Qualcomm Shares Slide on Concern About Slow Smartphone Recovery

  • Company says phone units will be ‘flattish’ this year
  • Executive remarks overshadow upbeat earnings forecast

Qualcomm headquarters in San Diego, California.

Photographer: Ariana Drehsler/Bloomberg
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Shares of Qualcomm Inc., the world’s biggest seller of smartphone processors, fell as much as 7.7% on concern that the phone market is recovering more slowly than investors had hoped.

Though Qualcomm projected stronger sales and earnings than analysts anticipated for the current quarter, it said that phone shipments are only gradually rebounding from a prolonged slump. Qualcomm Chief Executive Officer Cristiano Amon said the company expects units to be either “flattish” or up by a single-digit percentage this year.