Qualcomm, Arm Face Off in Delaware Jury Trial Over Billions in Licensing Royalties

Qualcomm (QCOM) and Arm (ARM) began a five-day federal jury trial in Delaware on October 5, 2026, over licensing disputes that could cost Qualcomm billions in future royalties. Qualcomm, one of Arm's largest customers, alleges Arm withheld essential chip testing tools and leaked a termination letter to media in 2024, damaging a pending chip deal with Meta Platforms (META). Qualcomm seeks to void up to five years of royalty payments potentially worth billions of dollars. Arm, owned by SoftBank Group, denies breach and calls the Meta deal speculative and without material harm. Arm also claims Qualcomm leaked non-public details of an antitrust probe, disqualifying its leak claims. Judge Maryellen Noreika is weighing whether to strike contract clauses, which could limit Qualcomm to smaller damages. The trial is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute; Arm sued Qualcomm in 2022, while Qualcomm won a key ruling in 2024. A bench trial will separately assess Arm's good faith in next-generation chip negotiations. Their current agreement runs through 2033. Tensions are rising as Qualcomm expands from Android smartphone chips into data centers, while Arm launches its own chips competing with Qualcomm and Nvidia (NVDA).