Qualcomm Handset Revenue Falls 26% in Fiscal Q4 as Automotive Sales Hit a Record

Qualcomm reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $10.32 billion on November 4, down 8% from a year earlier, as a 26% drop in handset chip sales outweighed record automotive revenue, according to figures compiled by TradingKey.

The quarter

• Revenue: $10.32 billion, above a consensus of about $10.11 billion.
• Adjusted EPS: $2.17, down 28% year over year and a cent above the $2.16 analysts expected.
• GAAP EPS: $1.17, versus a loss of $2.89 a year earlier, a swing TradingKey attributes largely to tax items.

By business

• Chips (QCT): $9.02 billion, down 8%. Handset revenue was $5.14 billion, down 26%. Automotive reached a record $1.99 billion, up 89%. IoT was $1.89 billion, up 4%.
• Licensing (QTL): $1.30 billion, down 7%. TradingKey reports that long-term license agreements were renewed with Apple, Huawei and Transsion.

QCT's pre-tax margin fell from 29% to 24% over the year.

Full year and outlook

For fiscal 2026, revenue was $43.12 billion, down 3%, with adjusted EPS of $10.54, down 12%.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Qualcomm guided to:

• Revenue of $10.4 billion to $11.2 billion
• Adjusted EPS of $2.15 to $2.35
• QCT revenue of $9.0 billion to $9.6 billion, now including its data center business

TradingKey reported that the company reiterated a $5 billion data center revenue target and expects non-handset revenue to grow more than 60% in fiscal 2027. It also said rising input costs, including memory and packaging, would be passed through in pricing, with the full gross-margin effect expected in the second half of fiscal 2027.

Market reaction

Shares fell more than 6% in extended trading, to about $161.97, the outlet reported.

Why it matters

The results illustrate the pressure on smartphone chipmakers from higher component costs and a weaker handset market, and Qualcomm's effort to offset it with car, IoT and data center products.