Editing Qualcomm (section)

===1990–2015===
Qualcomm was operating at a loss in the 1990s due to its investment in CDMA research.<ref name="Steinbock2003" /><ref name="tribunel">{{Cite news |last=Freeman |first=Mike |date=November 26, 2014 |title=Qualcomm completes sale of Omnitracs |work=The San Diego Tribune |url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/Nov/26/Qualcomm-Omnitracs-Vista-Equity-partners/ |access-date=July 17, 2014 |archive-date=July 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210714043500/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> To obtain funding, the company filed an [[initial public offering]] in September 1991,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Johnson |first=Greg |date=September 17, 1991 |title=Qualcomm Goes Public With Stock |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-17-fi-2845-story.html |access-date=July 17, 2014 |archive-date=October 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016205314/http://articles.latimes.com/1991-09-17/business/fi-2845_1_qualcomm-treasurer-dick-grannis |url-status=live }}</ref> raising {{US$|long=no|68 million}}.<ref name="Mock2005" /> An additional {{US$|long=no|486 million}} was raised in 1995 through the sale of 11.5 million more shares. The second funding round was done to raise money for the mass manufacturing of CDMA-based phones, base-stations, and equipment, after most US-based cellular networks announced they would adopt the CDMA standard.<ref name="Steinbock2003" /> The company had {{US$|long=no|383 million}} in annual revenue in 1995<ref name="bwbw">{{Cite news |last=Armstrong |first=Larry |date=September 3, 1995 |title=Qualcomm: Unproven, But Dazzling |work=BusinessWeek |url=http://www.businessweek.com/stories/1995-09-03/qualcomm-unproven-but-dazzling |access-date=July 16, 2014}}{{dead link|date=April 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> and {{US$|long=no|814 million}} by 1996.<ref name="bw3" />

In 1998, Qualcomm was restructured, leading to a 700-employee layoff. Its base station and cell-phone manufacturing businesses were spun-off in order to focus on its higher-margin patents and chipset businesses.<ref name="Mock2005" /><ref name="Steinbock2003" />{{RP|310–311}} Since the base station division was losing {{US$|long=no|400M}} a year (having never sold another base station after making its 10th sale), profits skyrocketed in the following year, and Qualcomm was the fastest growing stock on the market with a 2,621 percent growth over one year.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nee |first=Eric |date=May 15, 2000 |title=Qualcomm Hits The Big Time Pushing a little-known digital cellular technology from surf's-up San Diego, this $4-billion-a-year hotshot wants to be THE NEXT INTEL |work=Fortune Magazine |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/05/15/279766/index.htm |access-date=October 22, 2014 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806234940/https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/05/15/279766/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="sandiegomag">{{Cite news |last=Perkins |first=Joseph |date=September 3, 2010 |title=A Qualcomm Quarter-Century |work=San Diego Magazine |url=http://www.sandiegomagazine.com/San-Diego-Magazine/September-2010/A-Qualcomm-Quarter-Century/ |access-date=November 9, 2018 |archive-date=November 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110160205/https://www.sandiegomagazine.com//San-Diego-Magazine/September-2010/A-Qualcomm-Quarter-Century |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Junnarkar |first1=Sandeep |last2=Ard |first2=Scott |date=January 7, 2000 |title=Taking stock of 1999 |publisher=CNET |url=http://news.cnet.com/Taking-stock-of-1999/2100-1017_3-235357.html |access-date=August 9, 2014 |archive-date=July 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210714043510/https://www.cnet.com/news/taking-stock-of-1999/ |url-status=live }}</ref> By 2000, Qualcomm had grown to 6,300 employees, {{US$|long=no|3.2 billion}} in revenues, and {{US$|long=no|670 million}} in profit. 39 percent of its sales were from CDMA technology, followed by licensing (22%), wireless (22%), and other products (17%).<ref name="Steinbock2003" /> Around this time, Qualcomm established offices in Europe, Asia Pacific, and in the Americas.<ref name="Steinbock2003" />{{RP|316}} By 2001, 65 percent of Qualcomm's revenues originated from outside the United States with 35 percent coming from South Korea.<ref name="Steinbock2003" />{{RP|19}}

In 2005, [[Paul E. Jacobs]], son of Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs, was appointed as Qualcomm's new CEO.<ref name="nytsy">{{Cite news |last=Wollan |first=Malia |date=June 12, 2011 |title=At Qualcomm, Rise of Founder's Son Defies Hazards of Succession |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/technology/13qualcomm.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0&amp;gwt=pay |access-date=August 7, 2014 |archive-date=December 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222084815/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/technology/13qualcomm.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0&gwt=pay |url-status=live }}</ref> Whereas Irwin Jacobs focused on CDMA patents, Paul Jacobs refocused much of Qualcomm's new research and development on projects related to the [[Internet of things]].<ref name="nytsy" /> In the same year they acquired Flarion Technologies, a developer of wireless broadband Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex Access (OFDMA) technology.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 11, 2005|title=Qualcomm acquires Flarion Technologies|url=https://www.ft.com/content/d5806b02-0a8d-11da-aa9b-00000e2511c8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/d5806b02-0a8d-11da-aa9b-00000e2511c8 |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription|access-date=September 15, 2021|website=Financial Times|language=en-GB}}</ref>

Qualcomm announced Steven Mollenkopf would succeed Paul Jacobs as CEO in December 2013.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 4, 2011 |title=Qualcomm names Mollenkopf president, COO |work=EE Times |url=http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1260357 |access-date=June 5, 2014 |archive-date=November 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106015543/http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1260357 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Chen |first=Brian |date=December 13, 2013 |title=Qualcomm Picks Insider as New Chief Executive |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/14/technology/qualcomm-names-a-new-chief-executive.html?_r=0 |access-date=August 8, 2014 |archive-date=November 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110120113/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/14/technology/qualcomm-names-a-new-chief-executive.html?_r=0 |url-status=live }}</ref> Mollenkopf said he would expand Qualcomm's focus to wireless technology for cars, wearable devices, and other new markets.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barr |first=Alistair |date=January 6, 2014 |title=CES 2014: Qualcomm CEO sees growth in wearables, autos |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/01/06/qualcomm-ceo-mollenkopf/4341927/ |access-date=August 17, 2018 |website=USA Today |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806142426/https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/01/06/qualcomm-ceo-mollenkopf/4341927/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Rubin 2014">{{Cite web |last=Rubin |first=Ben Fox |date=November 19, 2014 |title=Qualcomm wants to move out of your pocket into your car, house and wearable |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/qualcomm-wants-to-move-out-of-your-pocket-into-your-cars-house-and-wearable/ |access-date=August 17, 2018 |website=CNET |archive-date=November 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110040433/https://www.cnet.com/news/qualcomm-wants-to-move-out-of-your-pocket-into-your-cars-house-and-wearable/ |url-status=live }}</ref>