The past 6 to 7 years were rough for Qualcomm. The company had experienced multiple rounds of anti-trust investigations, licensing disputes from various customers and was a target of a high-profile hostile takeover. But with the new CEO Christiano Amon taking the rein in June, Qualcomm seems ready for a new chapter.

This week's Analyst Day event offers Qualcomm management a chance to lay out their strategy for the future, and the team did a great job. In short, Qualcomm's story hinges on three key elements:

• A stable-and-high-margin licensing business offering a solid base of cash flow;

• In the handset market, focusing on premium-tier Android devices with Apple business gradually removed from the financial model starting in 2023;

• Leveraging the R&D spending in the handset market to the Automotive and IoT market for further growth.

All three key elements center on one common theme, which is "connected intelligent edge devices." Management offered a financial target for the following three years and the key drivers. The handset growth target of 12% may be a little high considering the Apple revenue ramping down. But the Automotive and IoT target were not overly aggressive given the strong product portfolio. These two markets will likely grow much faster and become more critical drivers for the company. 

Overall, the strategy makes a lot of sense, in our opinion, and the financial target feels reasonable and achievable. We will be watching the execution closely from now on.