Qualcomm becomes latest chip company to dip despite posting impressive quarterly results

Qualcomm reported a beat on the top and bottom lines in its fiscal fourth quarter, along with a bright outlook for the start of its next fiscal year.

Here are the Q4 results:

• Revenues: $11.27 billion (compared to Wall Street’s estimate of $10.77 billion and guidance for about $10.7 billion)

• Adjusted earnings per share: $3 (estimate: $2.88, guidance: ~$2.85)

Its guidance for the current quarter (fiscal Q1 2026) was stellar:

• Revenues: $12.2 billion (estimate: $11.59 billion)

• Adjusted earnings per share: $3.40 (estimate: $3.26)

Shares soared today ahead of the release, outperforming peers in a broad-based rebound for semiconductor stocks. Qualcomm has declined in the session following each of its past five earnings reports. So far, the reaction is more of the same: shares are down more than 2% in premarket trading on Thursday.

It joins the likes of Advanced Micro Devices and Micron in the category of chip stocks that had their wings briefly clipped in the knee-jerk reaction to solid earnings.

Qualcomm is readying itself for a bigger push in the AI market, having recently announced new chips for data centers expected to be available in 2026 and 2027, with Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN as the first big buyer.

The chips that go in smartphones are still Qualcomm’s biggest business, but gauging potential demand for these upcoming chips may assume more prominence for the company in the quarters to come.

Bank of America analyst Kevin Niderpruem boosted his price target on the semiconductor company to $215 from $200 following this report.

“The strong results are supported by handset strength in China, attributed to timing of the Chinese holiday and product launches, as well as solid performance in non-handsets and long-term opportunities in data centers,” he writes.