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Conclusions are published after independent cross-review.

QCOMQualcomm Inc.
HoldConviction 2.2/10PW target $159.25-14.6%Rated Jun 26Full research page
Moved +5.8% on Jul 6Jul 6

Verdict

Qualcomm is a high-FCF semi-cyclical trading at 12x CY2027E EPS — below its 5-year average of 15x — as the market front-runs Apple modem loss and handset weakness. The $45B automotive design-win pipeline, AI PC expansion via Snapdragon X, and irreplaceable QTL licensing stream provide diversification optionality that the current valuation ignores. The stock is priced for permanent revenue erosion, but the diversification thesis only needs partial execution to re-rate.

ScenarioProb.TargetDriver
Bull25%$208.00Apple modem transition slower than expected — QCOM retains 30%+ iPhone share through FY2027
Base50%$165.00Apple modem transition proceeds as planned — QCOM supplies 20% of iPhones in FY2026, 0% by FY2027
Bear25%$99.00Apple and Samsung both fully exit Qualcomm modems/SoCs, removing ~40% of QCT handset revenue

Change history

  • Jun 26View held

    Research-update batch price re-anchor (parallel re-rate dispatch 2026-06-26)

  • Jun 21View held

    Research-update --rerate --accept-latest-close (manual financials-refresh + re-rate chain dispatch)

  • Jun 18View held

    Research-update from (manual workflow dispatch)

  • Jun 5View held

    Research-update from

  • May 29View held

    Research-update — ByteDance ASIC deal (Bloomberg 2026-05-26); manual workflow dispatch

  • May 13View held

Watching

  • Qualcomm vs Arm Countersuit TrialMar 15114d ago
  • Qualcomm vs Arm countersuit outcomeApr 1583d ago
  • Q2 FY2026 EarningsMay 662d ago
  • Trump-Xi Beijing Summit (export control risk)May 1454d ago
  • Investor Day 2026 — Dragonfly data center strategy (named hyperscaler + quantified TAM watch)Jun 2413d ago
  • Investor Day 2026 (June 24) — Dragonfly data-center disclosure: named hyperscaler customer + quantified DC TAM/revenue target is the binary re-rate (WF PT $230 / JPM Positive Catalyst Watch $265 priced ahead)

Research-update from

  • May 12View held

    Research-update from

  • May 11View held

    Event-impact from

  • May 8View held

    Research-update from

  • Mar 12View held

    Deep research initiation — first complete analysis of QCOM

  • Jun 24
    13d ago
  • Q3 FY2026 EarningsJul 29in 22d
  • ByteDance data center ASIC deal — revenue conversion (signed May 26, 2026)Jul 29in 22d
  • Semiconductor supercycle momentum — mean-reversion / overshoot watch (QCOM $226.11 on 6/18 close, 20.6x CY2027E; ~15.0% below $260/24x trim trigger, ~11.5% above $200/18x re-entry)Jul 29in 22d
  • NVDA RTX Spark (N1X) PC entry — Snapdragon X competitive-share impact watch (unveiled Computex 2026-06-01)Jul 29in 22d
  • Apple iPhone 17 Launch (C1X modem adoption)Sep 15in 70d
  • Q4 FY2026 EarningsNov 4in 120d
  • Samsung Galaxy S26 Announcement (Exynos 2600 decision)Jan 15, 2027in 192d
  • Samsung confirms Exynos 2600 replaces Snapdragon in Galaxy S26 flagship
  • QCT handset revenue drops below $6.5B/quarter for 2+ consecutive quarters
  • QTL licensing revenue falls below $5B annual run-rate
  • Apple C1X modem quality issues delay iPhone 17 rollout — QCOM retains 40%+ share through 2027
  • Automotive revenue crosses $1.3B/quarter (30%+ YoY growth sustained)
  • Snapdragon X Gen 2 captures >10% of >$600 Windows laptop market
  • NVIDIA RTX Spark (N1X) Windows-on-Arm PC chip wins material OEM designs from Snapdragon X — erodes QCOM premium AI-PC share before $2B+ bull-case PC revenue materializes (unveiled Computex 2026-06-01)
  • Semiconductor export controls tightening on Qualcomm chip sales (tariff risk reduced via May 12 de-escalation 145%→30%; export controls explicitly carved out)
  • ByteDance data center ASIC deal (signed May 26, 2026) converts to visible QCT revenue contribution ($500M+ quarterly)
  • QCOM mean-reversion below $200 (18x CY2027E) — restores favorable risk/reward for re-entry
  • PHLX Semiconductor Index +75% YTD or QCOM >$260 (24x CY2027E) — systemic overvaluation risk, trim signal
  • Latest notes

    • Jun 26Price re-anchored to $198.49 (18.0x CY2027E), HOLD held, PWE -19.8%, bull back above spot
    • Jun 25Qualcomm jumps after revealing named hyperscale data-center customers and agreeing to acquire AI-software firm Modular; ByteDance custom-chip talks reported
    • Jun 24Qualcomm announces ~$3.9B Modular acquisition; in talks with ByteDance on custom chip design, on June 24, 2026 Investor Day
    • Jun 21Financials updated — Q2 FY2026 (period end 2026-03-29) added from SEC 10-Q
    • Jun 21Price re-anchored to $226.11 (6/18 close, 20.6x CY2027E), HOLD held, PWE -29.6%

    Exposure

    1-hop
    Suppliers
    • TSMBookAdvanced logic manufacturing (4nm, 3nm Snapdragon chips)
    • GFSSpecialty semiconductor manufacturing
    • TERSoC test systems for mobile processors
    • ARMArm architecture licensing for Snapdragon processors
    • AMKR
    • ASE
    • CDNS
    • KEYS
    Customers
    • AAPLBaseband modem chips for iPhone
    • SSNLFMobile SoC and modem chips for Galaxy smartphones
    • HPQ
    • Samsung
    • TMUS
    • ZBRA

    Options radar

    Concept — illustrative data
    • Jun 30Call$110.00Aug 211,200 ct$540K
    • Jun 30Call$105.00Jul 17800 ct$216K
    • Jun 29Put$95.00Aug 21600 ct$168K
    Unusual volume3.2x 20-day avg call volume
    IV shift30-day IV 41% → 48%

    Positioning skews toward near-term upside