GOP tax bill causes Qualcomm annual earnings to fall despite record revenue

A one-time tax charge caused Qualcomm to report a decline in earnings for its fiscal year ended Sept. 28, but the company said revenue grew 14% to a record $44.3 billion.

The San Diego-based wireless pioneer said legislation in the Republican-led One Big Beautiful Bill Act resulted in a non-cash $5.7 billion charge, or $5.29 per share, in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year.

Qualcomm reported full-year earnings of $5.54 billion, or $5.01 per share, compared to $10.1 billion, or $8.97 per share, in the previous year. Revenue grew to$44.3 billion from $39.0 billion.

The tax charge resulted in a fourth-quarter loss of $3.12 billion, or $2.89 per share.

“Our business remains strong as demonstrated by record (Qualcomm Technologies) revenues in fiscal 2025,” said President and CEO Cristiano Amon. “We delivered 18% year-over-year growth in total QCT non-Apple revenues, with combined fiscal year automotive and IoT revenue growth of 27%.

“We are excited about our business momentum, the availability of our automated driving stack, and our expansion to data centers and advanced robotics,” he added.

Qualcomm said that after the one-time tax charge it expected an effective tax rate in the 13% to 14% range and lower cash tax payments in future periods.

The company’s stock was down 3% in after-hours trading following the earnings announcement.