Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 4.2% – Here’s Why

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock price fell 4.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $162.16 and last traded at $162.88. 15,886,316 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 16,511,223 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.04.

Qualcomm News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm has reportedly told customers it will raise prices, a move that could support revenue and margins if successfully implemented. Huge News for Qualcomm Stock Investors
• Positive Sentiment: The company is expanding beyond smartphones into automotive, AI-enabled vehicle platforms, IoT and data-center opportunities. Its participation in Micron’s long-term automotive supply agreements reinforces the potential for more diversified growth and reduced handset dependence. What Qualcomm’s Dividend Payout and Automotive AI Push Means For Shareholders
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors see valuation support, with one analysis suggesting QCOM could be below fair value if automotive and data-center revenue develops as projected. Qualcomm also continues to return capital, including a recently declared quarterly dividend of $0.92 per share. QUALCOMM Could Be 25% Below Fair Value
• Neutral Sentiment: Qualcomm has a strong earnings-surprise history, and 5G demand, AI, IoT and network upgrades could help the company beat quarterly estimates. However, investors are waiting for the actual results and outlook before assigning greater confidence. Will Qualcomm Beat Estimates Again?
• Negative Sentiment: The stock is testing technical support ahead of earnings after a substantial pullback, increasing sensitivity to any weak guidance or disappointing handset trends. Qualcomm Stock Tests Technical Support Ahead of Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing handset weakness, particularly in China, remains a key risk while Qualcomm transitions toward newer growth markets. Investors may therefore focus closely on smartphone demand, automotive execution and management’s earnings outlook. Qualcomm Is Diversifying Beyond Handsets

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Qualcomm in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. They set a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $175.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Argus set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Freedom Capital cut shares of Qualcomm from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Qualcomm from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $146.00 to $231.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.77.

Qualcomm Trading Down 4.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.25.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.59 billion. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 42.11% and a net margin of 22.31%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.85 earnings per share. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Qualcomm’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Qualcomm news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.82, for a total transaction of $569,024.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,065,677.70. This trade represents a 7.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 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 transaction of $452,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,184 shares in the company, valued at $4,191,899.04. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 21,721 shares of company stock valued at $4,044,465 in the last quarter. 0.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,144,068 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $19,524,350,000 after purchasing an additional 647,076 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 12.5% in the 4th 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $2,861,301,000 after purchasing an additional 4,290,622 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Qualcomm in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,591,056,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 9.9% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 12,671,635 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,136,486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,541 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.