Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Up 2.9% – Should You Buy?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) was up 2.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $185.46 and last traded at $181.97. Approximately 11,147,501 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 15,570,951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.88.

Key Qualcomm News

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm secured a multi-generational custom-silicon partnership with Qualcomm’s AWS Deal Takes Aim at Nvidia, But Comes With Fine Print Amazon Web Services. The deal provides significant validation from a major AI infrastructure customer and strengthens Qualcomm’s challenge to Nvidia in data-center computing. Qualcomm’s CFO is reportedly targeting roughly $5 billion in future data-center revenue, adding to the growth narrative.
• Positive Sentiment: Investors increasingly view automotive and data-center chips as potential growth engines that can offset slowing handset sales. Analysts and market commentary suggest the AWS agreement could lead to upward estimate revisions if Qualcomm converts the partnership into meaningful, recurring deployments. Qualcomm’s Data Center Bet Looks More Real After Amazon’s AI Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed its “Buy” rating, while Piper Sandler moved Qualcomm to “Hold.” The mixed analyst actions indicate optimism about the longer-term diversification story but limited certainty about near-term earnings growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: The AWS announcement is strategically important, but reports caution that the partnership’s structure and execution timetable could limit its immediate revenue impact. Qualcomm’s valuation and future upside therefore depend on actual customer volumes and revised forecasts, not simply the headline design win.
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro includes Apple’s in-house C2 modem, signaling continued efforts to reduce reliance on Qualcomm. Although the iPhone 18 Pro Max may still use Qualcomm technology in some markets, further modem insourcing presents a long-term risk to Qualcomm’s handset revenue and margins. iPhone 18 Pro Debuts C2 Modem
• Negative Sentiment: Qualcomm’s latest quarterly results showed weaker year-over-year earnings and revenue, while earnings per share narrowly missed estimates. That performance, combined with a handset business described as shrinking, leaves investors dependent on automotive, IoT and data-center expansion to sustain the recovery.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on QCOM shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Qualcomm from $265.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Qualcomm to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $231.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Qualcomm currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.10.

Qualcomm Stock Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $191.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $168.34 and its 200 day moving average is $170.75.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company posted $2.77 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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, analysts predict that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualcomm

In other Qualcomm news, CAO Patricia Grech sold 625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.85, for a total value of $101,781.25. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,872.80. This represents a 75.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Akash Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.81, for a total transaction of $452,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,191,899.04. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 9,033 shares of company stock worth $1,467,844 over the last 90 days. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Qualcomm by 17,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 171 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Qualcomm in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in Qualcomm in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, ABS Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Qualcomm during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Qualcomm Company Profile

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a technology company that develops wireless communications technologies, semiconductors and related intellectual property. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company serves customers and partners worldwide across the mobile, automotive, consumer electronics and industrial markets.

Through its Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT) business, Qualcomm designs and supplies integrated circuits, system software and hardware platforms. Its products include Snapdragon mobile platforms, 5G and other wireless modems, radio-frequency components, connectivity solutions, processors and artificial intelligence technologies.