要拯救核心的QTL业务，高通还有啥底牌

That guidance notably doesn't take into account the new dispute with LG. Qualcomm states that while the "claims are without merit", a resolution might not occur until after fiscal 2016 ends. If that happens, Qualcomm expects its full-year QTL revenue to "be affected by several hundred million dollars", which could dramatically reduce the unit's year-over-year growth.

However, it's unlikely that Qualcomm will make "little to no progress" with Chinese OEMs. Qualcomm recently signed new agreements with Xiaomi, Haier, QiKu, and Tianyu, indicating that progress was being made. During last quarter's conference call, Qualcomm president Derek Aberle stated that the company still needed to "conclude agreements with a handful of key Chinese OEMs" but didn't mention any companies by name. These holdouts reportedly include leading Chinese OEMs Lenovo and Huawei.

What needs to be done
In addition to regulatory challenges, several of Qualcomm's oldest CDMA patents already started expiring in 2010. Qualcomm has updated its portfolio by developing new wireless technologies, acquiring smaller companies, and buying patents directly from companies, but it could have a tough time justifying those expenses if the QTL business keeps fading. For now, all Qualcomm can really do is secure more agreements in China, resolve the issue with LG, challenge the probes in South Korea and Taiwan, and hope that other similar probes don't pop up.

Looking ahead, Qualcomm needs to reduce the weight of the QTL business on its top and bottom lines. To do this, Qualcomm is expanding the chipmaking (QCT) business into new markets like drones, connected cameras, connected cars, and data centers. The recent launch of the Snapdragon 820 and its renewed partnership with Samsung should also strengthen the QCT's core mobile business.

Qualcomm expects the QCT business to only post "low to mid-single digit" operating margins in the second quarter, but it expects its pre-tax earnings to improve in the second half of 2016. That growth definitely won't offset QTL's weight on the bottom line, but it might soften the blow of more bad news throughout the year.