Qualcomm 10-K 2024-09-29

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark one)

For the fiscal year ended September 29, 2024

OR

For the transition period from to .

Commission File Number 0-19528

QUALCOMM Incorporated

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(858) 587-1121

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C.7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant at March 22, 2024 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter) was $190.0 billion, based upon the closing price of the registrant’s common stock on that date as reported on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock was 1,111 million at November 4, 2024.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for its 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, to be filed with the Commission subsequent to the date hereof, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report where indicated.

Risk Factors Summary:

Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described in “Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors” of this Annual Report. These risks include, but are not limited to, the following:

RISKS RELATED TO OUR OPERATING BUSINESSES

• We derive a significant portion of our revenues from a small number of customers and licensees, and particularly from their sale of premium tier handset devices. If revenues derived from these customers or licensees decrease or the timing of such revenues fluctuates, our business and results of operations could be negatively affected.

*•*Our business, particularly our semiconductor business, may suffer as a result of our customers vertically integrating (i.e., developing their own integrated circuit products).

*•*A significant portion of our business is concentrated in China, and the risks of such concentration are exacerbated by U.S./China trade and national security tensions.

RISKS RELATED TO NEW INITIATIVES

*•*Our growth depends in part on our ability to extend our technologies and products into new and expanded product areas, and industries and applications beyond mobile handsets. Our research, development and other investments in these new and expanded product areas, industries and applications, and related technologies and products, as well as in our existing technologies and products, and new technologies, may not generate operating income or contribute to future results of operations that meet our expectations.

*•*We may engage in acquisitions and other strategic transactions or make investments, or be unable to consummate planned strategic acquisitions, which could adversely affect our results of operations or fail to enhance stockholder value.

RISKS RELATED TO SUPPLY AND MANUFACTURING

*•*We depend on a limited number of third-party suppliers for the procurement, manufacture, assembly and testing of our products manufactured in a fabless production model. If we fail to execute supply strategies that provide supply assurance, technology leadership and reasonable margins, our business and results of operations may be harmed. We are also subject to order and shipment uncertainties that could negatively impact our results of operations.

*•*There are numerous risks associated with the operation and control of our manufacturing facilities, including a higher portion of fixed costs relative to a fabless model; environmental compliance and liability; impacts related to climate change; exposure to natural disasters, health crises, geopolitical conflicts and cyber-attacks; timely supply of equipment and materials; and various manufacturing issues.

RISKS RELATED TO CYBERSECURITY OR MISAPPROPRIATION OF OUR CRITICAL INFORMATION

*•*Our business and operations could suffer in the event of security breaches of our IT systems, or other misappropriation of our technology, intellectual property or other proprietary or confidential information.

RISKS RELATED TO HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

• We may not be able to attract or retain qualified employees.

RISKS SPECIFIC TO OUR LICENSING BUSINESS

*•*The continued and future success of our licensing programs requires us to continue to evolve our patent portfolio and to renew or renegotiate license agreements that are expiring.

*•*Efforts by some OEMs to avoid paying fair and reasonable royalties for the use of our intellectual property may require the investment of substantial management time and financial resources and may result in legal decisions or actions by governments, courts, regulators or agencies, Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) or other industry organizations that harm our business.

*•*Changes in our patent licensing practices, whether due to governmental investigations, legal challenges or otherwise, could adversely impact our business and results of operations.

RISKS RELATED TO REGULATORY AND LEGAL CHALLENGES

*•*Our business may suffer as a result of adverse rulings in governmental investigations or proceedings or other legal proceedings.

RISKS RELATED TO INDUSTRY DYNAMICS AND COMPETITION

*•*Our revenues depend on our customers’ and licensees’ sales of products and services based on CDMA, OFDMA and other communications technologies, including 5G, and customer demand for our products based on these technologies.

*•*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.

RISKS RELATED TO PRODUCT DEFECTS OR SECURITY VULNERABILITIES

*•*Failures in our products, or in the products of our customers or licensees, including those resulting from security vulnerabilities, defects or errors, could harm our business.

RISKS RELATED TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

*•*The enforcement and protection of our intellectual property may be expensive, could fail to prevent misappropriation or unauthorized use of our intellectual property, could result in the loss of our ability to enforce one or more patents, and could be adversely affected by changes in patent laws, by laws in certain foreign jurisdictions that may not effectively protect our intellectual property and by ineffective enforcement of laws in such jurisdictions.

*•*Claims by other companies that we infringe their intellectual property could adversely affect our business.

*•*Our use of open source software may harm our business.

GENERAL RISK FACTORS

*•*We operate in the highly cyclical semiconductor industry, which is subject to significant downturns. We are also susceptible to declines in global, regional and local economic conditions generally. Our stock price and financial results are subject to substantial quarterly and annual fluctuations due to these dynamics, among others.

*•*Geopolitical conflicts, natural disasters, pandemics and other health crises, and other factors outside of our control, could significantly disrupt our business.

*•*Our business may suffer due to the impact of, or our failure to comply with, the various existing, new or amended laws, regulations, policies or standards to which we are subject.

*•*There are risks associated with our debt.

*•*Tax liabilities could adversely affect our results of operations.

In this Annual Report, the words “Qualcomm,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” “ours” and “us” refer only to QUALCOMM Incorporated and its subsidiaries and not any other person or entity. This Annual Report (including but not limited to the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”) contains forward-looking statements. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “may,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying forward-looking statements in this Annual Report. Additionally, statements concerning future matters such as our future business, prospects, results of operations or financial condition; research and development or technology investments; new or enhanced products, services or technologies; emerging industries or business models; design wins or product launches; industry, market or technology trends, dynamics or transitions; our expectations regarding future demand or supply conditions; strategic investments or acquisitions, and the anticipated timing or benefits thereof; legal or regulatory matters; U.S./China trade or national security tensions; vertical integration by our customers; competition; and other statements regarding matters that are not historical are also forward-looking statements.

