Smartphone chip maker Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said Wednesday during the company's quarterly earnings call that the chip shortage would likely begin to ease for its products by the end of this year.
"As we have noted throughout the year, we continue to see incredibly strong demand across all our technologies as the current environment is accelerating the scale of connectivity and processing at the edge," Amon said. "We still expect material improvements to our supply by the end of the calendar year and our second sourcing initiatives remain on track."
In order to achieve the goal, Qualcomm executives said that the company has begun to purchase at least three of the product lines it designs from two separate sources. Company executives said that previously organized capacity-expansion plans with the company's suppliers will begin to arrive towards the end of the year, which would help.
Nvidia and other chip makers have said that using two manufacturing companies has made it easier to ensure adequate supply reaches customers.
Amon's comments arrive amid a wide range of estimates about the duration of the chip shortage. Qorvo, which supplies Apple with radio-frequency chips, said Wednesday during its quarterly earnings call that the shortage would hurt its holiday sales, but improve early next year. By contrast, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has warned the chip shortage will last until 2023.
Shares of Qualcomm rallied in the extended session after the company reported revenue and profit that topped Wall Street expectations.
Climate TRACE's data show emissions at the facility-level.Image: Climate TRACE