Here’s what Wall Street is saying about Qualcomm ahead of earnings

Qualcomm (QCOM) is scheduled to report results of its fiscal second quarter after the market closes on April 29 with a conference call scheduled for 4:45 pm ET. What to watch for:

GUIDANCE: Along with its last report, Qualcomm guided for Q2 adjusted earnings per share of $2.45-$2.65 on revenue of $10.2B-$11B. At the time, analysts were expecting the company to report Q2 EPS of $2.87 on revenue of $11.02B, but those figures have since slipped to $2.56 and $10.58B, respectively.

DIVIDEND/BUYBACK: In March, Qualcomm announced that its board of directors has approved an increase in the company’s quarterly cash dividend from 89c to 92c per share of common stock. This dividend increase will be effective for quarterly dividends payable after March 26, and will raise the annualized dividend payout to $3.68 per share of common stock, the company noted. Additionally, Qualcomm said at the time that its board of directors has approved, effective immediately, a new $20.0B stock repurchase authorization. The new stock repurchase authorization is in addition to the company’s stock repurchase program announced in November 2024, which has approximately $2.1B of repurchase authority remaining.

OPENAI: Earlier this week, Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said via X, formerly Twitter, that according to his latest industry checks, OpenAI is working with MediaTek and Qualcomm to develop smartphone processors, with Luxshare as the exclusive system co-design and manufacturing partner. Mass production is expected in 2028, Kuo said, adding that MediaTek and Qualcomm are processor co-development partners and could benefit from long-term replacement demand.

BNP DOWNGRADE: Earlier this month, BNP Paribas analyst David O’Connor downgraded Qualcomm to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $120, down from $180, telling investors that the firm sees “no end in sight for smartphone woes.” With the memory pricing squeeze unlikely to ease anytime soon, the firm sees this continuing to translate into smartphone demand destruction and sees “no relief” for Qualcomm in the short to medium term, the analyst tells investors.

JPMORGAN DOWNGRADE: Additionally, JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee downgraded Qualcomm to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $140, down from $185. JPMorgan also placed the shares on “negative catalyst watch.” It sees downside risk to Qualcomm’s near-term estimates due to concerns across its handset business. The firm expects a low double-digit decline in smartphone shipments in 2026. The analyst cites Qualcomm’s slow diversification progress and lack of near-term catalysts for the stock to rerate for the downgrade.

BARCLAYS REINSTATEMENT: Last week, Barclays analyst Tom O’Malley reinstated coverage of Qualcomm with an Underweight rating and $130 price target The firm says that even when giving Qualcomm significant credit to both auto and internet of things, the company will be unable to offset the difficult handset environment driven by memory headwinds. AI at the edge is still several years away and the company’s play in the data center is yet to be proved out, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

UBS CUTS PT: Additionally, UBS lowered the firm’s price target on Qualcomm to $150 from $160 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The company’s prior attempt to reset expectations has not held, as both estimates and underlying fundamentals continue to deteriorate, with rising memory prices emerging as a key pressure point, the analyst tells investors in a research note.