Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Down 1.2% – Here’s Why

Posted by Francis Steltz on Aug 18th, 2026

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM – Get Free Report) fell 1.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $156.73 and last traded at $160.19. 11,049,105 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 16,020,411 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on QCOM shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $198.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 27th. DZ Bank raised shares of Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Monday, July 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.63.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on QCOM

Qualcomm Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $168.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.88.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.69 billion. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 38.36% and a net margin of 21.01%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.59%.

Insider Transactions at Qualcomm

In other news, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 829 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.77, for a total value of $167,267.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $408,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,376,869.84. This trade represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,529 shares of company stock valued at $1,991,345. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Qualcomm

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ratan Capital Management LP bought a new position in Qualcomm during the second quarter worth $20,037,000. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Qualcomm by 22.9% during the second quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,471 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 15.1% during the second quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 308,812 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $58,279,000 after purchasing an additional 40,454 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Qualcomm during the second quarter worth $766,000. Finally, Glenview Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Qualcomm by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 35,376 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $6,537,000 after buying an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

Qualcomm Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.