Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading 2.9% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Posted by Brian Himes on Sep 13th, 2026

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM – Get Free Report)’s stock price was up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $185.46 and last traded at $181.97. Approximately 11,147,501 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 15,570,951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.88.

Key Stories 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on QCOM shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Qualcomm to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $200.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 27th. Craig Hallum downgraded shares of Qualcomm from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $160.00 price objective on Qualcomm in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Qualcomm currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.10.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Qualcomm

Qualcomm Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $191.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.02). The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders 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 2.0%. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.59%.

Insider Transactions at Qualcomm

In other Qualcomm news, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.85, for a total value of $101,781.25. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,872.80. This represents a 75.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.85, for a total transaction of $457,125.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,184 shares in the company, valued at $3,324,944.40. The trade was a 12.09% 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. Insiders sold a total of 11,533 shares of company stock valued at $1,924,969 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualcomm

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. Baxter Bros Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Qualcomm in the 2nd quarter valued at about $17,844,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 112.2% in the 4th quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 43,986 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $7,524,000 after buying an additional 23,262 shares during the period. Requisite Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the 4th quarter valued at about $700,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Qualcomm during the 4th quarter valued at about $499,000. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC raised its stake in Qualcomm by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 69,248 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $11,845,000 after acquiring an additional 3,279 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Qualcomm

(Get Free Report)

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.