Qualcomm reaches interim licensing agreement with Huawei – CNET
What happened: Qualcomm has reached an interim agreement with Huawei to license its technology to the Chinese telecommunications giant. Huawei will temporarily pay Qualcomm $150 million every quarter for the use of its tech, Qualcomm CFO George Davis said on Wednesday during an earnings call. The two companies signed the short-term licensing agreement in late 2018, and the deal will run until the end of June 2019.
Why it’s important: Huawei and Apple were the only two major smartphone makers still fighting with Qualcomm over its licensing terms. Apple has refused to pay Qualcomm licensing fees since 2017, accusing the company of monopolizing on its chipset technology used in smartphones. Other smartphone makers including Huawei and Samsung reportedly followed suit. Reaching a deal with Huawei will alleviate some concerns over Qualcomm’s profits as smartphone markets around the world shrink. Qualcomm’s shares rose nearly 2.6% in after-hours trading on Wednesday.