Erste Group Bank Lowers Earnings Estimates for Qualcomm

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank trimmed its FY2026 EPS estimate for Qualcomm to $8.32 from $8.39 (consensus $9.39) and forecasts FY2027 EPS of $8.25, signaling slightly lower near-term earnings expectations.
• Analyst coverage is mixed — MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" and an average target of $165.14, while firms like Sanford C. Bernstein, JPMorgan and Susquehanna have recently cut price targets or downgraded the stock.
• Qualcomm's board authorized a $20.0 billion share buyback (about 14.5% of shares) and the company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.89 (annualized $3.56, ~2.7% yield), highlighting active capital returns.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Erste Group Bank cut their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of Qualcomm in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the wireless technology company will earn $8.32 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $8.39. The consensus estimate for Qualcomm's current full-year earnings is $9.39 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Qualcomm's FY2027 earnings at $8.25 EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on QCOM. Susquehanna downgraded shares of Qualcomm from a "positive" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $140.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. DZ Bank raised shares of Qualcomm to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down from $175.00) on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Qualcomm from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Qualcomm presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $165.14.

Qualcomm Stock Performance

Shares of QCOM opened at $130.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.83. Qualcomm has a 12-month low of $120.80 and a 12-month high of $205.95. The business's fifty day moving average price is $141.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.97 and a beta of 1.25.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The wireless technology company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.12. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 44.09% and a net margin of 11.96%.The firm had revenue of $12.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.41 earnings per share. Qualcomm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualcomm has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.450-2.650 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westerkirk Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,539,000. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,896,000. Inscription Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 58.1% during the third quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 13,055 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 4,799 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Qualcomm by 1.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,004,339 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $167,082,000 after acquiring an additional 16,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Qualcomm in the third quarter worth about $725,000. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Qualcomm

In other news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.00, for a total transaction of $438,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,245,841. The trade was a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.65, for a total value of $458,787.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,202.35. This trade represents a 8.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,866 shares of company stock valued at $1,474,796. Insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Qualcomm declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 17th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the wireless technology company to repurchase up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. Qualcomm's payout ratio is 73.55%.

More Qualcomm News

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm's push into AI-powered cameras for security and IoT is highlighted as a potential new revenue stream with scalable software and higher-margin services that could offset hardware cyclicality. This product narrative supports a longer-term growth case for investors focused on AI monetization. Can Qualcomm's Advanced AI Camera for Security & IoT Drive Profits?
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketBeat's aggregation shows a consensus "Hold" rating from 24 brokerages (distribution: ~3 sell, 10 hold, 10 buy, 1 other), reflecting mixed analyst views and no clear directional conviction from the sell-side. Qualcomm Incorporated NASDAQ: QCOM Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysis pieces note that recent rating shifts for Qualcomm partly reflect broader Nasdaq-100 composition and sector dynamics rather than company-specific fundamentals, suggesting some analyst movements are flow-driven. This context mutes the signal from individual rating changes. Qualcomm NASDAQ: QCOM Rating Shifts Reflect Nasdaq 100 Composition
• Negative Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded QCOM to Market Perform (from Outperform) and cut its price target to $140 from $175, citing memory-related headwinds and higher component prices that could hurt demand and margins. The downgrade and PT cut have been cited in multiple media reports and are pressuring near-term sentiment and the stock's upside potential. Bernstein Lowers Qualcomm (QCOM) PT, Says Expectations “Now Appear Much Too High”

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm Incorporated is a global semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company headquartered in San Diego, California. Founded in 1985, the company is known for its development of wireless technologies and for playing a central role in the evolution of digital cellular standards, including CDMA and subsequent generations of mobile standards. Qualcomm’s business combines the design and sale of semiconductor products with a patent licensing program for wireless technologies and related intellectual property.

The company’s product portfolio includes system-on-chip (SoC) platforms marketed under the Snapdragon brand, cellular modem and RF front-end components, connectivity solutions for Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth, and processors and platforms aimed at automotive, IoT, networking and edge-computing applications.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.