Qualcomm’s $2 Billion Revenue Boost from Samsung’s Exclusive Snapdragon 8 Elite Partnership for Galaxy S25 Family

Samsung’s challenges in achieving successful yields from its 3nm GAA technology and its struggles to ramp up production of the Exynos 2500 have paved the way for Qualcomm’s strategic gains. With the introduction of its custom Oryon cores in the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, Qualcomm has positioned itself as the leading choice for the upcoming Galaxy S25 launch. Analysts are predicting a substantial financial upside for Qualcomm, with estimates suggesting the company could harness an impressive $2 billion in revenue solely from its partnership with Samsung.

Qualcomm’s Revenue Surge Fueled by Snapdragon 8 Elite in Galaxy S25

Last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 enabled Qualcomm to capture a significant 70% market share, but the stakes are higher this year with the Snapdragon 8 Elite powering the Galaxy S25 lineup. According to JP Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee, Qualcomm stands to experience a remarkable increase in revenue—around $2 billion—thanks to this strategic collaboration. The report highlights that the latest model’s incremental market share translates to approximately 12 million additional units sold. With the Galaxy S24 series anticipated to sell around 40 million units in 2024, Qualcomm’s dominance with the Snapdragon 8 Elite is expected to bring higher shipment volumes and financial benefits.

Despite the Galaxy S25’s resemblance to its predecessor, the S24 lineup, Samsung has made significant hardware upgrades and incorporated enhanced AI features to elevate the overall user experience. Notably, the base RAM for both the Galaxy S25 and S25+ has been increased to 12GB, up from 8GB. This change, coupled with a sophisticated manufacturing process for the memory modules, is designed to slash power consumption and enhance efficiency, subsequently leading to improved battery life. While unconfirmed, some speculate that Samsung may have agreed to a premium pricing for an overclocked variant of the Snapdragon 8 Elite.

Even if the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s power consumption is projected to increase, preliminary performance benchmarks suggest that the Galaxy S25 Ultra has outclassed the iPhone 16 Pro Max in both Geekbench 6 and 3DMark Steel Nomad Light tests, showcasing the advantages of this new chipset. Meanwhile, Samsung continues to explore the capabilities of its Exynos 2500, with rumors indicating potential utilization in the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 7 to manage component expenses. However, plans might shift in favor of adopting Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite, which boasts a more streamlined 7-core CPU architecture.

Due to its reduced core count, the Snapdragon 8 Elite presents an attractive option for Qualcomm’s partners seeking to integrate a flagship chipset at a more competitive price point. Samsung may consider adopting this version for its foldable devices should it perform better than the Exynos 2500. This potential shift is yet another step toward enhancing Qualcomm’s revenue, promising exciting developments, so stay tuned for further updates.

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