SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 8-K CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): July 24, 2000 QUALCOMM INCORPORATED (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) DELAWARE (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) 0-19528 95-3685934 (Commission File No.) (IRS Employer Identification No.) 5775 MOREHOUSE DRIVE SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA 92121 (Address of principal executive offices and zip code) Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (858) 587-1121 ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS. THIS REPORT CONTAINS FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS THAT ARE SUBJECT TO RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES RELATING TO THE PROPOSED SEPARATION AND SPIN-OFF OF QUALCOMM'S INTEGRATED CIRCUIT AND SYSTEM SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS BUSINESS, INCLUDING THE IMPACT OF THE PROPOSED SEPARATION AND SPIN-OFF ON QUALCOMM'S AND THE NEW COMPANY'S RESULTS OF OPERATIONS, THE FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING CONSEQUENCES OF THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION, THE IMPACT OF THE PROPOSED SPIN-OFF ON QUALCOMM'S STOCK PRICE AND ITS RELATIONSHIPS WITH CUSTOMERS AND EMPLOYEES, THE TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE TRANSACTION TO QUALCOMM AND ITS STOCKHOLDERS, AND CHANGES IN BUSINESS CLIMATE OR MARKET CONDITIONS OR OTHER FACTORS WHICH COULD MAKE THE PROPOSED SEPARATION OR SPIN-OFF UNADVISABLE. THIS REPORT ALSO CONTAINS FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS SUBJECT TO THE RISK THAT THE RATE OF GROWTH OF THE CDMA SUBSCRIBER POPULATION WILL DECLINE, RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS AND BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS, DEVELOPMENTS IN CURRENT OR FUTURE LITIGATION AND THE TIMING AND RECEIPT OF LICENSE FEES AND ROYALTIES, AS WELL AS OTHER RISKS INCLUDING THOSE DETAILED FROM TIME TO TIME IN QUALCOMM'S SEC REPORTS, INCLUDING ITS REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR THE YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 26, 1999 AND ITS MOST RECENTLY FILED FORM 10-Q. QUALCOMM Incorporated ("QUALCOMM" or the "Company") is planning to spin-off its integrated circuit and system software solutions business. The separation will create two separate companies and is designed to speed the worldwide growth and development of CDMA wireless voice and data markets. These companies will focus on critical drivers of growth for the wireless industry. The new company will focus on developing and delivering innovative wireless communications integrated circuits and system software solutions for the world's leading handset and infrastructure manufacturers. QUALCOMM will focus on developing and supporting the growth of CDMA technology and driving the convergence of wireless data applications and Internet access, with the goal of increasing royalties. In addition, QUALCOMM will further develop its other existing businesses, including QUALCOMM Wireless Systems (OmniTRACS and Globalstar) and QUALCOMM Digital Media (Government Systems, Digital Cinema and Eudora). Following the separation, the new company will be the leading developer worldwide of CDMA integrated circuits and system software solutions for wireless voice and data products. According to Dataquest's most recent analysis, the new company will be the largest fabless semiconductor company in the world. The new company is temporarily called QUALCOMM Spinco, Inc. ("Spinco"), and will change its name in due course. As contemplated, QUALCOMM's integrated circuit and system software solutions business would be transferred to Spinco and shares of Spinco would be distributed to QUALCOMM stockholders in the form of a tax-free dividend. QUALCOMM expects the spin-off to be completed by August 2001. The proposed separation of the integrated circuit and system software solutions business and the spin-off are each subject to final approval by the Company's Board of Directors, a favorable ruling from the IRS regarding the tax-free nature of the transaction and favorable market conditions. INDUSTRY DEPLOYMENT OF CDMA FOR SECOND AND THIRD GENERATION WIRELESS SYSTEMS. Since first proposing CDMA technology to the wireless industry in 1989, QUALCOMM has been widely recognized as the pioneer of CDMA technology for wireless applications. Many in the industry now agree that CDMA technology is the wireless air interface of choice for the future growth of wireless communications and plan to adopt CDMA for third generation networks. 