Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 7.6% – What’s Next?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) shares dropped 7.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $186.18 and last traded at $189.39. 36,505,189 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 115% from the average daily volume of 16,953,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $204.90.

Key Headlines Impacting Qualcomm

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualcomm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm raised its fiscal 2029 non-handset revenue target to $40 billion from $22 billion and said its data center business could exceed $15 billion by 2029, reinforcing the company’s push beyond smartphone chips.
• Positive Sentiment: The company said Meta and Microsoft are early customers for its data center CPUs, giving investors outside validation for Qualcomm’s AI infrastructure strategy and helping the market see a clearer growth path.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more bullish after the update, with multiple firms raising price targets and DZ Bank upgrading Qualcomm from hold to buy, suggesting Wall Street is warming to the diversification story.
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm also announced a $3.9 billion acquisition of Modular, which should strengthen its AI software stack and improve its ability to compete in cloud and edge AI workloads.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces from outlets like Seeking Alpha and 247WallSt argue the market may still be misunderstanding Qualcomm’s AI pivot, but these are opinion-driven and less directly market-moving.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upbeat guidance, investors may still worry that much of the promised AI chip revenue is years away and that execution risk remains high, especially as Qualcomm transitions away from its handset-heavy mix.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on QCOM shares. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Friday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Summit Insights upgraded shares of Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Qualcomm from $160.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.03.

Qualcomm Price Performance

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’s 50-day simple moving average is $201.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.84. The company has a market capitalization of $199.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 23.53 and a beta of 1.59.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.09. Qualcomm had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 42.11%. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualcomm has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.300 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th were paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Qualcomm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio is 40.00%.

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

Insider Transactions at Qualcomm

In other Qualcomm news, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 829 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.77, for a total transaction of $167,267.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.35, for a total value of $493,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,068,737.40. The trade was a 8.87% 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 quarter, insiders have sold 21,806 shares of company stock valued at $3,928,958. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Qualcomm

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in QCOM. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 8,130 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 23,262 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Qualcomm by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,533,420 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $262,291,000 after purchasing an additional 23,110 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Qualcomm by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 18,691 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $3,197,000 after purchasing an additional 6,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Qualcomm by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 143,690 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $24,578,000 after purchasing an additional 7,804 shares during the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.