Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Updates Q4 2026 Earnings Guidance

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) updated its fourth quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 2.050-2.250 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.230. The company issued revenue guidance of $9.7 billion-$10.5 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $10.0 billion.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on QCOM shares. Lake Street Capital downgraded Qualcomm to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Qualcomm from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday. Argus set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Summit Insights upgraded shares of Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.63.

Qualcomm Price Performance

Qualcomm stock traded down $2.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $148.62. 4,274,854 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,520,768. The company has a market cap of $156.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 1.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $200.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Qualcomm has a 12-month low of $121.99 and a 12-month high of $259.92.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last issued 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 39.89% and a net margin of 21.01%.The business had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Qualcomm will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Qualcomm’s payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.81, for a total value of $452,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,191,899.04. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,529 shares of company stock valued at $4,011,441. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Qualcomm

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal third-quarter revenue reached $9.95 billion, exceeding the $9.69 billion analyst estimate. Automotive and IoT strength helped offset smartphone weakness, while management raised its automotive revenue outlook to approximately $7 billion. QCOM Q2 Deep Dive: Data Center and Automotive Growth Offset Smartphone Headwinds
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm is expanding beyond handsets through automotive, IoT, artificial intelligence and data-center initiatives, with a goal of generating $40 billion in non-handset revenue by fiscal 2029. Its BMW partnership and completed Modular acquisition support that diversification strategy. QCOM Q3 Earnings Call Highlights AI Expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Next-quarter revenue guidance of approximately $10.1 billion at the midpoint was reportedly above analysts’ expectations, but the benefit is not expected to translate into comparable profit growth because of cost pressures. QCOM Q2 Deep Dive: Data Center and Automotive Growth Offset Smartphone Headwinds
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment has become mixed: UBS, Susquehanna, TD Cowen, Rosenblatt and Morgan Stanley all lowered price targets, although TD Cowen and Rosenblatt retained buy ratings and several targets remain above the current trading level. Qualcomm Q3 Highlights
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings of $2.21 per share narrowly missed consensus estimates and fell from $2.77 a year earlier. Revenue also declined 4% year over year, reflecting continued handset weakness. Qualcomm Q3 Earnings Miss Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $2.05–$2.25 has a midpoint below the approximately $2.23 analyst forecast. Qualcomm warned that higher memory costs may pressure margins and said Apple-related revenue declines are likely to accelerate as Apple increasingly uses its own modem technology. Qualcomm shares slide as higher costs, Apple-related weakness cloud profit forecast

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings 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 valued at $2,861,301,000 after purchasing an additional 4,290,622 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Qualcomm by 9.9% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 12,671,635 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,136,486,000 after buying an additional 1,138,541 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Qualcomm by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,844,836 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,855,010,000 after buying an additional 64,450 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,463,461 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,276,722,000 after buying an additional 911,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 59.1% during the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 4,418,406 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $703,675,000 after buying an additional 1,641,068 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.