Although forward-looking statements in this Annual Report reflect our good faith judgment, such statements can only be based on facts and factors currently known by us. Consequently, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties and actual results and outcomes may differ materially from the results and outcomes discussed in or anticipated by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences in results and outcomes include without limitation those discussed under “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors” below, as well as those discussed elsewhere in this Annual Report. Readers are urged not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Annual Report. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the date of this Annual Report. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made in this Annual Report, which attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

PART I

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. Our fiscal years for 2024, 2023 and 2022 included 53 weeks, 52 weeks and 52 weeks, respectively. Our fiscal year for 2025 will include 52 weeks.

Overview

We are a global technology leader, helping to bring intelligent computing everywhere through the development and commercialization of foundational technologies, including 3G (third generation), 4G (fourth generation) and 5G (fifth generation) wireless connectivity, high-performance and low-power computing and on-device artificial intelligence (AI). Our technologies and products have helped power the growth in smartphones and other connected devices. We are scaling our innovations across industries and applications beyond mobile handsets, driving digital transformation with our ecosystem partners in areas including automotive and the internet of things (IoT). In automotive, our Snapdragon® Digital Chassis™ platforms, including connectivity, digital cockpit and advanced driver assistance and automated driving (ADAS/AD), 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 personal computers (PCs), tablets, 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 modern digital experiences. 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 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 next-generation digital transformation. For nearly 40 years, we have been a leader in setting industry standards and creating era-defining technology breakthroughs, and we continue to play a leading role in developing system-level inventions that serve as the foundation for multiple generations of advanced 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.

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. 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), Bluetooth®, memory and component interconnect. 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, among other technologies.

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 circuit platforms and system software with advanced connectivity and high-performance, low-power computing technologies for use in mobile devices; automotive systems for connectivity, digital cockpit and ADAS/AD; and IoT including consumer electronic devices, industrial devices and edge networking products. 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 QGOV (Qualcomm Government Technologies) and our cloud computing 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 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.

Artificial Intelligence. Advancements in processor technologies have enabled the distribution and coordination of complex workloads across the cloud and edge devices to provide enhanced performance and efficiency across use cases. Given the proximity to raw data, edge device computing allows for more context-aware processing, reducing response time, improving privacy and security, and enabling greater personalization. With increased processing power, mobile handsets and PCs are becoming pervasive AI platforms, with complex large generative AI algorithms running on-device, enabling on-demand and contextual AI use cases at a fraction of the energy required by cloud-based applications. As 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 and PC foundation, we envision generative AI becoming ubiquitous, continuing to expand into industries and applications such as IoT, XR and automotive.

Significant investment continues across many industries in the development of complex large language models (LLMs), more tailored small language models (SLMs), large vision models (LVMs), large multimodal models (LMMs) and other generative AI models, which are beginning to change the landscape of the user experience. LLMs and SLMs (e.g., GPT-4o and Llama3) are used for text-based natural language processing applications such as answering queries, document summarization and creation, LVMs (e.g., Stable Diffusion and ControlNet) are used for image and video processing, and LMMs are used to understand and process multiple types of data inputs or modalities such as text and images. They are disrupting traditional methods of search, content creation, recommendation

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You should consider each of the following factors in evaluating our business and our prospects, any of which could negatively impact our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and require significant management time and attention. Further, the risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently consider immaterial may also negatively impact our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and require significant management time and attention. In such cases, the trading price of our common stock could decline. You should also consider the other information set forth in this Annual Report in evaluating our business and our prospects, including but not limited to our financial statements and the related notes, and “Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” References to “and,” “or” and “and/or” should be read to include the others, as appropriate.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR OPERATING BUSINESSES

We derive a significant portion of our revenues from a small number of customers and licensees, and particularly from their sale of premium tier handset devices. If revenues derived from these customers or licensees decrease or the timing of such revenues fluctuates, our business and results of operations could be negatively affected.

We derive a significant portion of our revenues from a small number of customers and licensees, and particularly from their sale of premium tier handset devices, and we expect this trend to continue in the foreseeable future. The mobile industry is experiencing and may continue to experience concentration of device share among a few companies, particularly at the premium tier, contributing to this trend. Certain Chinese original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have increased and may continue to increase their device share in China and in certain regions outside of China, and we derive a significant portion of our revenues from a small number of these OEMs as well. See also “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 2. Composition of Certain Financial Statement Items - Concentrations.”

In addition, a number of our largest customers have developed, are developing or may develop their own integrated circuit products, or may choose our competitors’ integrated circuit products, which they have in the past utilized, currently utilize and may in the future utilize in some or all of their devices, rather than our products, which could significantly reduce the revenues we derive from these customers. See also the Risk Factor titled “Our business, particularly our semiconductor business, may suffer as a result of our customers vertically integrating (i.e., developing their own integrated circuit products).”

Further, political actions, including trade and/or national security protection policies, or other actions by governments, particularly the U.S. and Chinese governments, have in the past, currently are and could in the future limit or prevent us from transacting business with certain of our customers, limit, prevent or discourage those customers from transacting business with us, or make it more expensive to do so, any of which could also significantly reduce the revenues we derive from these customers. See also the Risk Factor titled “A significant portion of our business is concentrated in China, and the risks of such concentration are exacerbated by U.S./China trade and national security tensions.”

In addition, we spend a significant amount of engineering and development time, funds and resources in understanding our key customers’ feedback and/or specifications and attempt to incorporate such input into our product launches and technologies. These efforts may not require or result in purchase commitments from such customers or we may have lower purchases from such customers than expected, and consequently, we may not achieve the anticipated revenues from these efforts, or these efforts may result in non-recoverable costs.

The loss of any one of our significant customers, a reduction in the purchases of our products by any of these customers or the cancellation of significant purchases by any of these customers, whether due to the use of their own integrated circuit products or our competitors’ integrated circuit products, government restrictions, a decline in global, regional or local economic conditions, a decline in consumer demand (or a shift in consumer demand away from new devices in favor of refurbished or secondhand devices), elevated inventory levels at our customers or otherwise, would reduce our revenues and could harm our ability to achieve or sustain expected results of operations. A delay of significant purchases, even if only temporary, would reduce our revenues in the period of the delay. Any such reduction in revenues would also impact our cash resources available for other purposes, such as research and development.

Further, the concentration of device share among a few companies, and the corresponding purchasing power of these companies, may result in lower prices for our products, which could have an adverse effect on our revenues and margins. In addition, the timing and size of purchases by our significant customers may be impacted by the timing of such customers’ new or next generation product introductions, over which we have no control, and the timing and success of such introductions may cause our revenues and results of operations to fluctuate.

