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Qualcomm Stock Falls After Hours; Handset Sales Down 26%

Qualcomm's shares slipped in after-hours trading after a quarter in which handset chip revenue fell by about a quarter, with margin relief from pricing not due until the second half of fiscal 2027, even as automotive sales set a record.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), the mobile-chip maker, dropped about 6% in after-hours trading after reporting fiscal fourth-quarter results that included a 26% drop in handset chip revenue. The shares fell after the results were released after the close.

The shares had finished today’s regular session up 5.7% at $173.73, so the after-hours drop gives back part of that gain.

QCOM.US

Revenue for the quarter to the 27th of September was $10.322bn on a GAAP basis, down 8% from $11.270bn a year earlier. Non-GAAP earnings per share, which strip out certain items, were $2.17 against $3.00, a fall of 28%.

For the full year, non-GAAP earnings per share were $10.54 against $12.03, down 12%. GAAP earnings of $12.70 a share included a $5.7bn tax benefit.

By business, handset chip revenue fell to $5.137bn from $6.961bn. Automotive revenue rose 89% to $1.990bn, a record and the first $2bn quarter in that business, while internet-of-things (connected devices) revenue rose 4% to $1.888bn.

Bar chart of Qualcomm QCT revenue change by stream in fiscal Q4 2026: automotive +89%, IoT +4%, handsets -26%
Qualcomm QCT revenue by stream, fiscal fourth quarter, year-on-year change. Source: Qualcomm.

Qualcomm’s licensing arm, QTL, reported revenue of $1.304bn, down 7%. It renewed long-term licence agreements with Apple, Huawei and Transsion, and announced a multi-generational product collaboration with Amazon for AI data centres.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Qualcomm guided to revenue of $10.4bn to $11.2bn and non-GAAP earnings of $2.15 to $2.35 a share, including data-centre sales. It said input costs are rising across wafer fabrication, assembly, test, packaging and memory, and it is taking actions to reflect them in pricing.

The full benefit to chip gross margins is not expected until the second half of fiscal 2027. Chief executive Cristiano Amon pointed to the longer-term shift away from handsets:

Fiscal 2027 marks the start of our non-handset revenue inflection, including the ramp of our Data Center business. Non-handset revenues are projected to grow by more than 60% year-over-year, and we are reiterating our fiscal 2027 Data Center revenue target of $5B.

Cristiano Amon, chief executive, Qualcomm

US cash trading opens at 2:30pm UK time tomorrow, when the after-hours move will be tested.

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