Goldman Sachs Initiates Qualcomm at Neutral With a $135 Price Target

1 hour ago 3

Joel South

Mon, March 30, 2026 astatine 9:35 AM CDT 4 min read

  • Qualcomm (QCOM) posted automotive gross of $1.101B successful Q1 FY2026, up 15% twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth and marking the 2nd consecutive 4th supra $1B, portion the institution completed its Alphawave Semi acquisition to found a caller Data Center conception and returned $12.596B to shareholders done dividends and buybacks successful fiscal 2025.

  • Qualcomm shares person declined 25.21% twelvemonth to day arsenic investors terms successful stock nonaccomplishment from Apple, though Goldman Sachs initiated sum with a $135 terms people reflecting just worth and a diversification strategy spanning automotive, information centers, and IoT that Goldman expects volition offset handset headwinds.

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Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) has had a hard agelong heading into outpouring 2026. Shares are level implicit the past week but down 9% implicit the past period and person fallen 25.81% twelvemonth to date. Over the past year, shares are down 16.45%, a crisp retreat from an all-time 52-week precocious of $205.95.

Most Wall Street analysts support much mean outlooks, with the Street statement people astatine $155.67. Goldman Sachs expert James Schneider initiated sum with a Neutral standing and a $135 terms people — offering conscionable 4% upside from the initiation terms and sitting good beneath the broader expert consensus. But tin QCOM realistically scope $135 by extremity of 2026?

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Schneider argues that Qualcomm's diversification into adjacent markets including automotive, PCs, and information centers is real, but gains volition beryllium partially offset by stock nonaccomplishment astatine cardinal smartphone lawsuit accounts similar Apple. The information supports caution: portion non-Apple QCT revenues grew 18% twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth successful fiscal 2025, the banal has shed important crushed arsenic the marketplace prices successful the Apple headwind. With 23 expert Hold ratings versus 13 Buy ratings and conscionable 1 Sell, Goldman's Neutral stance aligns with a Street that is broadly cautious contempt lingering upside targets.

  1. Automotive compounding: Qualcomm's automotive conception posted $1.101 cardinal successful Q1 FY2026, up 15% twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth — its 2nd consecutive 4th supra $1 billion. This represents a durable, multi-year gross watercourse tied to the planetary EV and ADAS buildout, with a trajectory increasing from $959 cardinal successful Q2 FY2025 onward.

  2. Data halfway expansion: Qualcomm completed the acquisition of Alphawave Semi and established a caller Data Center conception successful Q1 FY2026, positioning the institution to enactment successful infrastructure spending that has driven outsized returns crossed semiconductors and opening a compounding maturation lane extracurricular handsets.

  3. Capital returns: Qualcomm returned $12.596 cardinal to shareholders successful fiscal 2025 done dividends and buybacks. The quarterly dividend stands astatine $0.89 per share, and the institution repurchased 15 cardinal shares for $2.6 cardinal successful Q1 FY2026 unsocial — a meaningful payment for semipermanent holders.

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