Qualcomm FY2026 EPS Estimate Decreased by Erste Group Bank

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Erste Group Bank dropped their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of Qualcomm in a note issued to investors on Monday, April 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the wireless technology company will earn $8.27 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $8.29. The consensus estimate for Qualcomm's current full-year earnings is $8.21 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Qualcomm's FY2027 earnings at $8.08 EPS.

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

QCOM has been the topic of several other reports. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $225.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $190.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Evercore cut their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $157.00 to $134.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Qualcomm currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.25.

Qualcomm Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:QCOM opened at $150.00 on Wednesday. Qualcomm has a 1-year low of $121.99 and a 1-year high of $205.95. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $134.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.16. The company has a market capitalization of $160.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.99 and a beta of 1.28. 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 announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the wireless technology company to repurchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This is a boost from Qualcomm's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Qualcomm's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.55%.

Insider Activity at Qualcomm

In other news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.65, for a total value of $458,787.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,599 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,202.35. This represents a 8.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the 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 owned 16,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,245,841. This trade represents a 16.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 9,118 shares of company stock worth $1,233,705 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualcomm

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Qualcomm by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,144,068 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $19,524,350,000 after acquiring an additional 647,076 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Qualcomm by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,897,079 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $4,931,968,000 after acquiring an additional 3,221,924 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Qualcomm by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,727,862 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $2,861,301,000 after acquiring an additional 4,290,622 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Qualcomm during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,591,056,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Qualcomm by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 12,671,635 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $2,136,486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,541 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.35% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Qualcomm

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Qualcomm is involved with OpenAI on an “AI agent” smartphone and is developing AI‑native chips have driven a strong rally by reframing Qualcomm as a platform play for on‑device AI rather than just a component supplier. Reuters: Qualcomm surges on report
• Positive Sentiment: Analyses and feature pieces argue the OpenAI link could position Qualcomm to challenge incumbent smartphone ecosystems (Apple/others) by making Snapdragon the standard for edge AI — a re‑rating thesis that attracted substantial buying. MarketBeat: Did Qualcomm Just Put Apple in Check?
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlights Qualcomm’s capital return actions (large buyback authorization and steady dividend) as management signaling confidence, which supports the stock during short‑term volatility. MarketBeat: Capital allocation and buybacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualcomm reports quarterly results tomorrow; investors are focused on revenue, EPS vs. consensus, and any guidance updates that could validate or temper the OpenAI narrative. Yahoo Finance: Earnings to Watch
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes the OpenAI/Qualcomm work targets AI‑native mass‑market chips on a multi‑year timeline (reports point to a 2028 production horizon), which makes the story strategic but long‑dated relative to near‑term earnings. Yahoo: Qualcomm Eyes AI‑Native Smartphones
• Negative Sentiment: Some of today’s pullback is linked to reports about internal OpenAI struggles and a broader pullback in AI‑infrastructure names, which prompted profit‑taking and lowered risk appetite among short‑term traders. Benzinga: What's Going On With The Fall In Qualcomm Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have warned the semiconductor group faces uneven dynamics despite AI growth — Bernstein flagged that some chip stocks are “living in a bad neighborhood,” injecting caution into the rally. Benzinga: Analyst warns on chip group
• Negative Sentiment: Several commentators caution the surge may have been overdone and that valuation/earnings scepticism and possible profit‑taking create downside risk ahead of confirmed deals or measurable revenue upside. Seeking Alpha: Profit‑taking caution

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.

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