Qualcomm's Apple bills may pile up

Withheld royalty payments on Apple devices could cloud Qualcomm's outlook this year

Call it the case of the missing billion(s). That is the mystery facing Qualcomm ’s QCOM -1.12% shareholders heading into the company’s fiscal second-quarter report next week.
 

It stems from the company’s escalating dispute with Apple Inc., AAPL -0.53% in which the world’s most valuable company has accused Qualcomm of charging exorbitant licensing fees for the use of its intellectual property.

Qualcomm fired back with its own claims earlier this week, accusing Apple of building its blockbuster iPhone business on the back of Qualcomm’s technology, while trying to undermine the chip maker and gain access to that technology on the cheap.

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