Samsung Galaxy S25 Series Becomes a Cash Cow for Qualcomm

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 series has been a major hit globally. Top industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had suggested long ago that the company would sell over 40 million units of the Galaxy S25 series, which is more than the last two flagship series. A recent report suggests Samsung has already sold more than 20.22 million Galaxy S25 series phones by the end of June.

Samsung drives success of Qualcomm’s “for Galaxy” chips

The main point is that all four Galaxy S25 models pack Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy inside. This means that the more Galaxy S25 units Samsung sells, the more revenue Qualcomm earns.

Tipster @UniverseIce shared that Samsung’s Galaxy S25 series helped Qualcomm sell over 20 million Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chips worldwide. In comparison, sales of the regular Snapdragon 8 Elite chip used by other brands were reportedly lower than 20 million. This means Samsung’s exclusive chip alone outsold all other Android phones using the standard version combined.

The “for Galaxy” version was co-developed by Samsung and Qualcomm and features faster CPU cores, running at 4.47 GHz compared to 4.32 GHz on the standard chip. This performance boost is a key reason why the Galaxy S25 series is selling so well.

The success shows that Samsung is Qualcomm’s most profitable Android partner. By offering a unique chip version, Samsung has turned its flagship line into a cash cow, driving record sales and giving Qualcomm a major advantage over other smartphone makers.

Looking ahead, the trend is likely to continue. The upcoming Galaxy S26 could receive a “for Galaxy” Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chip. Which analysts expect will once again outsell the standard version. If history repeats itself, Samsung will continue to lead the premium Android market while keeping Qualcomm’s chips in high demand.