Apple purchases our MDM (or thin modem) products, which do not include our integrated application processor technology, and which have lower revenue and margin contributions than our combined modem and application processor

products. Consequently, to the extent Apple takes device share from our customers who purchase our integrated modem and application processor products, our revenues and margins may be negatively impacted.

The mobile industry has also experienced slowing growth in the premium-tier device segment due to, among other factors, a maturing premium-tier smartphone industry in which demand is increasingly driven by new product launches and innovation cycles. A reduction in sales of premium-tier devices, a reduction in sales of our premium-tier integrated circuit products (which have a higher revenue and margin contribution than our lower-tier integrated circuit products), a shift in share away from OEMs that utilize our premium-tier products, or a shift in consumer demand in favor of refurbished or secondhand devices, would reduce our revenues and margins and may harm our ability to achieve or sustain expected financial results. Any such reduction in revenues would also impact our cash resources available for other purposes, such as research and development.

Further, while we derive a portion of our revenues from areas outside of mobile handsets, e.g., from industries such as automotive and IoT, certain product categories within those industries may in themselves be subject to high levels of customer concentration.

Although we have more than 300 licensees, we derive a significant portion of our licensing revenues from a limited number of licensees, which includes a number of Chinese OEMs. In the event that one or more of our significant licensees fail to meet their reporting and payment obligations, or we are unable to renew or modify one or more of their license agreements under similar terms as their existing agreements, our revenues, results of operations and cash flows would be adversely impacted. Moreover, the success of our core licensing business depends in part on the ability of our licensees to continue to develop, introduce and deliver high-volume products that achieve and sustain customer acceptance. We do not have control over the product development, sales efforts or pricing of products by our licensees, a

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None.

Risk Management and Strategy

To identify, assess and manage cybersecurity risks, we maintain an IT security/cybersecurity program (Cybersecurity Program) that is informed in part by international frameworks as well as our specific security requirements and cybersecurity risk profile. We have implemented policies, procedures, processes and administrative, physical and technical controls designed to protect, defend and mitigate effects to us from cybersecurity threats and incidents. For example, we provide recurring employee cybersecurity training to help our employees better understand cybersecurity threats, our policies, actions and approach to managing this type of risk and how they can help increase our security posture.

Our Cybersecurity Program also includes an incident response process that is overseen by our Vice President of Cybersecurity and supported by an internal team of cybersecurity specialists, with involvement from business, legal and senior management as appropriate. In the event of a cybersecurity incident, a technical cybersecurity team investigates and addresses the threat, while a cross-functional team assesses the incident to inform criticality determinations and response efforts, including escalations of the incident to senior management as appropriate.

We evaluate and update our cybersecurity risk profile through ongoing assessment of the cybersecurity threat landscape and security monitoring. Our cybersecurity risk profile is used as an input to identify, assess and update our Cybersecurity Program, and associated priorities are updated as new risk information becomes available. Information security, including cybersecurity, is also incorporated into our overall Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program. Our ERM Operating Committee includes members in senior leadership positions across various functional areas that evaluate enterprise risks and develop and monitor associated mitigation plans. Cybersecurity related risks are included in the risk universe that the committee evaluates to assess top risks to the enterprise. As part of our ERM program, our executive leadership team receives annual updates on enterprise risks, including cybersecurity risks, as well as their potential impact, likelihood, potential mitigation plans and status.

Our Cybersecurity Program, and portions thereof, are periodically reviewed by third-party assessors, consultants, auditors or other firms. For example, we periodically conduct penetration tests and tabletop exercises to simulate attacks against our infrastructure, systems, or portions thereof, in order to validate the efficacy of our security controls and response capabilities. Such exercises are typically conducted with assistance from third-party advisors and experts. Incident response efforts are also supported by external resources such as legal advisors, cybersecurity forensic firms, communications specialists, and other outside advisors and experts as well as law enforcement support, as appropriate. We benefit from engaging third parties to provide specialized skills, knowledge, tools and resources, and such third parties may also help reduce costs, increase efficiency and/or improve the quality of our Cybersecurity Program.

Our supplier community (including suppliers of IT services and other third-party service providers) plays a large role in Qualcomm’s success, and we believe in engaging with our suppliers to help them protect against cybersecurity threats. We operate a supplier cybersecurity assurance program, which is integrated with our procurement processes and supported by the relevant groups within the legal organization, to assess and attempt to mitigate potential cybersecurity risks across our supplier community commensurate with their cybersecurity risk. Specifically, based on a risk classification of the supplier, our third-party risk management process includes steps such as the evaluation of a supplier’s security controls, posture and maturity as well as the identification and treatment of cybersecurity-related risks.

Notwithstanding our Cybersecurity Program as described above, we cannot anticipate, detect, repel or implement fully effective preventative measures against all cybersecurity threats, particularly because the techniques used are increasingly sophisticated and constantly evolving. Like many companies, we have encountered intrusions and attempts to gain unauthorized access to our IT systems or other attacks and incidents, and we have had third-party service providers who have encountered intrusions. However, during fiscal 2024, we did not identify any risks from cybersecurity threats that materially affected or are reasonably anticipated to materially affect our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition. For additional information about the cybersecurity risks we face, including how such risks could affect us in the future, see Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report, including the Risk Factors titled “Our business and operations could suffer in the event of security breaches of our IT systems, or other misappropriation of our technology, intellectual property or other proprietary or confidential information” and “Failures in our products, or in the products of our customers or licensees, including those resulting from security vulnerabilities, defects or errors, could harm our business.”

Governance

Our Board of Directors has primary responsibility for oversight of our risk management efforts, with support from its standing committees. In particular, the Audit Committee of our Board assists the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities with respect to our Cybersecurity Program. As part of its oversight of IT security/cybersecurity matters, the Audit Committee receives cybersecurity updates on a quarterly basis and an IT security/cybersecurity briefing from management, typically including our Vice President of Cybersecurity, on at least a semi-annual basis. At least annually, the full Board also receives updates on the Cybersecurity Program and cybersecurity risks. In addition to this regular reporting, significant cybersecurity threats or incidents may also be escalated on an as-needed basis through our organizational structure in accordance with our incident response process.