2 In just over five years, over 65 million subscribers covering 35 countries have adopted CDMA technology. Second generation cdmaOne networks have been widely deployed around the world, including South Korea, the United States, Japan and throughout Latin America. Third generation cdma2000 1X networks are planned to enter commercial service in South Korea in 2000 and in Japan, the United States and elsewhere in 2001. In addition, cdma2000 1xEV (HDR) trials are planned in South Korea and Japan in 2000. NTT DoCoMo has announced that an initial version of WCDMA will be deployed in some areas of Japan in 2001. QUALCOMM'S PIONEERING ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT OF CDMA. Since shortly after its formation in 1985, QUALCOMM has allocated substantial resources to developing, patenting and commercializing the use of CDMA technology in wireless communications applications. QUALCOMM's intellectual property portfolio has been widely recognized as being necessary for cdmaOne, cdma2000, 1xEV, 1Xplus, 1Xtreme and WCDMA. QUALCOMM has entered into royalty-bearing license agreements for CDMA wireless applications with more than 80 major telecommunications manufacturers, including Ericsson, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Hyundai, Intel, LGIC, Lucent, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Nortel, Philips, Samsung, Siemens and Sony. In addition to license fees, QUALCOMM receives on-going royalties from its licensees as they sell CDMA products provided that at least one claim of one of QUALCOMM's licensed patents is being utilized. Moreover, approximately 15 of QUALCOMM's license agreements cover WCDMA applications and require manufacturers to pay on-going royalties to QUALCOMM in connection with their sales of WCDMA products, with royalty rates equivalent to the royalties that are payable by them for cdmaOne and cdma2000 applications. The manufacturers that have licensed some or all of QUALCOMM's essential patents for WCDMA applications include: Ericsson, Hitachi, LGIC, Lucent, Matsushita, Motorola, Nortel, Philips, Samsung, Sony, Sanyo and Toshiba. QUALCOMM expects increased total licensing and royalty revenues as third generation CDMA standards are deployed. QUALCOMM'S INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ARRANGEMENTS WITH SPINCO To give Spinco the ability to negotiate cross-licenses, gain reasonable access to third party intellectual property and defend itself as may be necessary, QUALCOMM will assign to Spinco a portion of its patents and patent applications that are essential and/or useful to implement existing and proposed CDMA standards. Following the spin-off, QUALCOMM's intellectual property portfolio will consist of more than 1,000 U.S. patents and patent applications, substantially all of which are essential to or useful in CDMA wireless applications and some of which have applicability in other wireless applications (such as position location technology). Because of the terms of QUALCOMM's license agreements and due to the overall breadth and coverage of its intellectual property portfolio, QUALCOMM believes that assignment of patents and patent applications to Spinco will not compromise QUALCOMM's existing or future licensing business, including the royalties payable to the Company. In addition to filing for patent protection in the United States, QUALCOMM has and will continue to actively file for patent protection around the world and has received CDMA patents with broad coverage throughout most of world, including China, Japan, Korea, Europe, Brazil, North America and elsewhere. QUALCOMM's research and development team has a strong and proven track record of innovation in wireless technologies. QUALCOMM intends to use its substantial engineering 3 resources and expertise to develop new technologies, applications and services and make them available to licensees to help grow the wireless market and generate new or expanded licensing opportunities. In addition to continuing to develop its own intellectual property portfolio, QUALCOMM will have the right each year to select and receive ownership of a portion of Spinco's patent applications. As a result of this relationship with Spinco and QUALCOMM's own research and development efforts, QUALCOMM expects to be able to extend the term of its royalty-bearing licenses and create new licensing opportunities. BENEFITS TO QUALCOMM OF THE SPIN-OFF. QUALCOMM expects to realize benefits from its complete separation from Spinco, including the following: - - REDUCED NEED FOR CROSS-LICENSES. Since QUALCOMM will no longer be supplying CDMA integrated circuits, it will have little or no need for third party cross-licenses. Accordingly, QUALCOMM expects that it will be able to continue to license its substantial intellectual property portfolio and continue to collect royalty and license fee revenue in the future. - - ELIMINATION OF POTENTIAL CONFLICTS WITH THE COMPANY'S CUSTOMERS. Many of QUALCOMM's licensees currently also purchase integrated circuit and system software solutions from QUALCOMM, which from time to time has caused a conflict between its licensing and integrated circuit and system software solutions business. QUALCOMM expects that the separation of Spinco from QUALCOMM may reduce these conflicting interests. - - GREATER STRATEGIC FOCUS. QUALCOMM's licensing business benefits equally from the advancement and commercial implementation of any of the proposed third generation CDMA-based standards. QUALCOMM expects that following the spin-off, it will