Qualcomm's stock experienced a sharp decline of 9.32% in post-market trading on Wednesday. The semiconductor company had just reported its quarterly financial results, which included a disappointing forecast for the current quarter.

The plunge was driven by Qualcomm's weaker-than-expected guidance for its fiscal second quarter. The company projected revenue between $10.2 billion and $11 billion, falling short of the analyst consensus estimate of $11.11 billion. Adjusted earnings per share guidance of $2.45 to $2.65 also missed Wall Street's expectation of $2.90.

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon attributed the cautious outlook to an industry-wide shortage of memory chips, which is impacting smartphone production and sales. He noted that original equipment manufacturers, especially in China, are reducing inventory levels to adjust to the constrained memory supply, thereby affecting demand for Qualcomm's smartphone chips despite ongoing consumer interest in premium-tier devices.