Key elements of our Cybersecurity Program, including defending against key cybersecurity threats and risks, are overseen by our Vice President of Cybersecurity, the Information Security and Risk Management (ISRM) organization, and

certain legal functions under the office of the General Counsel, which includes subject matter experts focused on identifying and managing cybersecurity threats and consequences where technically feasible and commensurate with risk. Our Vice President of Cybersecurity has over 20 years of experience in cybersecurity gained across numerous leadership roles in Qualcomm’s IT and Cybersecurity organization, including security architecture, risk and compliance, incident response, security operations and identity management. That experience is supplemented by the collective experience and expertise across the ISRM organization, which includes the Cyber Security Operations Center, Cyber Defense Engineering Services, Cyber Identity and Architecture, Cyber Governance Risk and Compliance, and Threat Intelligence teams, among others. The Cybersecurity Program is also supported by additional members of senior management, including our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Chief Technology Officer, Chief Human Resources Officer and General Counsel, through regular reporting and review.

At September 29, 2024, we occupied the following facilities (square footage in millions):

Our headquarters and certain of our research and development and network management hub operations are located in San Diego, California. We also operate owned and leased manufacturing facilities in China, Germany and Singapore, and we own and lease properties around the world for use as sales and administrative offices and research and development centers, primarily in the United States, India and China. Our facility leases expire at varying dates through 2038, not including renewals that are at our option. Several other owned and leased facilities are under construction totaling approximately 0.8 million additional square feet, primarily related to the construction of new facilities in India. We do not identify or allocate facilities by operating segment.

Information related to our additional capital requirements 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 “Liquidity and Capital Resources” section under the heading “Additional Capital Requirements.” Additional information on net property, plant and equipment by geography is provided in this Annual Report in “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 8. Segment Information.”

Information regarding certain legal proceedings is provided in this Annual Report in “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 7. Commitments and Contingencies.”

Not applicable.

PART II

Market Information and Dividends

Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (NASDAQ) under the symbol “QCOM.” At November 4, 2024, there were 5,848 holders of record of our common stock.

We currently intend to continue to pay quarterly cash dividends, subject to capital availability and our view that cash dividends are in the best interests of our stockholders. Future dividends may be affected by, among other items, our views on potential future capital availability and requirements, including those relating to research and development, creation and expansion of sales and distribution channels, investments and acquisitions, legal and regulatory risks, withholding of payments by one or more of our significant licensees and/or customers, fines and/or adverse rulings by government agencies, courts or arbitrators in legal or regulatory matters, stock repurchase programs, debt issuances, changes in federal, state or foreign income tax law, trade and/or national security protection policies, volatility in economies and financial markets or other macroeconomic conditions, and changes to our business model.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Our purchases of our common stock in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 were:

(1) Average Price Paid Per Share excludes cash paid for commissions.

(2) On October 12, 2021, we announced a $10.0 billion stock repurchase program. At September 29, 2024, $1.0 billion remained authorized for repurchase under this stock repurchase program. On November 6, 2024, we announced a new $15.0 billion stock repurchase authorization, which is in addition to the aforementioned program. The stock repurchase programs have no expiration date. Shares withheld to satisfy statutory tax withholding requirements related to the vesting of share-based awards are not issued or considered stock repurchases under our stock repurchase program and, therefore, are excluded from the table above.

Stock Performance Graph

The following graph compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index (S&P 500) and the NASDAQ-100 Index (NASDAQ-100) for the five years ended September 29, 2024. The S&P 500 tracks the aggregate price performance of the equity securities of 500 United States companies selected by Standard & Poor’s Index Committee to include companies in leading industries and to reflect the United States stock market. The NASDAQ-100 tracks the aggregate price performance of the 100 largest domestic and international non-financial securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market based on market capitalization. Our common stock is a component of each of the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ-100.

The total return for our stock and for each index assumes that $100 was invested at the market close on the last trading day for our fiscal year ended September 29, 2019 and that all dividends were reinvested. All returns are reported as of our fiscal year end, which is the last Sunday in September. Stockholder returns over the indicated period are based on historical data and should not be considered indicative of future stockholder returns.

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included in “Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report.

The following section generally discusses fiscal 2024 and 2023 items and year-to-year comparisons between fiscal 2024 and 2023. Discussions of fiscal 2022 items and year-to-year comparisons between fiscal 2023 and 2022 that are not included in this Annual Report can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 24, 2023.

Our Business and Operating Segments

We develop and commercialize foundational technologies and products used in mobile devices and other wireless products. We derive revenues principally from sales of integrated circuit products and licensing our intellectual property, including patents and other rights.

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. Our QSI (Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives) reportable segment makes strategic investments. We also have nonreportable segments, including QGOV (Qualcomm Government Technologies) and our cloud computing processing initiative.

Further information regarding our business and operating segments is provided in “Part I, Item 1. Business” of this Annual Report.

Seasonality. Many of our products and much of our intellectual property are incorporated into consumer wireless devices, which are subject to seasonality and other fluctuations in demand. Our revenues have historically fluctuated based on consumer demand for devices, as well as on the timing of customer/licensee device launches and/or innovation cycles (such as the transition to the next generation of wireless technologies). This has resulted in fluctuations in QCT revenues in advance of and during device launches incorporating our products and in QTL revenues when licensees’ sales occur. These trends may or may not continue in the future. Further, the trends for QTL have been, and may in the future be, impacted by disputes and/or resolutions with licensees and/or governmental investigations or proceedings.

Fiscal 2024 Overview

Revenues were $39.0 billion, an increase of 9% compared to revenues of $35.8 billion in fiscal 2023, with net income of $10.1 billion, an increase of 40% compared to net income of $7.2 billion in fiscal 2023. Our fiscal 2024 results included:

• QCT revenues increased by 9% in fiscal 2024 compared to the prior year, primarily due to higher handsets and automotive revenues, partially offset by lower IoT revenues.

• QTL revenues increased by 5% in fiscal 2024 compared to the prior year, primarily due to an increase in estimated sales of 3G/4G/5G-based multimode products.

