Qualcomm Shares Slide as Memory Shortages and Sluggish Handsets Weigh on Outlook

Qualcomm shares dropped 7% in extended trading on Wednesday after issuing lighter-than-projected earnings guidance for the current operating quarter, overshadowing an otherwise solid quarterly earnings beat. For its upcoming quarter, the semiconductor designer forecasts adjusted earnings per share between $2.15 and $2.35 on revenue ranging from $10.4 billion to $11.2 billion, compared with consensus expectations targeting $2.27 per share on $10.48 billion in sales. Company leadership pointed to broad smartphone market weakness, driven by elevated memory expenses that have forced mobile manufacturers to increase retail handset prices.

Handset-related chip revenue declined 26% year-over-year to $5.14 billion during the quarter, missing analyst projections of $5.21 billion and contributing to a 7% contraction in total adjusted net revenue. Chief Executive Cristiano Amon noted that Android device shipments in China appear to have formed a cyclical bottom and indicated sequential improvement is emerging, even as overall handset market expansion is expected to remain flat into 2027. Concurrently, management emphasized continued efforts to diversify revenue streams by pursuing expansion into artificial intelligence data center infrastructure.