Qualcomm dropped its fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday and smashed Wall Street’s targets. Revenue came in at $11.27 billion, way above the $10.79 billion estimate. Adjusted earnings per share hit $3.00, also beating the $2.88 that analysts expected, according to LSEG. Compared to last year’s $10.24 billion, revenue jumped 10%. But it wasn’t all good news; Qualcomm took a big tax hit and reported a net loss of $3.12 billion, or $2.89 per share, after posting a $2.92 billion profit the same quarter last year. Looking ahead, Qualcomm is targeting $11.8 billion to $12.6 billion in revenue for the next quarter. That midpoint ($12.2 billion) blows past the $11.62 billion average analyst forecast. On earnings, the chipmaker expects to deliver between $3.30 and $3.50 per share, while analysts had penciled in just $3.31. These projections came straight from Qualcomm’s statement on Wednesday evening. AI chips boost stock, while handset, auto, and IoT beat estimates Qualcomm has always made most of its money from mobile chips. It builds the processors and modems that go into Samsung’s flagship phones and modems for Apple’s iPhones. But CEO Cristiano Amon said during the call that Qualcomm knows Apple won’t stick around forever. “We expect to wind down our modem supply to Apple over the next few years,” he said. So the company’s been shifting. It’s been making chips for Windows PCs, Meta’s AR glasses, and virtual-reality headsets, trying to expand into anything outside smartphones. The company’s big bet now? AI hardware. Last week, Qualcomm announced plans to launch two new AI accelerator chips, which sent the stock up 11% right after the news. The new chips, the AI200 (coming 2026) and AI250 (2027), aren’t basic components. Qualcomm said both chips will be available in full systems that take up an entire liquid-cooled server rack. That puts it in the same hardware league as Nvidia and AMD, whose rack setups can stack up to 72 GPUs to power massive AI models. So far, Qualcomm stock is up 17% this year, behind Nasdaq’s 22%, but nowhere near Nvidia’s 45% or AMD’s 112%. It’s playing catch-up in AI, no question. On the segment level, Qualcomm’s handset division brought in $6.96 billion, up 14% year over year. Its automotive unit pulled $1.05 billion, up 17%, and the IoT division, where the company lumps in sales to Meta, did $1.81 billion, a 7% increase. StreetAccount confirmed that all three groups beat expectations. The only laggard? The licensing revenue, which revenue dropped 7% to $1.41 billion. Still, that figure also beat analyst estimates. Even with the Apple split looming, Qualcomm’s push into other markets — AI, cars, smart devices — is showing up in the numbers. “We’re positioning our roadmap across multiple end markets, especially AI,” said Amon. “This quarter shows our diversification strategy is taking hold.” So, bottom line: Qualcomm beat earnings, gave a strong forecast, posted gains in nearly every unit, and is betting its future on AI chips big enough to fill server racks. If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter .
