Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Authorizes Stock Buyback Program

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 17th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the wireless technology company to reacquire up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Qualcomm Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:QCOM opened at $131.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $140.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12 and a beta of 1.25. Qualcomm has a 52-week low of $120.80 and a 52-week high of $205.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $145.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The wireless technology company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.16 billion. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 44.09% and a net margin of 11.96%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.41 earnings per share. Qualcomm has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.450-2.650 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Qualcomm will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Qualcomm’s payout ratio is currently 73.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Seaport Research Partners restated a “sell” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Monday. Argus cut their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $205.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $132.00 target price for the company. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.00, for a total value of $438,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,245,841. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.65, for a total transaction of $458,787.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,900,202.35. This trade represents a 8.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,866 shares of company stock worth $1,474,796. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Qualcomm Company Profile

Qualcomm Incorporated is a global semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company headquartered in San Diego, California. Founded in 1985, the company is known for its development of wireless technologies and for playing a central role in the evolution of digital cellular standards, including CDMA and subsequent generations of mobile standards. Qualcomm’s business combines the design and sale of semiconductor products with a patent licensing program for wireless technologies and related intellectual property.

The company’s product portfolio includes system-on-chip (SoC) platforms marketed under the Snapdragon brand, cellular modem and RF front-end components, connectivity solutions for Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth, and processors and platforms aimed at automotive, IoT, networking and edge-computing applications.