Qualcomm channels Star Trek's Scotty as it faces a mobe chip wreck

Mobile chip designer Qualcomm typically channels Star Trek's Montgomery Scott, the chief engineer who under-promises to appear a miracle worker when he eventually delivers. The California-based biz follows the Scotty playbook by the letter. Just like the Enterprise's engineering guru would suck his teeth, cock his head, say it …

[Doctor Syntax]

When making projections, don't mistake sigmoidal growth curves for exponential.

[Anonymous Coward]

Exynos and Kirin

Is this anything to do with the competition starting to catch up?

[Stevie]

Bah!y

Years ago I had a boss who asked how long it would take me to do a complex task.

"Three days."

"What if I said you only had two?"

"It would still take three days of me working through lunch, taking no breaks, staying late and working when I get home. This isn't Star Trek and I don't inflate my estimates so I can pull a "Scotty". You say you need this badly, I take you at your word. It would be helpful if you would take me at mine."

That was the end of that particular stupidity.

[fishman]

Dying flagships

As mid range phones become more popular (and flagship phones less popular), the sales of less profitable slower ships will increase, and the sales of more profitable fast chips decrease. And when you get away from the cutting edge chips, there is more competition.

[Anonymous Coward]

The evils of non-GAAP figures

There's a reason they're called Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, and unless there's a special reason to use something else, that's what investors should be looking at. Non-GAAP figures, and the horrors of EBITDA in excluding trivial items such as interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, are for start-ups and unicorns - not established businesses like Qualcomm.