QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) was down 1.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $159.21 and last traded at $159.42. Approximately 11,915,509 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 22% from the average daily volume of 9,737,686 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.39.

Key Stories Impacting QUALCOMM

Here are the key news stories impacting QUALCOMM this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Declared quarterly cash dividend of $0.89/share (annualized yield ~2.2%); payable March 26 to holders of record March 5 — supports income investors and signals confidence in cash flow. Qualcomm Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and feature pieces highlight Qualcomm’s push into personal AI, wearables (large Ray‑Ban demand with Meta) and new Dragonwing IQ10 chips for robotics — these represent meaningful growth levers beyond handset modems. Qualcomm: Ignored Personal AI Boom
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC (RBC Capital) initiated coverage with a “sector perform” / KeyCorp issued updated Q1 EPS assumptions — analyst activity keeps the name in focus but does not currently signal a consensus upgrade. RBC Capital initiates coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Mizuho’s downgrade (covered in MarketBeat) from Outperform to Neutral and a cut to the price target flagged near‑term headwinds: expected modem share losses on upcoming Apple devices, softer global handset demand (especially China), and rising local competition — this note is the primary driver of recent selling pressure. Qualcomm: Wall Street’s Patience Is Wearing Thin
• Negative Sentiment: Trade/tariff risk: coverage highlights the potential impact of a proposed 25% tariff on AI chips — could raise costs or disrupt supply chains for semiconductor players exposed to the U.S./China/Taiwan dynamics. 5 AI Chip Stocks Most Exposed to Trump’s New 25% Tariff

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered QUALCOMM from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on QUALCOMM in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.95.

QUALCOMM Trading Down 1.2%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $172.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.21.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The wireless technology company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.13. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 43.22%. The company had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. QUALCOMM’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. QUALCOMM has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 3.300-3.500 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.80%.

Insider Activity at QUALCOMM

In other news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.30, for a total transaction of $577,608.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,746,915.60. This represents a 7.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann C. Chaplin sold 7,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.03, for a total transaction of $1,278,255.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,262,750.32. This trade represents a 23.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,155 shares of company stock worth $9,267,593. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of QCOM. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 11.6% during the second quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 55,410 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $8,824,000 after acquiring an additional 5,779 shares during the period. CORDA Investment Management LLC. increased its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 22,474 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $3,579,000 after purchasing an additional 3,524 shares in the last quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc. acquired a new position in QUALCOMM in the second quarter valued at about $4,539,000. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH bought a new stake in QUALCOMM during the second quarter worth about $3,896,000. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 8.0% during the second quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 21,687 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $3,454,000 after buying an additional 1,610 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is 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.