As it diversifies, Qualcomm can keep growing without Apple, analysts say

Investors once believed that Qualcomm Inc’s fortunes rose and fell with Apple Inc’s iPhone, which uses a key “modem” chip from the San Diego company to connect to mobile data networks.

But as Qualcomm prepares for an investor presentation on Tuesday where it will outline plans to land its chips in everything from virtual reality headsets to self-driving cars to telecommunications gear, analysts said a looming loss of Apple, which is working on its own chips to replace Qualcomm’s, might not matter much to Qualcomm’s profits.

“Frankly, revenues are getting to the point where the worry over Apple possibly moving away is much smaller,” Bernstein analyst Stacy Ragson wrote in a note.