Qualcomm shares slide as smartphone weakness clouds growth push

On November 4, Qualcomm's shares dropped over 6 percent following the company's failure to meet Wall Street's estimates for smartphone chip sales in the fourth quarter. The decline was attributed to sluggish demand and a reduction in Apple-related revenue. Analysts had anticipated handset revenue of $5.25 billion, but Qualcomm reported a 26 percent drop in handset revenue to $5.14 billion, contributing to an 8 percent decline in overall data-center revenue.

Despite these challenges, Qualcomm's CEO, Cristiano Amon, stated that Android handset sales had hit a bottom and were now showing signs of growth. He also highlighted the company's success in non-handset businesses, with a 70 percent increase in design wins projected for fiscal 2027. Qualcomm expects first-quarter revenue to range between $10.4 billion and $11.2 billion, with data-center sales anticipated to reach $650 million, surpassing analysts' expectations.