• We recorded other expenses of $179 million in fiscal 2024 compared to $862 million in fiscal 2023, both of which primarily consisted of restructuring and restructuring-related charges.

• Investment and other income, net increased by $613 million in fiscal 2024 compared to the prior year, primarily due to higher interest rates earned on higher balances of interest-bearing securities.

Results of Operations

2024 vs. 2023

The increase in revenues in fiscal 2024 was primarily due to:

+ $2.7 billion in higher equipment and services revenue from our QCT segment

+ $266 million in higher licensing revenues from our QTL segment

2024 vs. 2023

Gross margin percentage remained flat in fiscal 2024.

2024 vs. 2023

The increase in research and development expenses in fiscal 2024 was due to:

+ $113 million increase in share-based compensation expense

+ $66 million increase in expenses driven by revaluation of our deferred compensation obligation (which resulted in a corresponding increase in net gains on deferred compensation plan assets within investment and other income, net due to the revaluation of the related assets)

- $104 million decrease driven by lower costs related to the development of wireless and integrated circuit technologies (including 5G and application processor technologies). This was primarily driven by a decrease in employee-related costs as a result of certain restructuring actions taken to fund continued investments in key growth and diversification opportunities, partially offset by higher employee cash incentive program costs.

2024 vs. 2023

The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses in fiscal 2024 was primarily due to:

+ $99 million increase in sales and marketing expenses

+ $42 million increase in expenses driven by revaluation of our deferred compensation obligation

+ $39 million increase in share-based compensation expense

2024 vs. 2023

Other expenses in fiscal 2024 consisted primarily of $107 million in restructuring and restructuring-related charges (substantially all of which related to severance costs) and a $75 million charge related to the settlement of the securities class action lawsuit.

Other expenses in fiscal 2023 consisted of $712 million in total restructuring and restructuring-related charges (substantially all of which related to severance costs, resulting from certain cost reduction actions committed to in fiscal 2023 and a $150 million intangible asset impairment charge related to in-process research and development.

2024 vs. 2023

The increase in interest and dividend income in fiscal 2024 was primarily due to higher interest rates earned on higher balances of interest-bearing securities. Net gains on other investments in fiscal 2024 was primarily driven by certain of our QSI non-marketable equity investments.

Income Tax Expense (in millions, except percentages)

The following table summarizes the primary factors that caused our annual tax provision from continuing operations to differ from the expected income tax provision at the U.S. federal statutory rate. Substantially all of our income is taxed in the U.S., of which a significant portion qualifies for preferential treatment as FDII at a 13% effective tax rate. Additional information regarding our annual effective tax rate (including discussion related to the impact of the requirement to capitalize research and development expenditures for federal income tax purposes, and the benefit related to the transfer of intellectual property between foreign subsidiaries) is provided in this Annual Report in “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Notes 3. Income Taxes.”

The OECD has announced a framework to implement a global minimum tax of 15% (referred to as Pillar Two). Certain countries have implemented or are in the process of implementing the Pillar Two legislation, which will apply to us beginning in fiscal year 2025. While we do not currently expect this to materially impact our consolidated financial statements, we continue to monitor the impact as countries implement legislation and the OECD provides additional guidance.

Discontinued Operations (in millions)

2024 vs. 2023

Discontinued operations in fiscal 2024 and 2023 primarily related to the Non-Arriver businesses. Fiscal 2023 also included a gain on the sale of the Active Safety business and certain write-down charges related to the Restraint Control Systems business, the individual and aggregate amounts of which were not material. Information regarding the Non-Arriver businesses is provided in this Annual Report in “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 2. Composition of Certain Financial Statement Items.”

Segment Results

The following should be read in conjunction with the fiscal 2024 and 2023 results of operations for each reportable segment included in this Annual Report in “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 8. Segment Information.”

QCT Segment (in millions, except percentages)

(1) Descriptions of our three QCT revenue streams can be found in this Annual Report in “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 2. Composition of Certain Financial Statement Items.”

(2) Earnings (loss) before income taxes.

Substantially all of QCT’s revenues consist of equipment and services revenues, which were $32.6 billion and $29.9 billion in fiscal 2024 and 2023, respectively. QCT handsets, automotive and IoT revenues mostly relate to sales of our Snapdragon platforms (which include processors and modems), stand-alone Mobile Data Modems, radio frequency transceiver, power management and wireless connectivity integrated chipsets as well as sales of 4G, 5G sub 6 and 5G millimeter wave RFFE products.

2024 vs. 2023

The increase in QCT revenues in fiscal 2024 was primarily due to:

+ higher handsets revenues, due to $2.8 billion in higher chipset shipments driven by certain major OEMs (primarily driven by the normalization of customer inventory levels, which were elevated in the prior year), partially offset by $533 million in lower revenues per chipset primarily driven by unfavorable mix

+ higher automotive revenues, primarily driven by an increase in demand from new vehicle launches with our Snapdragon digital cockpit and connectivity products

- lower IoT revenues, due to $834 million in lower revenues per unit primarily driven by unfavorable mix, partially offset by a $317 million increase in demand (primarily in consumer products, partially offset by edge networking products as customers continued drawing down on their elevated inventory levels)

QCT EBT as a percentage of revenues increased in fiscal 2024 primarily due to higher revenues.

Gross margin percentage remained flat in fiscal 2024.

QTL Segment (in millions, except percentages)

2024 vs. 2023

The increase in QTL licensing revenues in fiscal 2024 was primarily due to:

+ $402 million increase in estimated sales of 3G/4G/5G-based multimode products

- $90 million decrease in estimated revenues per unit

- $68 million decrease in revenues from the ending of the recognition of certain upfront license fee consideration in the first quarter of fiscal 2023 from our long-term license agreement with Nokia

QTL EBT as a percentage of revenues increased in fiscal 2024 primarily due to:

+ lower cost of sales driven by a decrease in amortization expense related to acquired patents

+ higher revenues

QSI Segment (in millions)

2024 vs. 2023

QSI EBT increased in fiscal 2024 primarily due to net gains on certain of our non-marketable equity investments.

