Chipmaker Qualcomm (QCOM) is scheduled to announce its results for the second quarter of Fiscal 2026 on Wednesday, April 29. QCOM stock has gained 18% over the past month but is still down 12% year-to-date. Concerns about the impact of higher memory prices and supply shortages on QCOM’s smartphone chip business, revenue loss as Apple (AAPL) shifts to in-house modems, and slow demand and intense competition in the Chinese market have weighed on investor sentiment. According to TipRanks’ Options Tool, options traders expect an 8.71% move in either direction in QCOM stock in reaction to Q2 FY26 earnings.
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This implied move is higher than QCOM stock’s average post-earnings move (in absolute terms) of 7.19% over the past four quarters.
Interestingly, Qualcomm stock rose more than 13% in Monday’s premarket trading after a tech analyst said that checks with the industry suggested the company was working with OpenAI to develop smartphone processors. However, the stock pared the gains and closed up only 0.95% higher due to a lack of any official confirmation of the news.
Meanwhile, Wall Street expects Qualcomm to report EPS (earnings per share) of $2.56, reflecting 10.2% year-over-year decline. Revenue is projected to fall about 3.6% to $10.59 billion.
Investors will look forward to management’s commentary on the demand backdrop, impact of continued memory shortage, and recent deals.
Analysts’ Views Ahead of Qualcomm’s Q2 Earnings
Last week, Barclays analyst Thomas O’Malley reinstated coverage of Qualcomm stock with a Sell rating and a price target of $130. The analyst noted that Qualcomm is highly exposed to memory shortages and elevated pricing, which are expected to result in a double-digit decline in handsets in 2026. O’Malley contended that while QCOM’s growth story in the auto end-market is attractive, it is struggling with a weaker global unit environment.
O’Malley added that IoT (Internet-of-Things) might contribute more substantially in the times ahead, but isn’t very significant to fundamentals currently. The analyst expects Qualcomm to present a clearer data center plan at the analyst day in June, but thinks that the stock faces too many challenges to perform well right now.
Meanwhile, JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee recently downgraded Qualcomm stock to Hold from Buy and lowered the price target to $140 from $185, citing slow diversification beyond the smartphone business and lack of near-term catalysts. The 5-star analyst believes the company needs to demonstrate stronger execution to maintain confidence in its data center opportunity, especially as competition intensifies.
Chatterjee highlighted that QCOM’s long-term diversification beyond smartphones has been part of his bullish stance through periods of macro and company-specific volatility in revenue drivers. While growth in data center CPUs and AI chips could boost QCOM’s non-smartphone revenue, the analyst thinks that rising competition from Arm Holdings (ARM) and Nvidia (NVDA) makes it important for the company to prove execution, which will take time. Also, Chatterjee noted that the near-term outlook is unclear, with the expected double-digit decline in smartphones in 2026 not fully reflected in projections. Aside from the risks in the handset business, he also sees challenges in IoT and automotive due to macro pressures.
AI Analyst Is Bullish on QCOM Stock
Interestingly, TipRanks’ AI Analyst has an Outperform rating on Qualcomm stock with a price target of $164, indicating 9.14% upside potential. The AI Analyst’s bullish stance is mainly based on strong financial quality, including robust free cash flow and solid operating margins, partially offset by a weak technical setup. While valuation and dividend support QCOM stock, the AI Analyst noted pressure on the near-term outlook due to memory-led weakness in handset demand and lackluster Q2 guidance.
Is QCOM a Good Stock to Buy Now?
Given the ongoing challenges, Wall Street has a Hold consensus rating on Qualcomm stock based on 17 Holds, eight Buys, and four Sells. The average QCOM stock price target of $152.28 indicates a modest 1.4% upside potential from current levels.
