Qualcomm Incorporated

Qualcomm designs chips and licenses wireless patents. It sells chips, formally called integrated circuit products, under the Snapdragon and Qualcomm Dragonwing names. They handle computing, on-device artificial intelligence (AI) and wireless connections. Qualcomm also charges device makers royalties to use its patents, many of which cover the 4G and 5G cellular standards that phones use to send voice and data. It relies heavily on a small number of outside suppliers to make, assemble and test its chips, a setup known as fabless production.

Chips are by far the bigger business. In fiscal 2025, which ended September 28, 2025, revenue was $44.3 billion. The QCT chip segment brought in $38.4 billion, or 86.6%. It sells into three areas. The first is handsets. The second is cars, where Snapdragon Digital Chassis platforms run connectivity, digital cockpit systems and driver-assistance features. The third is the internet of things (IoT), from PCs and extended reality (XR) devices to wireless access points and industrial handhelds. The QTL licensing segment brought in $5.6 billion, or 12.6%. A third segment, QSI (Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives), makes strategic investments.

Revenue leans on a small number of customers and licensees, particularly their sales of premium-tier phones. A significant portion of the business is concentrated in China. Smaller units include QGOV (Qualcomm Government Technologies) and a Data Center business.

• In Q3 FY2026 (ended Jun 28, 2026), revenue was $9.95B, down 4% from a year earlier, and net income was $2.00B (-24.9%).
• For fiscal 2025, revenue was $44.28B (+13.7% year over year; +13.5% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 12.5% net margin.

• Over FY2021–FY2025: $22.38B in buybacks and $17.17B in dividends.
• At least 9 consecutive annual increases: every fiscal year in the SEC data (FY2016–FY2025) shows an increase; the true streak may be longer.
• Regular dividends per share grew +6.5% a year over 5 years (FY2020–FY2025).
• Dividends took 68.7% of earnings and 29.7% of free cash flow in the latest fiscal year.
• Shares outstanding changed -6.3% from Nov 1, 2021 to Jul 27, 2026.

Rank among 1514 US companies

Market value at each year end

Qualcomm Incorporated’s market value went from $96.29B at the end of 2016 to $170.18B on Nov 2, 2026, up 77%; since the end of 2025 it is down 7%.

Form 4 filings from 2025-11-03 to 2026-11-03 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 19 sales ($5.2M), 19 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.

Large shareholders (13G filings)

ETFs with the most weight in QCOM

1. A few big customers drive revenue. A small number of customers and licensees supply a significant portion of revenue, particularly through premium-tier phones. If one buys less, pays less or shifts the timing of payments, results could suffer.
2. Customers designing their own chips. When customers develop their own chips, called vertical integration, they need fewer of Qualcomm's. That matters because the QCT chip segment brought in 86.6% of fiscal 2025 revenue.
3. Heavy exposure to China. A significant portion of Qualcomm's business is concentrated in China. Trade and national security tensions between the U.S. and China raise the risk that new rules or disputes could shrink that business.
4. Licensing fights and expiring agreements. The licensing business depends on renewing expiring agreements and on device makers paying royalties. Some try to avoid paying, and courts, regulators or government investigations could force changes to how Qualcomm licenses patents.
5. Expansion beyond phones may disappoint. Growth depends partly on cars, PCs and other internet-connected devices. Qualcomm's research and other investments in these areas may not produce the operating income it expects.
6. Cyclical industry, big share-price swings. Chip demand runs in boom-and-bust cycles, and Qualcomm warns of large swings in its results and stock price. In the year to October 27, 2026, the shares fell as much as 41% from a peak.

• Sep 8, 2026 Unregistered sale of shares
• Jul 31, 2026 Other company announcement
• Jul 29, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Jun 24, 2026 Unregistered sale of shares
• Apr 29, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Mar 19, 2026 Shareholder vote results
• Feb 4, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Jan 16, 2026 Executive or board change
• Dec 16, 2025 Executive or board change
• Dec 10, 2025 Bylaws or fiscal year changed

Qualcomm raised its dividend every fiscal year from 2016 to 2025. That is at least 9 straight increases, and the streak may be longer. Dividends per share grew from $2.54 in fiscal 2020 to $3.48 in fiscal 2025, about 6.5% a year. In fiscal 2025, dividends took 68.7% of earnings, a share pushed up by a 45.4% fall in net income. They took just 29.7% of free cash flow, the cash left after running and investing in the business. The yield was 1.97% as of October 27, 2026. Buybacks were bigger: $22.4 billion over fiscal 2021 to 2025, against $17.2 billion in dividends. The share count fell 6.3% from November 2021 to July 2026.

The shares have fallen hard in downturns. They dropped 48% in the 2008 financial crisis and took about 26 months to recover. They fell 41.6% in the 2022 bear market and took about 19 months to recover. In the 2020 COVID crash they lost 32.2% but regained it within 3 months. A single stock like Qualcomm carries more risk than a diversified fund.