Looking Forward

We believe that 5G combined with high-performance, low-power computing and on-device artificial intelligence will continue to drive adoption of certain technologies that are already commonly used in smartphones by industries and applications beyond mobile handsets, such as automotive and IoT. We believe it is important that we remain a leader in 5G technology development, standardization, intellectual property creation and licensing, and a leading developer and supplier of 5G integrated circuit products in order to sustain and grow our business long-term.

As we look forward to the next several quarters:

• We expect transitions to new generations of leading process technology nodes to continue to drive product cost increases from certain of our key semiconductor wafer suppliers.

*•*We expect continued intense competition, including from vertical integration by certain of our customers (e.g., Apple).

• Current U.S./China trade relations and/or national security protection policies may negatively impact our business, growth prospects and results of operations. See “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report, including the Risk Factor titled “A significant portion of our business is concentrated in China, and the risks of such concentration are exacerbated by U.S./China trade and national security tensions.”

In fiscal 2024, we extended, renewed or entered into license agreements with several key OEMs. We are currently pursuing negotiations with other key OEMs whose agreements expire in early fiscal 2025 (including Huawei). In addition, in fiscal 2024, we entered into a license agreement with Shenzhen Transsion Holdings Limited (a growing, China-headquartered OEM that sells primarily in developing regions) for its 5G products. While we continue to engage in negotiations toward a comprehensive resolution, we have initiated litigation against Transsion in multiple jurisdictions to enforce our intellectual property rights against certain of its unlicensed products. See “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report, including the Risk Factors titled “The continued and future success of our licensing programs requires us to continue to evolve our patent portfolio and to renew or renegotiate license agreements that are expiring” and “The enforcement and protection of our intellectual property may be expensive, could fail to prevent misappropriation or unauthorized use of our intellectual property, could result in the loss of our ability to enforce one or more patents, and could be adversely affected by changes in patent laws, by laws in certain foreign jurisdictions that may not effectively protect our intellectual property and by ineffective enforcement of laws in such jurisdictions.”

We are also involved in other legal proceedings, including those described in this Annual Report in “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 7. Commitments and Contingencies.” Litigation is inherently uncertain, and, while we intend to continue to vigorously defend ourselves in such matters, the unfavorable resolution of one or more of these matters could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

In addition to the foregoing business and market-based matters, we continue to devote resources to working with and educating participants in the wireless industry and governments as to the benefits of our licensing programs and our extensive technology investments in promoting a highly competitive and innovative wireless industry. However, we expect that certain companies may be dissatisfied with the need to pay reasonable royalties for the use of our technologies and not welcome the success of our licensing programs in enabling new, highly cost-effective competitors to their products. Accordingly, such companies, and/or governments or regulators, may continue to challenge our business model in various forums throughout the world.

Further discussion of risks related to our business is provided in “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors” included in this Annual Report.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our principal sources of liquidity are our existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, cash generated from operations and cash provided by our debt programs, which we believe will satisfy our working and other capital requirements for at least the next 12 months based on our current business plans.

The following table presents selected financial information related to our liquidity as of and for the years ended September 29, 2024 and September 24, 2023 (in millions):

(1) Excludes $77 million of cash and cash equivalents classified as held for sale at September 24, 2023.

(2) Includes our issued debt reported as long-term and short-term.

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. The net increase in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities in fiscal 2024 was primarily due to net cash provided by operating activities and $383 million in proceeds from the issuance of common stock (primarily under our Employee Stock Purchase Plan), partially offset by $4.1 billion in payments to repurchase shares of our common stock, $3.7 billion in cash dividends paid, $1.0 billion in capital expenditures, $932 million in payments of tax withholdings related to the vesting of share-based awards and $914 million in repayments of notes that matured in May 2024.

During fiscal 2024, income taxes paid were in excess of our provision, negatively impacting net cash provided by operating activities. This was primarily driven by the adverse impact of the requirement to capitalize and amortize research and development expenditures for federal income tax purposes, our payment of $1.0 billion related to certain previously postponed U.S. federal income tax payments from fiscal 2023 and an installment payment for a one-time U.S. repatriation tax accrued in fiscal 2018 of $414 million.

Net changes in our operating assets and liabilities positively impacted our operating cash flows in fiscal 2024 primarily from an increase in accrued customer incentives, which included the impact of timing of related payments, and an increase in accounts payable due to timing and amount of inventory purchases, partially offset by an increase in accounts receivable due to higher revenues.

Debt. At September 29, 2024, we had $15.0 billion of principal fixed-rate notes outstanding, $1.4 billion of which matures in May 2025. The remaining debt has maturity dates in 2027 through 2053.

We have an unsecured commercial paper program, which provides for the issuance of up to $4.5 billion of commercial paper. Net proceeds from this program are used for general corporate purposes. At September 29, 2024, we had no amounts of commercial paper outstanding. On August 8, 2024, we entered into a Revolving Credit Facility, replacing our prior Amended and Restated Revolving Credit Facility. The Revolving Credit Facility provides for unsecured revolving facility loans, swing line loans and letters of credit in an aggregate amount of up to $4.0 billion, which expires on August 8, 2029. At September 29, 2024, no amounts were outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility.

We expect to issue new debt in the future. The amount and timing of any such new debt will depend on a number of factors, including but not limited to maturities of our existing debt, acquisitions and strategic investments, favorable and/or acceptable interest rates and changes in corporate income tax law. Additional information regarding our outstanding debt at September 29, 2024 is provided in this Annual Report in “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 6. Debt.”

Income Taxes. At September 29, 2024, our remaining future payments were $1.0 billion for a one-time U.S. repatriation tax accrued in fiscal 2018, after application of certain tax credits, which is payable in installments over the next two years. At September 29, 2024, other current liabilities included $530 million for the next installment due in January 2025. Beginning in fiscal 2023, for federal income tax purposes, we are required to capitalize and amortize domestic research and development expenditures over five years and foreign research and development expenditures over fifteen years (such expenditures were previously deducted as incurred). As a result, our cash flows from operations are adversely affected due to significantly higher cash tax payments. However, the adverse cash flow impact will diminish in future years as capitalized research and

development expenditures continue to amortize. Additional information regarding our income taxes is provided in this Annual Report in “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 3. Income Taxes.”