have a sharper focus on enhancing the competitive position of its business and a greater ability to collaborate with manufacturers and carriers to develop, implement and deploy the latest implementations of CDMA technology for a variety of potential applications. - - BETTER INCENTIVES FOR EMPLOYEES. QUALCOMM expects that the motivation of its employees and the focus of its senior management team will be strengthened by incentive compensation programs tied to the market performance of its common stock. The separation will enable QUALCOMM to offer its employees compensation directly linked to the performance of QUALCOMM's common stock, which QUALCOMM believes will enhance its ability to attract and retain qualified personnel. QUALCOMM'S MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS FOLLOWING THE SPIN-OFF. QUALCOMM expects that its executive team after the spin-off will be Dr. Irwin Jacobs, Chairman and CEO; Dr. Paul Jacobs, President; Tony Thornley, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer; and Steve Altman, Executive Vice President. Dr. Irwin Jacobs will also be Chairman of the Board of Directors of the spin-off company. Although Dr. Irwin Jacobs will provide 4 strategic and corporate governance to both companies, he will devote the majority of his time to QUALCOMM as Chairman and CEO. Following the spin-off, QUALCOMM intends to (a) actively drive the rapid deployment of CDMA-based systems and technologies and the growing demand for high speed, high capacity, wireless data and Internet access enabled by CDMA technology to grow its royalty stream, (b) continue to broadly grant royalty-bearing licenses under its technology and patents for CDMA and other wireless applications, (c) build upon its industry leading position in data applications and services for the transportation industry, (d) expand its long-term position as a profitable operator of mobile data services and (e) create new businesses, such as the Digital Cinema system currently under development. DRIVING THE DEMAND OF CDMA TECHNOLOGY FOR WIRELESS VOICE AND DATA. Following the spin-off, QUALCOMM will retain significant engineering resources, including engineers with substantial expertise in CDMA technology. Using these resources, QUALCOMM expects to develop new CDMA-based technology, participate in the formation of new wireless communications standards and assist in deployments of working networks around the world. QUALCOMM believes that by making its engineering resources available to manufacturers and carriers, it can accelerate the deployment of all forms of CDMA and increase its licensing and royalty revenues. With the continued convergence of wireless communications and Internet access, QUALCOMM expects to see wireless usage and handset sales continue their rapid growth as a multitude of new value-added services and new devices with enhanced functionality and features are supplied to the market. In addition to offering superior voice quality, QUALCOMM believes that CDMA carriers will offer superior data services at a significantly lower cost than other non-CDMA carriers because of, among other things, the increased capacity, higher data rate and inherent security advantages offered by CDMA as compared to other technologies. The more quickly that carriers adopt and deploy CDMA, whether it is cdmaOne, cdma2000 or WCDMA, and increase their market share over non-CDMA carriers, the more favorable the impact to QUALCOMM's royalty revenue and other activities. Capitalizing upon its industry insight into wireless technologies and trends, its experienced management team and its established industry relationships, QUALCOMM intends to use the cash flow generated from its royalty business to create, acquire or make strategic investments in new businesses that are focused on increasing wireless usage and providing new services, products or technology that will accelerate the demand for CDMA's high quality voice and high speed, high capacity wireless data. QUALCOMM intends not only that these new businesses be independently successful, but also that they generate increased royalty revenue and licensing opportunities through the general expansion of the CDMA market. Examples of existing or possible future investments in businesses that are focused on the wireless market and which are intended to accelerate the growth of the CDMA, include: STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS IN CARRIERS TO FURTHER DRIVE THE USAGE AND ADOPTION OF CDMA. To help support CDMA carriers, as well as promote the use of its technology, QUALCOMM has made and may continue to make equity investments in CDMA carriers that it believes have economic and time to market advantages. For example, QUALCOMM has equity positions in Korea 5 Telecom Freetel (nationwide Korean PCS carrier), Leap Wireless International, Inc. and Vesper (a Brazilian carrier). STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS IN MANUFACTURERS TO DRIVE NEW APPLICATIONS OR MARKETS FOR CDMA. QUALCOMM has made and may continue to make equity investments in licensed device