Qualcomm stock got the cleaner read on Wednesday: revenue reached $9.9 billion while EPS came in at $2.21. The top line beat Wall Street’s $9.6 billion expectation, even as the handset market keeps slowing. That split leaves shareholders with a solid quarter and a harder question about how long growth can outrun phone weakness.
Cristiano Amon on $9.9 billion
$9.9 billion in third quarter revenue gave Qualcomm a result that stayed above Wall Street’s forecast by $300 million. EPS of $2.21 matched estimates, so the quarter’s surprise came from sales, not profit. Handset sales also topped expectations at $5.1 billion, while automotive-related sales reached $1.5 billion.
$8.5 billion from CDMA Technologies outpaced the $8.2 billion Wall Street expected, showing the core business still carried the quarter. Cristiano Amon said, "Despite a challenging memory and supply environment, our third quarter results reflect solid execution of our growth strategy, with quarterly revenues at the high end of guidance". For shareholders, that means the company is still delivering enough volume to clear the bar even before newer businesses fully scale.
Stacy Rasgon on smartphone weakness
11% year-over-year decline in Q2 global smartphone shipments is the backdrop Qualcomm is still trading against. Stacy Rasgon said, "The smartphone industry is not great" and added, "Memory prices are going up, and AI is sort of sucking up a lot of the supply. And so it's just not leaving a lot for the smartphone players. And we're seeing unit growth has gone negative". That is the operating reality behind Qualcomm’s handset dependence.
$5 billion in Data Center revenue is what Akash Palkhiwala says Qualcomm expects in fiscal 2027, while non-handset sales projections for fiscal 2029 were doubled to $40 billion. On Wednesday, Cristiano Amon said, "In the near term, we expect year-over-year growth in non-handset revenues, including Data Center, to accelerate from 24% in fiscal 2026 to greater than 60% in fiscal 2027 — a significant inflection point in the execution of our growth strategy." If that path holds, the mix shifts away from phones; if it does not, the handset slowdown reaches the results faster than the diversification plan catches up.
The practical read for Qualcomm stock is simple: the quarter proved the company can still beat revenue expectations, but the next phase depends on whether Data Center and other non-handset sales grow quickly enough to offset a softer smartphone base.
