Qualcomm Reports Q4 Beat, Analysts Divided Over Prospects Of The Handset Market

Shares of Qualcomm Inc QCOM remained volatile in early trading on Thursday, after the company reported upbeat fiscal fourth-quarter results.

The company reported its results amid an exciting earnings season. Here are some key analyst takeaways.

• Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C.J. Muse maintained a Neutral rating and price target of $160.
• Rosenblatt Securities analyst Kevin Cassidy maintained a Buy rating and price target of $250.
• Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar maintained an Overweight
• Benchmark analyst Cody Acree reiterated a Buy rating and price target of $240.
• KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst John Vinh reaffirmed a Sector Weight rating on the stock.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Cantor Fitzgerald: Qualcomm reported better-than-feared quarterly results, amid soft Android handset trends and Apple Inc's AAPL declining build plans, Muse said in a note. The upside was driven by high exposure to premium phones in China and the company's diversification related to IOT and Automotive, he added.

While the company needs to derisk Apple's plans to bring the modem in-house, the two growing businesses — Automotive and IOT — represented only 25% of total revenues in the September quarter, the analyst stated.

Although Qualcomm is "the undisputed leader" in smartphone connectivity, the market is slowing, and key customers in China will leave as part of the Made in China move, he further noted.

Rosenblatt Securities: Qualcomm reported revenues of $10.2 billion and non-GAAP earnings of $2.69 per share, beating consensus of $9.86 billion and $2.55 per share, respectively, Cassidy said. Full-year revenues grew by 9%, driven mainly by strength in automotive and IoT revenues, he added.

Management's guidance for the December quarter also came in higher than estimates, mainly driven by new flagship Android smartphone launches by Chinese companies, the analyst stated. "Management noted there has been broad support for GenAI in device development with industry players like Meta Platforms Inc META and Amazon.com Inc AMZN," he further wrote.

Piper Sandler: Qualcomm delivered a beat in the latest quarter, with upside being driven by strong trends in the handset business, where the company "appears to be benefiting from both content as well as slight upticks in units relative to the internal expectations," Kumar said.

While IoT and Automotive grew during the quarter, the company's December quarter guidance points to "some moderation," the analyst stated. "We believe that the path to a differentiated revenue stream and away from a handset centric business appears to be very much on track for QCOM," he further wrote.

Benchmark: Qualcomm's quarterly revenues grew 18% year-over-year and came in about $240 million higher than consensus, Acree said. The company's earnings of $2.69 per share came in 13 cents per share ahead of the consensus, he added.

For the fiscal first quarter, management guided to a revenue range of $10.5-$11.3 billion, with the midpoint $300 million higher than Street expectations, the analyst stated. "Regarding its overall handset market, Qualcomm modestly increased its forecast for global 2024 3G/4G/5G handset units, now expecting market volumes to increase annually at a low-to-mid single digit percentage pace, somewhat better than its prior outlook for global units to be flat-to-slightly up for the year," he further wrote.

KeyBanc Capital Markets: Qualcomm's quarterly results were driven by Auto and IoT, Vinh said. Management did not comment on Apple's internal modem but reiterated their expectations for a 20% share of iPhone in 2026, he added.

"F1Q handset outlook highlighted strong rev growth with Chinese OEMs, while the demand in premium segment was normalizing and expanding," the analyst wrote. He expressed concern, however, around headwinds from Apple's internal modem and "the lack of compelling edge AI catalysts."

Price Action: Shares of Qualcommhad risen by 0.22% to $173.37 at the time of publication on Thursday.

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