Zacks Research Has Bearish Forecast for QUALCOMM Q1 Earnings

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of QUALCOMM in a report released on Monday, March 17th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the wireless technology company will post earnings of $2.46 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.47. The consensus estimate for QUALCOMM’s current full-year earnings is $9.39 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for QUALCOMM’s FY2026 earnings at $9.89 EPS.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Susquehanna decreased their target price on QUALCOMM from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered QUALCOMM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on QUALCOMM from $199.00 to $179.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QCOM opened at $158.26 on Thursday. QUALCOMM has a fifty-two week low of $149.43 and a fifty-two week high of $230.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 2.62. The firm has a market cap of $175.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28.

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,841,103 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $284,708,000 after acquiring an additional 523,244 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 27,596 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $4,239,000 after acquiring an additional 4,955 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,058,000. Burney Co. raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 665.6% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 146,911 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $22,568,000 after acquiring an additional 127,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Bailey Securities LLC purchased a new stake in QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter valued at $240,000. 74.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Heather S. Ace sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total value of $246,784.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,762,376.32. The trade was a 6.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.83, for a total value of $130,073.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 461 shares in the company, valued at $80,596.63. This trade represents a 61.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,968 shares of company stock valued at $4,685,077. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.32%.

About QUALCOMM

QUALCOMM Incorporated engages in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry worldwide. It operates through three segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT); Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL); and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI). The QCT segment develops and supplies integrated circuits and system software based on 3G/4G/5G and other technologies for use in wireless voice and data communications, networking, computing, multimedia, and position location products.