--- title: "Qualcomm won $2 in a Delaware jury verdict against Arm; $1.5 billion of royalties await a judge" description: "A Delaware jury found Arm deliberately breached its license with Qualcomm and awarded two dollars. The clause that finding activates could let Qualcomm stop paying royalties for five years, and Arm reports on November 4 carrying a 232-times multiple." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Chips" published: 2026-10-28T13:06:13.276Z modified: 2026-10-28T13:06:13.276Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/qualcomm-won-2-in-a-delaware-jury-verdict-against-arm-1-5-billion-of-royalties-await-a-judge language: en keywords: "Arm, Qualcomm, Semiconductors, Chip Licensing, Litigation" --- # Qualcomm won $2 in a Delaware jury verdict against Arm; $1.5 billion of royalties await a judge > A Delaware jury found Arm deliberately breached its license with Qualcomm and awarded two dollars. The clause that finding activates could let Qualcomm stop paying royalties for five years, and Arm reports on November 4 carrying a 232-times multiple. A Delaware jury has found that [Arm](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/arm) Holdings broke its own licensing agreement with [Qualcomm](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/qualcomm), and did it deliberately [1]. The award was $2, one dollar per claim [1]. The exposure runs to $1.5 billion: the royalties Qualcomm may now ask a judge to stop paying for five years [2]. ## Two dollars for the breach, $1.5 billion still live On October 13 the jury found Arm violated the Architectural License Agreement, the top licensing tier that lets Qualcomm, [Apple](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/apple) and [Amazon](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/amazon) design custom CPU cores instead of buying Arm's ready-made designs, and that Arm intentionally interfered with Qualcomm's chip relationship with [Meta](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/meta) Platforms after a 2024 leak of a confidential breach notice stalled a Meta deal [1][2]. Jurors cleared Arm of Qualcomm's claims that it broke most-favored-nation pricing terms [1][2]. The breach finding activates the question US District Judge Maryellen Noreika must now answer: whether a clause letting Qualcomm [suspend royalties for five years](https://theinference.org/article/qualcomm-v-arm-the-jury-returns-tuesday-but-the-judge-holds-the-1-5-billion-royalty-call) is enforceable [1]. Analysts put those royalties near $300 million a year, within total payments of about $443 million from Qualcomm, some 9% of Arm's $4.92 billion revenue in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, and nearly half its $900 million operating income [2]. Arm calls the clause an unenforceable penalty; closing arguments were heard on October 20, and the loser will almost certainly appeal [1][2]. ## The rate ladder the court let slip The fight underneath is price. Qualcomm chief executive Cristiano Amon testified that Arm's proposed royalty for its next ARMv10 architecture runs 18,500% above current rates [2]. [Court-surfaced figures assembled by analysts](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/leaked-details-reveal-how-much-arm-wants-to-charge-qualcomm-per-chip/ar-AA2fQI67) put Qualcomm's current payment at a maximum of $1.88 per chip, with Arm demanding up to $28.20 through 2033 and $64.86 from 2034 to 2040, and a $250 million upfront offer from Qualcomm to lock the rate was refused [4]. Qualcomm's existing license runs to 2033 [2]. *Chart: **Arm's demanded per-chip rate on Qualcomm climbs from $1.88 to as much as $64.86** Bar chart of Arm's per-chip royalty demand on Qualcomm: a current maximum of $1.88 per chip, rising to a demanded maximum of $28.20 for 2027 to 2033 and $64.86 for 2034 to 2040.* *Maximum per-chip royalty, US dollars. Derived from details that surfaced in court and were reported on October 22, 2026; the 2027–2033 and 2034–2040 bars are Arm's demands, not agreed rates. [4]* ## The licensor became the competitor The feud tracks Arm's own transformation. After SoftBank took control in 2016 and Arm began selling its own chips, it [launched the AGI CPU in March 2026](https://newsroom.arm.com/news/arm-agi-cpu-launch), a 136-core server processor co-developed with Meta and the first silicon Arm has ever sold, which made the licensor a rival of its own customers [1][3][5]. Qualcomm complained to the Federal Trade Commission, the European Commission and South Korea's regulator, and the FTC opened an investigation in May 2026 [2]. The verdict also flips the posture of the first