Overview
- Apple reported a record $109.4 billion June quarter but told investors it expects revenue growth to slow to 9–11 percent next quarter because shortages of advanced chip nodes and higher memory costs are limiting device production.
- Qualcomm on July 29 forecast fourth-quarter profit below estimates and said its Apple-related modem revenue will fall faster than previously expected due to Apple insourcing modems and constrained component availability.
- Qualcomm has notified customers of double-digit chip price increases for products shipped after Sept. 1 to pass through rising costs for memory, wafers, packaging and testing, and it said margin pressure will persist in the near term.
- The memory shortage is driven by AI infrastructure demand that redirected production to high‑bandwidth memory for servers, tightening DRAM supply for phones and pushing consumer device makers to raise prices or carry more inventory.
- Both companies are responding strategically: Apple is evaluating alternative suppliers and managing inventories to soften the hit on margins, while Qualcomm is accelerating a pivot into data‑center and automotive chips to replace shrinking handset revenue by fiscal 2027.