The stock still trades with heavy exposure to smartphone cycles, but that’s starting to shift as automotive scales, custom silicon moves toward shipment, and licensing keeps earnings stable. Here\u2019s what Qualcomm\u2019s second-quarter results revealed.<\/p>\n
Automotive scale and data center milestone<\/h2>\n
Qualcomm reported fiscal Q2 revenue of $10.6 billion<\/strong>, down about 3% year over year, while non-GAAP EPS came in at $2.65<\/strong>, down roughly 7%. Despite the declines, the company beat expectations on both revenue and earnings, driven by strength outside of handsets.<\/p>\n QCT automotive revenue rose 38% year over year<\/strong> to a record $1.3 billion<\/strong>, putting the segment above a $5 billion annualized run rate<\/strong> and large enough to influence consolidated results. <\/p>\n The automotive segment includes chips, software, and connectivity platforms used in vehicles for infotainment, advanced driver assistance, and digital cockpit systems. <\/p>\n Management also put a timeline on its custom silicon push, with initial hyperscaler shipments expected in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n Those milestones matter because they can reshape how investors view the business’s earnings durability. If automotive continues to move toward Qualcomm\u2019s targeted $6 billion annual run rate<\/strong> by the end of fiscal 2026, the company gains a larger revenue base tied to production programs rather than annual handset refresh cycles. <\/p>\n Additionally, a successful custom silicon ramp would add a new enterprise revenue stream and expand the profit mix.<\/p>\n Handsets remain the main near-term issue for Qualcomm. Management guided for fiscal Q3 revenue of $9.2 billion to $10.0 billion<\/strong> and pegged QCT handset revenue at roughly $4.9 billion<\/strong>, down sharply from $6.0 billion in Q2. This segment includes mobile processors and modems sold to smartphone manufacturers, which tend to follow consumer upgrade cycles.<\/p>\n Qualcomm attributed the decline to customers who \u201cmaterially undershipped end demand,\u201d with the pressure concentrated in China Android. Management expects “China Android revenue is bottoming out in fiscal Q3” and will return to sequential growth in Q4.<\/p>\n Trending Stock News:<\/strong><\/p>\n A rebound would support the view that Q3 marks the trough of an inventory correction and set up a sharper recovery in chipset orders as customers move back toward true consumption.<\/p>\n If Q4 does not show improvement, handset earnings remain lower while automotive and custom silicon take longer to offset the pressure.<\/p>\n Qualcomm\u2019s licensing business, known as QTL, collects royalties from device makers that use its patented wireless technology, creating a high-margin revenue stream tied to global handset shipments.<\/p>\n In fiscal Q2, the licensing business delivered $1.4 billion <\/strong>of revenue with a 72% <\/strong>EBT margin.<\/p>\n SimpleImages via Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Licensing contributes a disproportionate share of profit and stabilizes earnings through chipset volatility.<\/p>\n This revenue enabled the company to return $3.7 billion<\/strong> to shareholders, including $2.8 billion<\/strong> in buybacks.<\/p>\n Qualcomm\u2019s diversification story is starting to show up in real numbers, with automotive at $1.3 billion<\/strong> and custom data center chips set to ship in Q4. That gives investors clear proof points to show that the business can rely less on smartphones over time.<\/p>\n Handsets remain the swing factor. Management expects a Q3 bottom, followed by a rebound in Q4. If that shows up, investors can look through the near-term dip while licensing and buybacks support earnings.<\/p>\n Related: Uber CEO has a strong 2-word message for investors<\/strong><\/p>\n #Qualcomm #adds #15B #market #bold #outlook<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) added roughly $15 billion in market value as investors embraced a story that reaches beyond any handset rebound. The stock jumped 12% on evidence that new growth… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[246],"tags":[1221,1220,1476,33,601,1475],"class_list":["post-965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-popular","tag-15b","tag-adds","tag-bold","tag-market","tag-outlook","tag-qualcomm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/965\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gw.adampg777.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Handset weakness expected into Q3<\/h2>\n
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High-margin licensing keeps earnings intact<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thestreet.com\/.image\/NDA6MDAwMDAwMDAyOTcxOTM4\/qcom-middle_tr_043026.png?io=1&profile=rss\")
What could drive Qualcomm stock higher<\/h2>\n
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What could pressure Qualcomm stock<\/h2>\n
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Key takeaways for Qualcomm<\/h2>\n