Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading 2.9% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) rose 2.9% during trading on Friday . The company 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 Headlines Impacting Qualcomm

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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Qualcomm has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.10.

Qualcomm Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $168.34 and a 200 day moving average of $170.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.68.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. The company’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. Research analysts anticipate that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.92 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 42.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Qualcomm news, EVP Heather Ace sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.04, for a total transaction of $470,528.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,535 shares in the company, valued at $5,372,106.40. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Akash Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.81, for a total value of $452,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,184 shares in the company, valued at $4,191,899.04. The trade was a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 9,033 shares of company stock valued at $1,467,844 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Qualcomm

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Baxter Bros Inc. acquired a new position in Qualcomm during the 2nd quarter valued at about $17,844,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 112.2% in 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 last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Qualcomm by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,682 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $3,538,000 after buying an additional 2,990 shares during the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Qualcomm during the fourth quarter worth $700,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Qualcomm during the fourth quarter worth $499,000. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Qualcomm

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.