Arm, Qualcomm Face Off In Court: What To Expect From Silicon Soap Opera
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Dec 16 2024
0mins
Should l Buy ARM?
Source: Benzinga
Legal Dispute Overview: Arm Holdings is in a legal battle with Qualcomm over intellectual property rights related to Qualcomm's acquisition of NUVIA, which includes licensing agreements that Arm claims need renegotiation.
Industry Impact and Predictions: The outcome of the case could significantly affect the tech industry, as both companies are expected to settle, potentially resulting in Qualcomm paying more for access to Arm's technology.
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Analyst Views on ARM
Wall Street analysts forecast ARM stock price to fall
24 Analyst Rating
19 Buy
4 Hold
1 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 237.300
Low
120.00
Averages
160.58
High
201.00
Current: 237.300
Low
120.00
Averages
160.58
High
201.00
About ARM
Arm Holdings plc is a United Kingdom-based company. The Company is engaged in the design of central processing units (CPUs) and compute platforms for semiconductor chips. It develops and licenses CPU products and related technology. Its cloud and data center solutions include Arm AGI CPU and Arm Neoverse Compute Subsystems. The Arm Agentic Generalized Infrastructure (AGI) CPU is a production-ready system on a chip (SoC) for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, delivering compute at scale. The Arm Neoverse Compute Subsystems (CSS) are pre-validated, performance-optimized compute platforms designed to accelerate infrastructure silicon development. The Company's primary markets include smartphone applications, processors and other chips used in mobile phones, consumer electronics, networking equipment, cloud and data center servers, automotive applications, Internet of Things (loT) and other embedded computing devices.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
- Market Weakness: On Thursday, the S&P 500 Index fell by 0.38%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 0.63%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index decreased by 0.12%, reflecting investor skepticism regarding a potential US-Iran peace deal, which led to a reversal of early gains and impacted market confidence.
- Economic Data Support: Despite the market decline, initial jobless claims rose by 10,000 to 200,000, below the expected 205,000, indicating resilience in the labor market, while Q1 nonfarm productivity increased by 0.8%, surpassing the 0.6% forecast, providing some support to the market.
- Earnings Report Impact: As of Thursday, 84% of the 425 S&P 500 companies that reported earnings exceeded expectations, with Q1 earnings projected to rise by 12% year-over-year, although growth outside the tech sector is only expected to be around 3%, indicating a divergence that may influence investor allocation strategies.
- Oil Price Recovery: WTI crude oil prices rebounded after a 4% decline on Thursday, as the market focused on the potential resumption of US military operations to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, which is expected to have ongoing implications for global oil prices and related stocks.
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- Oil Price Recovery: West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices rebounded above $97 per barrel after a morning dip, reflecting cautious optimism about future demand, which could impact related energy stocks' performance.
- Divergent Tech Stock Performance: As AI-related stocks pull back, cybersecurity software stocks like CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks surged, crossing $500 and $190 respectively for the first time, indicating increased market confidence in their business models and potentially attracting more investor interest.
- Boeing Stock Rise: Boeing's shares rose as CEO Kelly Ortberg is set to accompany President Trump on his trip to China, with the market anticipating a major order of up to 500 planes, although skepticism remains regarding the order's realization.
- Employment Data Expectations: Economists forecast a 65,000 increase in April's nonfarm payrolls with the unemployment rate steady at 4.3%, while average hourly earnings are expected to rise by 3.8%, providing crucial economic health indicators that could influence investor confidence.
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- Market Retreat: The S&P 500 Index fell by 0.40%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 0.51%, and the Nasdaq 100 by 0.28%, indicating a retreat in market sentiment as rising oil prices weigh on investor confidence and raise concerns about future economic prospects.
- Strong Employment Data: Initial jobless claims in the U.S. rose by 10,000 to 200,000, indicating a stronger labor market than the expected 205,000, while continuing claims unexpectedly fell by 10,000 to a 2.25-year low of 1.766 million, showcasing economic resilience.
- Productivity and Costs: U.S. Q1 nonfarm productivity increased by 0.8%, surpassing expectations of 0.6%, while unit labor costs rose by 2.3%, below the anticipated 2.5%, which may influence future inflation expectations and Fed policy decisions.
- Fed Policy Outlook: Boston Fed President indicated that interest rates should remain at “mildly restrictive” levels, suggesting that if inflation trends worsen significantly, a reassessment of policy would be necessary, with markets pricing in only a 6% chance of a rate cut at the next FOMC meeting.
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- Strong Earnings Report: Arm Holdings reported a 20% revenue growth in Q4, reaching $1.49 billion, exceeding the market expectation of $1.47 billion, driven by robust growth in the data center segment, despite a weak smartphone market leading to only 11% growth in licensing revenue.
- Improved Profitability: Adjusted earnings per share rose from $0.55 to $0.60, surpassing the expected $0.58, reflecting enhanced profitability in a high-demand environment, although supply chain challenges loom.
- Supply Chain Risks: During the earnings call, Arm highlighted potential supply chain risks for its newly launched AGI CPU chip, which, despite being in a high-demand market, triggered an 8.8% drop in stock price post-earnings release due to uncertainty.
- Future Outlook: Arm's fiscal Q1 guidance projects revenue between $1.21 billion and $1.31 billion, with adjusted EPS of $0.36 to $0.44, and long-term expectations suggest annual revenue from the AGI CPU could reach $15 billion by 2031, indicating significant growth potential ahead.
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- Tech Stock Surge: Datadog reported Q1 revenue of $1.01 billion, exceeding the consensus of $957.8 million, leading to a stock price increase of over 30%, which boosts overall market sentiment and reflects strong recovery in the tech sector amid high investor expectations for artificial intelligence.
- Stable Labor Market: Initial jobless claims rose by 10,000 to 200,000, lower than the expected 205,000, indicating resilience in the labor market, while continuing claims unexpectedly fell by 10,000 to a 2.25-year low of 1.766 million, further enhancing market confidence.
- Crude Oil Price Decline: WTI crude oil prices fell by more than 4% as markets await updates on a potential US-Iran peace deal that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, negatively impacting energy producers and leading to widespread declines in related stocks.
- Fed Policy Outlook: Boston Fed President indicated that interest rates should remain at
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- Dow Jones Index Rise: The Dow Jones index increased on Thursday following positive weekly jobless claims data, reflecting market optimism regarding economic recovery, which may further boost investor confidence.
- Jobless Claims Data: Recent figures indicate a decline in jobless claims, suggesting enhanced stability in the labor market, which positively impacts economic growth prospects and may encourage more businesses to increase hiring.
- AI Stock Decline: In contrast, AI company Arm's stock plummeted due to disappointing earnings, highlighting a divergence in market performance among tech stocks, prompting investors to carefully assess risks in the technology sector.
- Market Sentiment Fluctuation: Overall market sentiment fluctuates due to varying performances across sectors; while the Dow Jones index rises, the weakness in tech stocks may dampen overall investor confidence, leading to increased market volatility.
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