff holds a B.A. in Economics from California State University, Fullerton and a Master of International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. 17 Akash Palkhiwala, age 45, has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since November 2019. He served as Senior Vice President and Interim Chief Financial Officer from August 2019 to November 2019. He served as Senior Vice President, QCT Finance from December 2015 to August 2019 and Senior Vice President and Treasurer, Qualcomm Incorporated from October 2014 to December 2015. Mr. Palkhiwala served as Vice President, QCT Finance from October 2012 to October 2014 and Vice President, QCT Finance from October 2009 to October 2012. He served in various other finance roles since joining Qualcomm in March 2001. Prior to joining Qualcomm, Mr. Palkhiwala was an Analyst at KeyBank. Mr. Palkhiwala has an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from L.D. College of Engineering in India and an M.B.A from the University of Maryland. Alexander H. Rogers, age 63, has served as Executive Vice President and President, QTL since October 2016. He served as Senior Vice President and President, QTL from September 2016 to October 2016, Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and General Manager, QTL from March 2016 to September 2016, Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel from October 2015 to March 2016 and Senior Vice President and Legal Counsel from April 2007 to October 2015. Prior to transitioning to QTL, Mr. Rogers led Qualcomm’s litigation group. Mr. Rogers joined Qualcomm in January 2001 as an attorney. Prior to joining Qualcomm, Mr. Rogers was a partner at the law firm of Gray, Cary, Ware & Freidenrich (now DLA Piper), specializing in intellectual property and commercial litigation. Mr. Rogers holds a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Georgetown University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. Donald J. Rosenberg, age 69, has served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since October 2007. He served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Apple Inc. from November 2006 to October 2007. From May 1975 to November 2006, Mr. Rosenberg held numerous positions at IBM Corporation, including Senior Vice President and General Counsel. Mr. Rosenberg has served as a member of the board of directors of NuVasive, Inc. since February 2016. Mr. Rosenberg holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law. James H. Thompson, age 56, has served as Executive Vice President, Engineering, QTI and Chief Technology Officer since March 2017. He served as Executive Vice President, Engineering, QTI from October 2012 to March 2017 and as Senior Vice President, Engineering, Qualcomm Incorporated from July 1998 to October 2012. Dr. Thompson joined Qualcomm in 1992 as a senior engineer and throughout his tenure at Qualcomm held several other technical and leadership positions. Dr. Thompson holds a B.S., an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin.