Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Qualcomm, with 21 holds, 15 buys, one strong buy and one sell among 38 firms. The average 12-month price target is $224.27.
• Qualcomm reported quarterly revenue of $9.95 billion, above expectations, but EPS of $2.21 slightly missed estimates and fell from $2.77 a year earlier. Fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $2.05–$2.25 was below the consensus midpoint, with management citing semiconductor and memory supply constraints.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.92 per share, or $3.68 annualized, representing a 2.4% yield. Automotive growth—including a new BMW supply agreement—and the acquisition of Modular provide diversification beyond smartphones.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the thirty-eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twenty-one have assigned a hold recommendation, fifteen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $224.2667.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Wednesday. Argus set a $220.00 price objective on Qualcomm in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised Qualcomm from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Wednesday.

Qualcomm Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of Qualcomm stock opened at $155.68 on Thursday. Qualcomm has a 52-week low of $121.99 and a 52-week high of $259.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The company's fifty day moving average price is $201.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.94.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.02). Qualcomm had a return on equity of 42.11% and a net margin of 22.31%.The business had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.77 earnings per share. Qualcomm's revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Qualcomm will post 7.98 EPS for the current year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Qualcomm's dividend payout ratio is 40.00%.

Trending Headlines about Qualcomm

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $9.95 billion, exceeding the $9.69 billion consensus estimate. Automotive revenue and broader diversification remain important growth drivers. Qualcomm quarterly earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: BMW selected Qualcomm as its lead compute-silicon provider for future digital-cockpit and advanced driver-assistance systems, with programs expected to extend through the next decade. The deal strengthens Qualcomm’s automotive backlog and reduces reliance on smartphones. Qualcomm BMW chip supply deal
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm completed its all-stock acquisition of Modular, adding AI-native software for deploying generative and agentic AI workloads across edge, cloud and data-center systems. Qualcomm completes Modular acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualcomm’s quarterly EPS of $2.21 was essentially in line with estimates but declined from $2.77 a year earlier, while revenue growth was stronger than expected.
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $2.05–$2.25 was below the $2.23 consensus midpoint, and the $9.7–$10.5 billion revenue range was broadly in line with expectations. Management cited a continuing memory and semiconductor supply crunch and indicated that prices will rise. Qualcomm earnings guidance and memory crunch
• Negative Sentiment: Net income fell 25% year over year to approximately $2 billion. Weak handset sales, higher costs and declining Apple-related revenue are weighing on short-term earnings sentiment, despite automotive strength. Qualcomm Q3 earnings miss

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Qualcomm news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $569,024.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,735 shares in the company, valued at $7,065,677.70. This represents a 7.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 829 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.77, for a total value of $167,267.33. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,529 shares of company stock valued at $4,011,441. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,144,068 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $19,524,350,000 after purchasing an additional 647,076 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,897,079 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $4,931,968,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221,924 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Qualcomm by 34.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 4,290,622 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Qualcomm in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,591,056,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,138,541 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.35% of the company's stock.

Qualcomm Company Profile

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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