Capital Return Program. The following table summarizes stock repurchases and dividends paid during fiscal 2024 and 2023 (in millions, except per-share amounts):

On October 12, 2021, we announced a $10.0 billion stock repurchase program. At September 29, 2024, $1.0 billion remained authorized for repurchase under this stock repurchase program. On November 6, 2024, we announced a new $15.0 billion stock repurchase authorization, which is in addition to the aforementioned program. The stock repurchase programs have no expiration date. The timing of stock repurchases and the number of shares of common stock to be repurchased will depend upon prevailing market conditions and other factors. Repurchases may be made in the open market, through 10b5-1 programs, through accelerated share repurchase programs, in privately negotiated transactions or through the use of derivative instruments. Our stock repurchase programs are subject to periodic evaluations to determine when and if repurchases are in the best interests of our stockholders, and we may accelerate, suspend, delay or discontinue repurchases at any time.

On October 16, 2024, we announced a cash dividend of $0.85 per share on our common stock, payable on December 19, 2024 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on December 5, 2024. We currently intend to continue to use cash dividends as a means of returning capital to stockholders, subject to capital availability and our view that cash dividends are in the best interests of our stockholders, among other factors.

Additional Capital Requirements**.** Recent and expected working and other capital requirements, in addition to the above matters, also include the items described below:

• Our purchase obligations at September 29, 2024, which primarily relate to purchase commitments with certain suppliers of our integrated circuit products, including those under multi-year capacity commitments, totaled $12.8 billion, of which, $9.6 billion is expected to be paid in the next 12 months.

• Our research and development expenditures were $8.9 billion in fiscal 2024 and $8.8 billion in fiscal 2023.

• Cash outflows for capital expenditures were $1.0 billion in fiscal 2024 and $1.5 billion in fiscal 2023. We expect capital expenditures to increase from fiscal 2024 in the near term to support our production and testing needs related to our growth and diversification initiatives.

*•*Amounts related to future lease payments for operating lease obligations at September 29, 2024 totaled $1.1 billion, with $136 million expected to be paid within the next 12 months.

• We expect to continue making strategic investments and acquisitions, the amounts of which could vary significantly.

Further, regulatory authorities in certain jurisdictions have investigated our business practices and instituted proceedings against us in the past, and they or other regulatory authorities may do so in the future. Additionally, certain of our direct and indirect customers and licensees have pursued, and others may in the future pursue, litigation or arbitration against us related to our business. Unfavorable resolutions of one or more of these matters have had and could in the future have a material adverse effect on our business, revenues, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. See “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 7. Commitments and Contingencies” and “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. We base our estimates on historical and anticipated results and trends and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, including assumptions as to future events. By their nature, estimates are inherently subject to a degree of uncertainty. Although we believe that our estimates and the assumptions supporting our assessments are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from our estimates and assumptions, and could be material to our consolidated financial statements.

In addition to our critical accounting estimates and policies below, refer to “Note 1. Significant Accounting Policies” and “Note 2. Composition of Certain Financial Statement Items” included in this Annual Report in “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” for further information. If the impact of changes in our critical accounting estimates are material or considered necessary to understand our results of operations for the periods presented, then such information is disclosed within this Annual Report in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

Revenue Recognition*.* We grant licenses or otherwise provide 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 or use of certain wireless products. We estimate and recognize sales-based royalties on such licensed products in the period in which the licensees’ sales occur, which is based largely on preliminary royalty estimates provided by our licensees. For fiscal 2024 and 2023, actual amounts for sales-based royalties have been materially consistent with such estimates, and no significant reversals of revenues have been required as a result of adjustments to prior period royalty estimates.

Impairment of Non-marketable Equity Investments. We monitor our investments for events or circumstances that could indicate impairment, including those that result from observable price adjustments. Key considerations in this assessment include the investee’s financial and liquidity position and business forecasts (including their ability to respond to any significant deterioration), industry performance, development and/or market acceptance of the investee’s products or technologies, as well as considering any appreciation in fair value that has not been recognized in the carrying values of such investments and other relevant events and factors. In fiscal 2024 and 2023, there were no significant impairment losses or adjustments to our previous judgments and estimates recorded.

Inventories. We measure inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value considering judgments and estimates related to future customer demand and other market conditions, such as the impact of the macroeconomic environment in fiscal 2023, which negatively impacted consumer demand for smartphones and other devices that incorporate our products and technologies. Although we believe these estimates are reasonable, any significant changes in customer demand that are less favorable than our previous estimates may require additional inventory write-downs and would be reflected in cost of sales resulting in a negative impact to our gross margin in that period. For fiscal 2024 and 2023, the net effect from changes in this estimate and related reserves was less than 2% of cost of revenues during each period.

Impairment of Goodwill, Other Indefinite-Lived Assets and Long-Lived Assets**.** We monitor our goodwill, other indefinite-lived assets and long-lived assets for the existence of impairment indicators and apply judgments in the valuation methods and underlying assumptions utilized in such assessments. During fiscal 2024, there were no material impairment charges for long-lived or indefinite-lived assets. During fiscal 2023, we recorded total impairment charges of approximately $400 million related to certain long-lived and other indefinite-lived assets. Such impairments (and the related remaining asset values) were not individually material. Additionally, the estimated fair values of our QCT and QTL reporting units, based on our qualitative assessment, were substantially in excess of their respective carrying values at September 29, 2024.

Legal and Regulatory Proceedings. We record our best estimate of a loss related to pending legal and regulatory proceedings when the loss is considered probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. We face difficulties in evaluating or estimating likely outcomes and/or the amount of possible loss in certain legal and regulatory proceedings.

Income Taxes. We make significant judgments and estimates in determining our provision for income taxes, including our assessment of our income tax positions given the uncertainties involved in the interpretation and application of complex tax laws and regulations in various taxing jurisdictions.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Information regarding recent accounting pronouncements and the impact of those pronouncements, if any, on our consolidated financial statements is provided in this Annual Report in “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 1. Significant Accounting Policies.”

Marketable Securities

We have made investments in marketable securities of companies of varying size, style, industry and geography and changes in investment allocations may affect the price volatility of our investments.

Interest Rate Risk. We invest a portion of our cash in a number of diversified fixed- and floating-rate securities consisting of cash equivalents, marketable debt securities and time deposits that are subject to interest rate risk. At September 29, 2024 and September 24, 2023, a hypothetical increase in interest rates of 100 basis points across the entire yield curve on our holdings would have resulted in an immaterial decrease in the fair value of our holdings.