trial, where a jury cleared Qualcomm over its Nuvia acquisition in December 2024; Arm's appeal there is still pending [2]. The day before the latest verdict, Arm paired with Axiado, a San Jose security-chip maker, to add secure control modules to the AGI CPU server platform [6]. ## The market looked past the courtroom Arm's counter is on the record: the company says the two-dollar award and its wins on pricing confirm it acted in good faith [1]. Investors have chosen the same reading. Shares dipped about 1% on the verdict [3], yet by October 27 Arm traded at $225.75, up 6.19% on the day, a $241.1 billion market capitalization at 232 times earnings, with Qualcomm up 2.10% [7][8]. That price leans on an analyst scenario of $15 billion from AGI CPU silicon plus $10 billion from IP licensing by fiscal 2031 [7]. *Chart: **Arm's quarterly revenue is up about 60% in three years, to $1.29 billion** Line chart of Arm's quarterly revenue from late 2023 through the June 2026 quarter, rising from about $0.81 billion to $1.29 billion, with a peak of $1.49 billion in the March 2026 quarter when the AGI CPU launched.* *Quarterly revenue, US dollar billions, from Arm's SEC filings, calendar quarters; Arm's fiscal year ends March 31. Next reading: fiscal Q2 2027, reported November 4, 2026. [9][5]* ## What the November 4 print has to carry Arm reports fiscal second-quarter results on November 4, after a June quarter of $1.29 billion in revenue, up 22% year on year, with $715 million of it royalties [8][9]. Susquehanna's Christopher Rolland still carries [a Buy and a $320 target](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/corporate-news/susquehanna-sets-usd-320-00-target-for-arm-holdings-stock/70421383), 41.7% above the tape [8]. Judge Noreika has set no date for her ruling [2]. The jury priced the insult at two dollars; the contract prices the breach at $1.5 billion [2]. ## Takeaway A $2 jury award against Arm opens the door to five years of suspended Qualcomm royalties worth $1.5 billion, with the ruling due to land on a stock priced at 232 times earnings. ## Sources 1. [Reuters via U.S. News & World Report, "Delaware Jury Awards Qualcomm $2 in Damages, Finds Arm Breached License Agreement", 13 October 2026](https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2026-10-13/qualcomm-says-jury-found-arm-breached-license-agreement) 2. [Tech Times (Caleb Pittmann), "Qualcomm jury finds Arm in breach; $2 verdict unlocks billion-dollar royalty suspension fight", 14 October 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/qualcomm-jury-finds-arm-in-breach-2-verdict-unlocks-billion-dollar-royalty-suspension-fight/ar-AA2efrXQ) 3. [CNBC, "Delaware jury awards Qualcomm $2 in damages, finds Arm breached license agreement", 13 October 2026](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/13/delaware-jury-qualcomm-arm-license-agreement.html) 4. [Android Headlines (Justin Diaz), "Leaked details reveal how much ARM wants to charge Qualcomm per chip", 22 October 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/leaked-details-reveal-how-much-arm-wants-to-charge-qualcomm-per-chip/ar-AA2fQI67) 5. [Arm Newsroom, "Arm expands compute platform to silicon products in historic company first", 24 March 2026](https://newsroom.arm.com/news/arm-agi-cpu-launch) 6. [Business Wire via Morningstar, "Axiado Collaborates With Arm to Deliver AI-Driven Security and Platform Management for the Arm AGI CPU Platform", 12 October 2026](https://www.morningstar.com/news/business-wire/20261012717356/axiado-collaborates-with-arm-to-deliver-ai-driven-security-and-platform-management-for-the-arm-agi-cpu-platform) 7. [Foreign Policy Journal, "Jury Rules Against Arm Holdings (NASDAQ: ARM) In Qualcomm License Breach Case As Data-Center Security Deal Signals AI Ambitions", 27 October 2026](https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2026/10/27/jury-rules-against-arm-holdings-nasdaq-arm-in-qualcomm-license-breach-case-as-data-center-security-deal-signals-ai-ambitions/) 8. [ad-hoc-news.de, "Susquehanna sets USD 320.00 target for Arm Holdings stock", 28 October 2026 (market data of 27 October 2026)](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/corporate-news/susquehanna-sets-usd-320-00-target-for-arm-holdings-stock/70421383) 9. [Arm Holdings plc, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 28 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001973239) --- Qualcomm won $2 in a Delaware jury verdict against Arm; $1.5 billion of royalties await a judge — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/qualcomm-won-2-in-a-delaware-jury-verdict-against-arm-1-5-billion-of-royalties-await-a-judge