Qualcomm generated $10.4 billion of free cash flow over the last four fiscal quarters, yet its stock fell 6.7% over the past year while the S&P 500 returned 11.8%. Its operating margin of 23.3% trails the 41.1% median of five chip peers, and it dropped to 16.3% in fiscal Q3 2026 from 26.6% a year earlier. Automotive chip sales reached $1.6 billion in the quarter, up 61%, and BMW Group picked Qualcomm as its lead compute silicon provider for the digital cockpit and driver-assistance systems. Handset chips, the largest chip segment at $5.1 billion, face pressure from unprecedented memory prices and an expected low-teens percentage decline in the handset market in 2026. Over the last four quarters, Qualcomm spent about $13.1 billion on buybacks and dividends, more than its free cash flow.
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Qualcommsemiconductorsearningsshare buybacks
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Related tickers and likely impact
NVDA
• NeutralNvidia
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology |
| Industry | Semiconductors |
| Market cap | $5.1T |
| Close on 11/02/2026 | 202.06 |
| Change that session | -1.26% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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