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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Yes, but not as a single published Cortex price increase. In its Q2 2012 results, Arm said higher royalty percentages on chips incorporating Cortex-A helped lift average royalty revenue per chip to 4.8 cents from 4.5 cents a year earlier. Arm also pointed to product mix: more chips combined multiple Arm processors, and more shipments included Mali graphics.
What Arm reported in 2012
Arm’s Q2 2012 results, published July 25, 2012, reported average royalty revenue of 4.8 cents per chip, up from 4.5 cents one year earlier. That is an average revenue figure across chips in the period—not a published universal royalty rate for Cortex-A or a customer-specific price schedule.
The distinction matters because a royalty rate is one input into revenue, while average royalty revenue per chip is an aggregate outcome. It can shift as contractual rates, chip values, the number of Arm products integrated into a chip, and the mix of chips shipped change.
Why Cortex-A mattered—and why it was not the only cause
Arm identified higher royalty percentages on chips incorporating Cortex-A as one contributor to the increase. It also cited chips integrating multiple Arm processors and increased shipments of chips containing Mali graphics. The reported change therefore reflected both rates and the types of products being shipped.
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Arm said Cortex-A shipments were nearly double year over year in Q2 2012 and represented 8% of processor units shipped, compared with 4% a year earlier. Cortex-A chips were typically higher-value products and commanded a higher royalty percentage, according to the results release. A growing share of those chips could raise the average even without one across-the-board rate change applying to every Arm chip.
How Arm royalties work
Arm’s current Form 20-F for the year ended March 31, 2026 describes royalties as typically based either on a percentage of a chip’s average selling price (ASP) or on a fixed fee per unit. The filing says the royalty typically increases as more Arm products are included in a chip. Licensing fees are a separate part of Arm’s business model; royalty revenue is associated with chips sold under licensing arrangements.
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Arm does not publish customer-specific Cortex-A royalty schedules in that filing. The public figures support an explanation of average revenue and reported drivers, not a calculation of the rate paid by a particular licensee.
Mind the reporting lag in the Q2 2012 figures
The quarter label can be misleading. Arm said it sold 2 billion Arm-technology-based chips in Q2 2012, a record at the time, but the royalty revenue reported in that quarter reflected earlier chip shipments from Q1 2012. The 4.8-cent average should therefore be understood as revenue recognized in Q2 against the relevant prior-period shipments, not as a measure of all chips sold during Q2.
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What later disclosures say about royalty growth
The underlying mechanism remains visible in current reporting, but aggregate royalty growth still cannot be attributed to rates alone.
| Period and source | Reported royalty result | What Arm identified |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2012, July 25, 2012 results | 4.8 cents average royalty revenue per chip, versus 4.5 cents a year earlier | Higher royalty percentages on Cortex-A chips, multiple Arm processors per chip, and more chips with Mali graphics; Cortex-A’s share of processor units shipped rose to 8% from 4%. |
| Q2 FY2026, November 5, 2025 results | $620 million in royalty revenue, up 21% year over year | Arm cited Armv9 and Compute Subsystems among technologies associated with higher per-chip rates. |
| Q1 FY2027, July 29, 2026 results | $715 million in royalty revenue, up 22% year over year | Arm attributed growth in part to adoption of higher-rate technologies, including Armv9 and Compute Subsystems. |
Arm’s FY2026 annual report says royalty growth was driven primarily by higher chip shipments and improved mix of products with higher rates, such as Armv9. That qualification applies when interpreting the later quarterly figures too: company-reported growth is not an isolated measurement of a rate increase.
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What the headline claim does—and does not—establish
- Established: Arm said higher royalty percentages on Cortex-A chips contributed to the higher average royalty revenue per chip in Q2 2012.
- Also established: Cortex-A shipments grew as a share of shipped units, and Arm named other product and integration mix factors.
- Not established: a single Cortex-A royalty rate, a universal increase for all licensees, or the specific terms of any customer contract.
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