Key takeaways
- Qualcomm reported fiscal Q4 revenue of $10.32 billion on November 4, down 8%, with handset revenue down 26% to $5.14 billion.
- Automotive revenue rose 89% to a record $1.99 billion, and Qualcomm reiterated a $5 billion fiscal 2027 data center revenue target.
- It guided fiscal Q1 2027 revenue to $10.4B to $11.2B, and Bloomberg reported the stock fell more than 5% after hours.
Qualcomm earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter, reported on November 4, showed revenue down 8% to $10.3 billion as phone chip sales fell 26%, while automotive revenue jumped 89% to a record. The company, in its earnings release, said it is reiterating a $5 billion data center revenue target for fiscal 2027.
Qualcomm makes the chips in many Android phones, and phones are still most of its business. The results show how fast it is trying to shift away from them toward cars, connected devices and AI data centers.
The quarter in numbers
For the quarter ended September 27, Qualcomm reported:
| Measure | Q4 fiscal 2026 | Q4 fiscal 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (GAAP) | $10.32B | $11.27B | down 8% |
| Non-GAAP revenue | $10.44B | $11.27B | down 7% |
| Non-GAAP EPS | $2.17 | $3.00 | down 28% |
| GAAP EPS | $1.17 | loss of $2.89 | up 140% |
| Handset revenue | $5.14B | $6.96B | down 26% |
| Automotive revenue | $1.99B | $1.05B | up 89% |
| IoT revenue | $1.89B | $1.81B | up 4% |
Bloomberg, via Techmeme, put analysts' revenue estimate at $10.1 billion, so revenue beat while handsets came in below the $5.25 billion analysts expected.
For the full fiscal year, revenue was $43.1 billion, down 3%. GAAP EPS was $12.70, helped by a $5.7 billion tax benefit from releasing a valuation allowance. Non-GAAP EPS was $10.54, down 12%.
The data center bet
CEO Cristiano Amon said fiscal 2027 "marks the start of our non-handset revenue inflection." Qualcomm projects non-handset revenue to grow more than 60% next year. The release also announced a multi-generational product collaboration with Amazon for AI data centers, and renewed license agreements with Apple, Huawei and Transsion.
Qualcomm expects the first quarter of fiscal 2027 to bring revenue of $10.4 billion to $11.2 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $2.15 to $2.35. It also warned of rising input costs across chip manufacturing, packaging and memory. It is raising prices to cover them, and expects the full benefit to show in chip margins in the second half of fiscal 2027.
What the stock did
According to Yahoo Finance, Qualcomm shares rose 5.3% in the regular session on November 4, to $173.19 as of 21:04 UTC. After the report, Bloomberg reported that the stock dropped more than 5% in after-hours trading.
Next to watch: Qualcomm's earnings call, held the same day, and the first data center revenue it reports in the quarter ending in December.
Sources
- Qualcomm Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2026 ResultsQualcomm (SEC filing)
- Qualcomm reports Q4 revenue down 8% YoYTechmeme (Bloomberg)
- QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM)Yahoo Finance