Other Investments

Equity Price Risk. We hold investments in non-marketable equity instruments in privately held companies that may be impacted by equity price risks. Volatility in the equity markets could negatively affect our investees’ ability to raise additional capital as well as our ability to realize value from our investments through initial public offerings, mergers or private sales. Consequently, we could incur impairment losses or realized losses on all or part of the values of our non-marketable equity investments. At September 29, 2024, our non-marketable equity investments (including those accounted for under the equity method) consisted of investments in over 150 companies with an aggregate carrying value included in other assets of $1.3 billion.

Debt and Interest Rate Swap Agreements

Interest Rate Risk. At September 29, 2024 and September 24, 2023, all of our issued debt was comprised of unsecured fixed-rate notes. From time to time, we issue commercial paper for which our exposure to interest rate risk is negligible based on the original maturities of approximately three months or less.

We manage our exposure to certain interest rate risks related to our long-term debt through the use of interest rate swaps. We enter into these agreements to manage interest rate risk associated with our cash equivalents and marketable securities, in addition to changes in the fair value of our outstanding debt. At September 29, 2024 and September 24, 2023, we had an aggregate notional amount of $2.1 billion in interest rate swaps that are designated as fair value hedges to effectively convert certain fixed-rate interest payments into floating-rate payments on our outstanding debt. At September 29, 2024 and September 24, 2023, a hypothetical increase in interest rates of 100 basis points would not cause a material loss in earnings as an increase in interest expense related to these interest rate swaps agreements would be offset by an increase in interest income from our cash equivalents and marketable securities portfolio.

Foreign Exchange Risk

We manage our exposure to foreign exchange market risks, when deemed appropriate, through the use of derivative and non-derivative financial instruments, including foreign currency forward and option contracts with financial counterparties and net investment hedges. We utilize such derivative financial instruments for hedging or risk management purposes rather than for speculative purposes. Counterparties to these derivative contracts are all major banking institutions. In the event of the financial insolvency or distress of a counterparty to our derivative financial instruments, we may be unable to settle transactions if the counterparty does not provide us with sufficient collateral to secure its net settlement obligations to us, which could have a negative impact on our results.

Gains or losses on hedged foreign currency transactions and investments, including certain royalties earned from licensees, operating expenses and net investments in foreign subsidiaries, are generally offset by corresponding losses or gains on the related hedging instrument.

Functional Currency. Financial assets and liabilities held by consolidated subsidiaries that are not denominated in the functional currency of those entities are subject to the effects of currency fluctuations and may affect reported earnings. As a global company, we face exposure to adverse movements in foreign currency exchange rates. We may hedge currency exposures associated with certain assets and liabilities denominated in nonfunctional currencies and certain anticipated nonfunctional currency transactions. As a result, we could experience unanticipated gains or losses on anticipated foreign currency cash flows, as well as economic loss with respect to the recoverability of investments. While we may hedge certain transactions with non-U.S. customers, declines in currency values in certain regions may, if not reversed, adversely affect future product sales because our products may become more expensive to purchase in the countries of the affected currencies. We have experienced fluctuations in our effective tax rate as a result of foreign currency gains or losses related to our Korean withholding tax receivable (which was $2.2 billion as of September 29, 2024), which is described further in this Annual Report in “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Notes 3. Income Taxes.” Based on the balance of such foreign withholding tax receivable, an assumed 10% adverse change to foreign exchange rates would result in losses of approximately $222 million and $200 million as of September 29, 2024 and September 24, 2023, respectively. Other gains and losses from foreign currency transactions were not material/significant for any of the periods presented in this Annual Report.

Our analysis methods used to assess and mitigate the risks discussed above should not be considered projections of future risks. Additional information regarding the financial instruments mentioned above is provided in this Annual Report in “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 1. Significant Accounting Policies,” “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 2. Composition of Certain Financial Statement Items,” “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 6. Debt,” “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 9. Fair Value Measurements and Marketable Securities.”

The information required by this item is included in this Annual Report on pages F-1 through F-28.

None.

Conclusion Regarding the Effectiveness of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures, as such terms are defined under Rule 13a-15(e) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act). Based on this evaluation, our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on our evaluation under this framework, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of September 29, 2024.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that audited our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report, has also audited the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of September 29, 2024, as stated in its report which appears on pages F-1 through F-2 in this Annual Report.

Inherent Limitations over Internal Controls

Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of consolidated financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:

i.pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets;

ii.provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and

iii.provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the consolidated financial statements.

Internal control over financial reporting cannot provide absolute assurance of achieving financial reporting objectives because of its inherent limitations, including the possibility of human error and circumvention by collusion or overriding of controls. Accordingly, even an effective internal control system may not prevent or detect material misstatements on a timely basis. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

On September 12, 2024, Cristiano Amon, our President and Chief Executive Officer, acting as trustee on behalf of his family trust, terminated the trust’s Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement (as defined in Item 408 of Regulation S-K), which provided for the sale of up to 75,000 shares of our common stock and was previously scheduled to terminate on September 30, 2025, and adopted a new Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement. The new plan provides for the sale of up to 60,000 shares of our common stock and is scheduled to terminate on September 30, 2025.

Not applicable.

PART III

The information required by this item regarding directors will be included in our definitive Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC in connection with our 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (2025 Proxy Statement), and is incorporated herein by reference. Certain information required by this item regarding executive officers is set forth in Item 1 of Part I of this Annual Report under the heading “Information about our Executive Officers.” The information required by this item regarding corporate governance will be included in our 2025 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information required by this item will be included in our 2025 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information required by this item will be included in our 2025 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information required by this item will be included in our 2025 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information required by this item will be included in our 2025 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

PART IV

The following documents are filed as part of this report:

(a) Financial Statements:

Financial statement schedules other than those listed above have been omitted because they are either not required, not applicable or the information is otherwise included in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

(b) Exhibits

(1) We shall furnish supplementally a copy of any omitted schedule to the Commission upon request.

(2) Indicates management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement required to be identified pursuant to Item 15(a).

None.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated: