Qualcomm vs TotalEnergies: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Qualcomm and TotalEnergies side by side

1. 1924TotalEnergies

   Compagnie Francaise des Petroles founded

   The French state-backed oil company was created to secure access to petroleum resources and became the predecessor of TotalEnergies.

2. 1954TotalEnergies

   Total Brand Created

   The company created the Total brand in 1954 to build a retail distribution network.

3. 1985Qualcomm

   Qualcomm Founded

   Irwin Jacobs, Andrew Viterbi, and five colleagues found Qualcomm Incorporated in San Diego, California, initially operating as a telecommunications consulting and research firm from a converted restaurant building.

4. 1988Qualcomm

   OmniTRACS Commercial Launch

   Qualcomm commercially launches OmniTRACS, a satellite-based two-way messaging and positioning system for long-haul trucking that becomes the company's first profitable product and funds ongoing CDMA research.

5. 1989Qualcomm

   First Live CDMA Demonstration

   Qualcomm conducts its first outdoor live CDMA demonstration in San Diego, proving the technology works in real-world conditions and attracting serious attention from U.S. Cellular carriers and equipment manufacturers.

6. 1991Qualcomm

   Initial Public Offering

   Qualcomm goes public on the Nasdaq Stock Market in December 1991, raising approximately $43 million at $16 per share in an IPO that gives the company capital to accelerate CDMA commercialization.

7. 1993Qualcomm

   IS-95 CDMA Standard Adopted

   The Telecommunications Industry Association formally adopts IS-95, a CDMA standard based substantially on Qualcomm's technology, as an approved digital cellular standard in the United States validating the company's decade-long technological bet.

8. 1995Qualcomm

   First Commercial CDMA Network Launched

   Sprint PCS launches the first commercial CDMA cellular network in the United States, using Qualcomm-based technology and marking the beginning of large-scale commercial deployment that would define U.S. Wireless infrastructure for the next twenty years.

9. 1995TotalEnergies

   Thierry Desmarest becomes CEO

   Thierry Desmarest became CEO of TotalEnergies in 1995. Led Total from 1995 to 2007 and engineered the Petrofina and Elf Aquitaine combinations; remained Chairman until 2010.

10. 1999Qualcomm

    Strategic Exit from Infrastructure and Handsets

    Qualcomm sells its network infrastructure division to Ericsson and its handset manufacturing business to Kyocera, focusing the company entirely on chip design and patent licensing a strategic concentration that defines its business model to the present day.

11. 1999TotalEnergies

    Petrofina acquired; Elf Aquitaine follows in 2000

    Total combined with Belgium's Petrofina in 1999 and Elf Aquitaine in 2000, operating as TotalFinaElf before reverting to Total in 2003.

12. 2000TotalEnergies

    Elf Aquitaine Acquired

    Total acquired Elf Aquitaine in 2000, forming TotalFinaElf.

13. 2007Qualcomm

    Snapdragon Platform Introduction

    Qualcomm introduces the Snapdragon brand for its mobile system-on-chip processors, establishing a consumer-facing identity for its mobile silicon that would become synonymous with premium Android smartphone performance over the following decade.

14. 2007TotalEnergies

    Christophe de Margerie becomes CEO

    Christophe de Margerie became CEO of TotalEnergies in 2007. CEO from 2007 and Chairman from 2010 until his death in a plane accident at Moscow's Vnukovo airport in October 2014.

15. 2011TotalEnergies

    Acquired SunPower (majority stake)

    TotalEnergies acquired SunPower (majority stake).

16. 2018TotalEnergies

    Direct Energie acquired

    Total bought French power and gas retailer Direct Energie, the base of its European retail electricity business.

17. 2019Qualcomm

    Apple Settlement and Licensing Agreement

    Following years of contentious litigation, Qualcomm and Apple reach a global settlement in April 2019 covering all pending litigation worldwide, with Apple agreeing to a multi-year chip supply deal and a licensing arrangement reportedly involving back payments…

18. 2021Qualcomm

    Nuvia Acquisition

    Qualcomm acquires Nuvia, a CPU startup founded by former Apple Silicon architects, for approximately $1.4 billion, bringing custom CPU design capabilities in-house that power the Oryon cores in Snapdragon 8 Elite and Snapdragon X Elite PC chips.

19. 2021TotalEnergies

    Total becomes TotalEnergies

    The company changed its name to TotalEnergies to reflect a broader multi-energy strategy spanning oil, gas, electricity, renewables, and low-carbon energy.

20. 2023Qualcomm

    Snapdragon X Elite PC Platform Launch

    Qualcomm launches the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus platforms for Windows PCs, powering Microsoft's Copilot+ PC initiative and marking the company's most significant push into personal computing since the failed Snapdragon 835 PC effort in 2017.

21. 2024Qualcomm

    Snapdragon 8 Elite Launch

    Qualcomm launches the Snapdragon 8 Elite, its first phone chip with custom Oryon CPU cores, built on TSMC's 3nm process.

22. 2025Qualcomm

    Alphawave Semi Acquisition Completed

    Qualcomm completes its roughly $2.4B purchase of Alphawave Semi to accelerate data center connectivity products.

23. 2025TotalEnergies

    2025 results

    Revenues from sales of $182.344 billion, adjusted net income of $15.6 billion (down 15%), IFRS net income of $13.127 billion and a €3.40 dividend.

24. 2026Qualcomm

    Q2 FY2026 Results and $20B Buyback Authorization

    Qualcomm reports Q2 FY2026 revenue of $10.599B, record quarterly QCT automotive revenue, 20% year-over-year growth in combined QCT automotive and IoT revenue, and a new $20B repurchase authorization.

25. 2026Qualcomm

    Q3 FY2026 Results and $40B Non-Handset Target

    Qualcomm reports Q3 FY2026 revenue of $9.9B (down 4%), automotive revenue up 61% to $1.6B, and raises its FY2029 non-handset revenue target to $40B.

26. 2026TotalEnergies

    Mozambique LNG full restart

    On January 29, 2026, Patrick Pouyanné and President Daniel Chapo announced the full restart of the roughly $20 billion Mozambique LNG project after force majeure was lifted in November 2025.

27. 2026TotalEnergies

    Q2 2026 results

    Adjusted net income of $6.0 billion and cash flow of $9.8 billion in the second quarter as higher oil prices tied to the Middle East conflict lifted earnings.

Acquisitions

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