Erste Group Bank Lowers Earnings Estimates for Qualcomm

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) – Equities research analysts at Erste Group Bank cut their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of Qualcomm in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the wireless technology company will earn $8.32 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $8.39. The consensus estimate for Qualcomm’s current full-year earnings is $9.39 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Qualcomm’s FY2027 earnings at $8.25 EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on QCOM. Susquehanna downgraded shares of Qualcomm from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $140.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. DZ Bank raised shares of Qualcomm to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down from $175.00) on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Qualcomm from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Qualcomm presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.14.

Qualcomm Stock Performance

Shares of QCOM opened at $130.54 on Friday. 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 has a 12-month low of $120.80 and a 12-month high of $205.95. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $141.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.97 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westerkirk Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,539,000. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,896,000. Inscription Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 58.1% during the third quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 13,055 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 4,799 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Qualcomm by 1.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,004,339 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $167,082,000 after acquiring an additional 16,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Qualcomm in the third quarter worth about $725,000. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Qualcomm

In other news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the business’s 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 directly owned 16,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,245,841. The trade was a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.65, for a total value of $458,787.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,900,202.35. This trade represents a 8.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,866 shares of company stock valued at $1,474,796. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Qualcomm declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 17th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the wireless technology company to repurchase up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. Qualcomm’s payout ratio is 73.55%.

More Qualcomm News

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm’s push into AI-powered cameras for security and IoT is highlighted as a potential new revenue stream with scalable software and higher-margin services that could offset hardware cyclicality. This product narrative supports a longer-term growth case for investors focused on AI monetization. Can Qualcomm’s Advanced AI Camera for Security & IoT Drive Profits?
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketBeat’s aggregation shows a consensus “Hold” rating from 24 brokerages (distribution: ~3 sell, 10 hold, 10 buy, 1 other), reflecting mixed analyst views and no clear directional conviction from the sell-side. Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysis pieces note that recent rating shifts for Qualcomm partly reflect broader Nasdaq-100 composition and sector dynamics rather than company-specific fundamentals, suggesting some analyst movements are flow-driven. This context mutes the signal from individual rating changes. Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Rating Shifts Reflect Nasdaq 100 Composition
• Negative Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded QCOM to Market Perform (from Outperform) and cut its price target to $140 from $175, citing memory-related headwinds and higher component prices that could hurt demand and margins. The downgrade and PT cut have been cited in multiple media reports and are pressuring near-term sentiment and the stock’s upside potential. Bernstein Lowers Qualcomm (QCOM) PT, Says Expectations “Now Appear Much Too High”

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.