Qualcomm Crushed After Losing Lawsuit

Qualcomm plunged over 11% in pre-market trading Wednesday after a US District judge sided with the FTC in an anti-trust dispute. Qualcomm, which makes the microprocessors that are used in many smartphones, was accused of anti-competitive practices that extracted excessive licensing fees and prevented its clients from seeking microchips from alternative suppliers. Judge Koh also determined that the behavior was likely to continue with the roll-out of 5G technology and mandated the company be subject to monitoring for seven years. In anticipation of the 5G rollout, Qualcomm recently negotiated a licensing settlement with Apple over a wide-ranging patent dispute.