Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Price Up 1.1% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Qualcomm shares rose 1.1% to $164.79, despite trading volume falling 53% below its average daily level.
• The company’s NPU strategy and growth in automotive, IoT and AI products could support a longer-term hardware upgrade cycle and reduce reliance on smartphones, although semiconductor-cycle concerns remain.
• Near-term sentiment is pressured by a slight quarterly EPS miss, a 4% year-over-year revenue decline and reduced earnings forecasts. Analysts maintain an overall “Hold” rating, while Qualcomm’s $0.92 quarterly dividend provides an annualized yield of roughly 2.2%.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 1.1% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $166.77 and last traded at $164.79. 7,678,186 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 16,190,739 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.07.

Qualcomm News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm’s neural-processing-unit (NPU) strategy could benefit from growing demand for on-device AI in smartphones, PCs and other edge devices. Investors view this as a potential catalyst for a broader hardware upgrade cycle and a way to reduce the company’s dependence on traditional handset sales. Forget the Cloud: Qualcomm’s NPU Play May Trigger a Hardware Supercycle
• Positive Sentiment: Another market assessment suggests Qualcomm could be undervalued if growth in automotive, IoT and AI-related products offsets slower smartphone demand. This reinforces the long-term turnaround narrative. Prediction: This Chipmaker Could Be a Bigger Winner Than Investors Think
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.92 per share, or $3.68 annualized, representing a yield of approximately 2.3%. The payout provides income support while investors wait for growth to reaccelerate.
• Neutral Sentiment: Semiconductor ETF inflows remain strong, potentially supporting chip-sector valuations, but Fidelity warned that the semiconductor cycle may be nearing a peak. The conflicting signals suggest continued sector momentum alongside elevated cyclical risk. Semiconductor Flows Stay Sticky in Leveraged Chip ETFs
• Negative Sentiment: Qualcomm’s latest quarterly EPS of $2.21 slightly missed estimates, while revenue declined 4% year over year and EPS fell from $2.77 in the prior-year quarter. Although management indicated the handset downturn may be near a bottom, the results continue to weigh on near-term sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group lowered its FY2026 EPS forecast to $7.71 from $7.91 and its FY2027 estimate to $7.46 from $7.90, signaling reduced expectations for profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Executive Vice President Akash Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares for approximately $408,000. The transaction was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, limiting its importance, but it may still be viewed as a modest negative signal. Qualcomm EVP Akash Palkhiwala Sells 2,500 Shares

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

QCOM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Qualcomm to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Qualcomm from $160.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Qualcomm to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $160.00 target price on Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Qualcomm from $250.00 to $160.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Qualcomm presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $203.63.

Qualcomm Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $173.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 14.97 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.67.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.02). Qualcomm had a net margin of 21.01% and a return on equity of 38.36%. The company had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.77 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Qualcomm's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.04, for a total transaction of $470,528.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,535 shares in the company, valued at $5,372,106.40. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total value of $408,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,684 shares in the company, valued at $3,376,869.84. This trade represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,529 shares of company stock worth $1,991,345. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Qualcomm

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in Qualcomm by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 64,911 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $11,103,000 after buying an additional 8,130 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 112.2% during the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 43,986 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $7,524,000 after buying an additional 23,262 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Qualcomm by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,533,420 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $262,291,000 after purchasing an additional 23,110 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 18,691 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $3,197,000 after purchasing an additional 6,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Qualcomm by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 143,690 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $24,578,000 after buying an additional 7,804 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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.

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