Shares of Qualcomm Inc., the world’s largest seller of smartphone processors, experienced a decline due to investor concerns about a potential slowdown in demand for new handsets in the coming year. The company projected revenue for the period ending in March to be between $10.3 billion and $11.2 billion, with the licensing business expected to generate $1.25 billion to $1.45 billion, falling short of the average analyst projection of $1.4 billion. This outlook, based on the projected number of phones sold, led some analysts to question Qualcomm’s view of the industry’s prospects. The company expects the overall market to either remain flat or increase in low single digits in 2025, excluding any revenue from China-based Huawei Technologies Co., which is renegotiating its license with Qualcomm. Qualcomm’s outlook aligns with analyst firm IDC, which projected that worldwide smartphone shipments would be in the “low single digits” in 2025 and for a few years beyond. The shares were down 3.9% in New York on Thursday, although the stock has gained about 10% this year. Other smartphone stalwarts, Arm Holdings Plc and Skyworks Solutions Inc., also fell in late trading after their forecasts fell short of some analysts’ projections, adding to investor concerns about the industry’s overall growth. Qualcomm, based in San Diego, collects fees as a percentage of the cost of a handset, regardless of whether the phone maker uses its chips. The company’s strength as the provider of semiconductors for expensive devices such as Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy range helps boost its growth. Qualcomm’s efforts to expand outside of its central market into automotive and personal computers are also helping spur revenue. In the fiscal first quarter, Qualcomm reported a profit of $3.41 a share, excluding some items, with revenue rising 17% to $11.7 billion. Analysts had estimated earnings of $2.97 a share and sales of $10.9 billion. Phone-related sales increased 13% to $7.57 billion in the period ending Dec. 29, compared with the average projection of $7 billion. Revenue of chips used in vehicles was $961 million, and connected-device chip sales were $1.55 billion. One of Qualcomm’s biggest customers, Apple Inc., uses the company’s modem chip in the iPhone but is working to replace that component with an in-house version. Qualcomm has held onto business from Apple for longer than many had predicted, but has repeatedly cautioned investors that over time that source of revenue will go to zero. Counterbalancing that, Samsung, which also makes its own phone chips, has increased the amount of models that are based on the US chipmaker’s components.