manufacturers to support the design and introduction of new products that offer unique capabilities or open new markets for CDMA technology. For example, QUALCOMM has equity positions in Handspring (PDA products) and an option to acquire equity in a digital wireless camera products company. Additionally, QUALCOMM may also make strategic investments in selected manufacturers or start-up companies that QUALCOMM believes possess unique capabilities or technology. JOINT VENTURES WITH STRATEGIC PARTNERS. QUALCOMM has entered into joint ventures with strategic partners that are designed to increase wireless usage and dependence on wireless devices. For example, Wireless Knowledge, a joint venture with Microsoft, was formed to provide secure, reliable wireless access to business-critical information by connecting corporate resources to any wireless device. QUALCOMM expects to continue to form such strategic alliances in the future. INVESTMENTS IN VENTURE FUNDS OR INCUBATORS. QUALCOMM has made and may continue to make investments in venture funds, incubators or other entities that have the requisite expertise, resources and networking capabilities to identify and create (or assist others in creating) products, software or technologies focused on the wireless market. For example, QUALCOMM has equity positions in Ignition and IdeaEdge. CDMA EQUIPMENT FINANCING. To facilitate the marketing and sale of CDMA equipment by licensed manufacturers, QUALCOMM has provided, and may continue to provide, equipment financing either directly to CDMA carriers or to licensed manufacturers on commercially reasonable terms. By providing such financing, QUALCOMM expects not only to receive a reasonable return on its investment, but also to ensure the deployment of CDMA networks, which in turn results in increased royalty revenue as the networks are deployed and built out. QUALCOMM has provided equipment financing to Ericsson on a shared basis with respect to their sale of CDMA infrastructure in Brazil, Mexico and elsewhere. FURTHER DEVELOP EXISTING BUSINESSES. Following the spin-off, QUALCOMM will continue to develop other business opportunities that exist within the Company. QWBS. QWBS operates a global wireless data business focused on the logistics industry, and has over 350,000 OmniTRACS units in operation. This business maintains a 24-hour, 7-day a week service center with a redundant back-up center. QWBS, which has been profitable since the early 1990s, provides a complete mobile interactive information management system that includes two-way mobile communications, satellite tracking and fleet management software. The emerging Omni Express business extends this expertise into terrestrial data markets, building a network of interconnections to wireless data networks that have been deployed both domestically and internationally. 6 EUDORA. QUALCOMM's multi-platform Eudora e-mail software products have millions of users worldwide. QUALCOMM supports its Eudora products with an experienced application, server, and user interface development team. Approximately 800,000 users have migrated to a recently introduced advertising-supported version of Eudora in the first six months following its release. QUALCOMM also has developed proprietary XML-based content-serving technology that caches content into the Eudora client software. The Company also has introduced the Eudora Internet Suite, containing both a browser and e-mail client for the Palm OS. GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS. QUALCOMM's Government Systems business provides wireless development and analysis expertise to U.S. Government agencies. This business maintains a team of software experts that support client-server developments with potential commercial applications. DIGITAL CINEMA. The Company's Digital Cinema business is developing a system for the electronic delivery of motion pictures to theatres around the world. The information assurance architecture, including compression and security technologies, developed by the Digital Cinema group can translate to other types of digital content. The relationships QUALCOMM has developed provide direct access to content creators and distributors. In June 2000, the Company entered into a joint venture with Technicolor that will use QUALCOMM's Digital Cinema technology. WIRELESS SYSTEMS. The Company's Wireless Systems division designs, manufacturers, markets and deploys infrastructure and handset products for use in CDMA wireless satellite networks. See Item 7 of this Report for certain unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial information of QUALCOMM which takes into account the proposed spin-off. ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS. (a) FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF BUSINESSES ACQUIRED. Not applicable. (b) PRO FORMA FINANCIAL INFORMATION. (1) UNAUDITED PRO FORMA CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF QUALCOMM INCORPORATED. The following unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial information is being filed herewith: