{
  "id": 18191755,
  "title": "Qualcomm's Phone Chip Sales Drop 26%: Rapid Earnings Reaction",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/qualcomms-phone-chip-sales-drop-26-rapid-earnings-reaction",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-04T21:50:19.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Motley Fool",
    "slug": "motley-fool",
    "url": "https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/11/04/qualcomm-s-phone-chip-sales-drop-26-rapid-earnings-reaction/?source=iedfolrf0000001"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Qualcomm (QCOM) experienced a 26% decline in handset chip revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter, leading to an overall 8% drop in total revenue to approximately $10.3 billion. Investors responded negatively, with shares falling around 4% post-market hours. The company now depends on car and data center chips to replace the dwindling phone sales, but the first-quarter outlook indicates limited progress in shifting away from the phone business. The revenue dip is attributed to a shrinking phone segment, as Qualcomm continues to invest in new markets, raising research and development spending by 13%, while its primary product line contracts. Engineering costs remain unaffected by declining sales, causing profits to drop more sharply than revenue. Increased expenses for wafers, packaging, and memory create added pressure, with price hikes unlikely to significantly impact margins until the second half of fiscal 2027. Management anticipates non-handset revenue to surge over 60% in fiscal 2027, driven by a burgeoning data center business. However, the majority of the anticipated growth must materialize later in the year, as Qualcomm's first-quarter chip revenue guidance remains at or just above the recently disclosed figure. Consequently, much of the promised growth will be realized later. Cash flow also poses challenges, as free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capital spending) contracted to about $8.7 billion, driven by a near doubling of capital spending and a rise in inventory. Expenses exceed buybacks and dividends, and Qualcomm now holds short-term debt it did not have a year ago. Monitor non-handset chip revenue in the upcoming quarter, as a substantial increase will be necessary to substantiate the 60%-plus target, and inventory levels should start to decline.",
  "summary": "Qualcomm's growth story is shifting from phones to cars and data centers. Here's what its latest quarter says about how that handoff is going.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": "https://urgent.news/ill/18191755.png",
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Nasdaq Markets",
        "title": "Sezzle Profit Jumps 79% as Credit Costs Ease: Rapid Earnings Reaction",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/sezzle-profit-jumps-79-as-credit-costs-ease-rapid-earnings-reaction-18192939",
        "published": "2026-11-04T22:02:17.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}