Qualcomm Handset Revenue Falls 26 Percent and Shares Drop After Earnings

Qualcomm fell short of Wall Street estimates for fiscal fourth quarter revenue from its smartphone chips, and its shares fell more than 4 percent in extended trading on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. Reuters reported the handset miss as the weak point in a quarter that otherwise cleared the overall forecasts.

Adjusted sales in the fourth quarter fell 7 percent to $10.44 billion, beating estimates of $10.11 billion. Adjusted profit was $2.17 per share, just ahead of estimates of $2.16. On a GAAP basis, revenue was $10.32 billion and earnings were $1.17 a share. The reported quarter ended September 27, 2026.

The handset business dragged the chip segment down

Revenue from the handset unit fell 26 percent to $5.14 billion in the fourth quarter, below the $5.25 billion expected by analysts polled by Visible Alpha. That shortfall dragged chip segment revenue down 8 percent to $9.02 billion.

The wider phone market worked against Qualcomm. Global smartphone shipments fell 20 percent in the September quarter to a 14 year low, according to Counterpoint Research. At the same time, demand for high bandwidth memory for AI servers has pushed up memory chip prices, which raises the cost of consumer electronics.

Chief Executive Cristiano Amon addressed the memory squeeze in a Reuters interview. "Unlike some other companies, we called this memory thing early, and we said we prepared for it," Amon said. He also pointed to Android demand. "We're starting to see sequential growth now on Android, we have been really executing on the non-handset business," he said.

Guidance leans on business beyond phones

Qualcomm expects first quarter fiscal 2027 revenue between $10.4 billion and $11.2 billion, with a midpoint above the analysts average estimate of $10.48 billion compiled by LSEG. It expects chip segment sales between $9 billion and $9.6 billion, above estimates of $8.88 billion, and adjusted profit between $2.15 and $2.35 per share, compared with estimates of $2.27.

Amon told Reuters the first quarter forecast includes no further sales from Apple. He said Qualcomm has been winning business with other customers beyond the smartphone business, and he expects non handset revenue to grow 60 percent year over year in fiscal 2027 and to replace Apple entirely. He also reiterated a $5 billion data center revenue target for fiscal 2027.

One example of the push beyond phones arrived the same day. Earlier on Wednesday, Qualcomm signed a multi year 5G deal to supply radio equipment, baseband units and software for the planned nationwide Starlink Mobile network from SpaceX, starting in 2027.

The quarter therefore reads two ways at once. The core handset line shrank hard and missed, while the overall results, the guidance and the non handset plan all came in ahead of what analysts expected.